he
festival of Christmas brings us closer to the mystery
of the manifestation of God to humankind. It also reminds
us of our Dominican vocation: to live the Word of God
together, to pray over it, to study it, to celebrate
it, so that we can announce it in countless different
ways.
During
this first year of my term of office I have visited
more than half our 41 provinces and a certain number
of our African and Latin American vicariates. During
the same time most of the Assistants to the general
have spent shorter or longer periods, on the invitation
of the provincials, to their respective regions.
During
these visits, which enabled me to come into personal
contact for the first time with the more important centers
of the Order, I listened especially to the brethren,
hearing about their apostolic work, their difficulties
and their hopes. I also had many discussions with the
brethren, as with the nuns and sisters too, on my three
major preoccupations with regard to the Order, as I
see it to-day. I do not mean these three points to represent
a scale of values but rather a priority in urgency for
our days.
Three
preoccupations
First
preoccupation: the intellectual life
At
the present time two thirds of our provinces have no
house of studies of their own, no studium, which means
that our students are studying philosophy and theology
in colleges of widely differing quality. There is one
easy solution to this, which is to send our students
to other countries which still have a Dominican studium.
However people are very conscious today of how important
it is for students to carry out their course of studies
in their own country, within their own culture and background.
All the same I remain convinced that young people need
a balanced methodology if they are to learn to think
in a critical fashion.
We
must make a serious effort to match, for their mutual
benefit, the conclusions of modern science and philosophy,
with Saint Thomas' ideas (cf LCO, n. 82, end). We used
to have men well acquainted with modern thought and
also with Saint Thomas' system in its historical perspective.
But too often the attempt to match the two was left
to students, and it was a difficult task which they
were rarely able to accomplish. Nine years ago, before
coming to Rome I realized that I would have to change
my way of teaching, and I am convinced that this "matching"
must be made, if our intellectual heritage is to survive.
Our
brethren also urgently need ongoing formation. In this
respect some of our provinces are good, while others
are very weak. We cannot be content to wear the habit
of Saint Dominic and sing the praises of Saint Thomas.
More is asked of us today in a world which is evolving
and changing so rapidly. We must not put on superior
airs as if we had all the answers and act as if nobody
could tell us anything. In fact there is a great deal
we can learn from others, especially in the pastoral
field and in specialized apostolates.
Second
preoccupation: Dominican presence in the world to-day
We
are working at all sorts of different things, and in
a general way, we are doing them well. But it seems
to me that we are doing the same things as we did 5,
to and 20 years ago, and doing them in the same way.
We should put this question to ourselves and ponder
over it seriously.
Where
is tomorrow's world in the process of evolving ? What
are we doing to reach and to influence young people,
professional groups, couples, students, and various
other milieus and groups ? What vital, influential and
authentic role is played by parishes, schools and chaplaincies ?
Do these not provide a too ready answer to our apostolic
ideals ? Do they lead us to spend our time preaching
to a chosen few, and converting the converted ? Whatever
we do the year 2,000 will be completely different, and
what then will be the place of the Order of Preachers ?
In
my conversations with the brethren and the sisters and
the nuns I expressed my surprise at the small number
of brothers working in the fields of social justice
and the mass media and I insisted on the need to designate
religious for this work and to prepare them for it.
Various
possibilities of helping . the poor and the oppressed
are open to us: 1. direct help; 2. instruction in ways
of helping yourself; 3. research into the causes of
poverty and injustice. I firmly believe that, as Dominicans,
and without neglecting the first two of these, we should
concentrate on the third of these possibilities which
necessitates professional competence in many different
fields: economics, sociology, politics, philosophy,
theology and others. History gives an example of this
in the attempts made by people like Vittoria and Las
Casas to defend the cause of oppressed Indians.
Third
preoccupation: prayer
Since
Vatican II our prayers have been reduced in quantity,
though I think they have improved in quality. But what
about the intensity of our own private prayer ? An increasing
desire for a deeper life of prayer has been remarked
among young people. Are we able to give them what they
want ? As a result of brief contacts with some houses
of formation I have a distinct impression that many
novices and students have a deep appreciation of prayer
and the contemplative life. In some places I have heard
of growing antagonism between the "charismatics"
and the "politically-minded" - under-stood
in the wide sense. The latter accuse the former of slowing
up social change. Have we considered this problem seriously
enough to be able to give an intelligent answer ? And
there are many other aspects of prayer we must reflect
on.
During
the last two or three years I have noticed a change
in the type of men who are thinking of joining us, an
impression that has often been confirmed during my recent
travels. They want to lead a life of dedicated study,
deep prayer, lived in common with others who share the
same faith. I have at times referred whimsically to
these young people as the "new race". But
I still have some reservations about the kind of welcome
we give them. Are we able to accept them without disappointing
them ? Can we offer them the rich interior spiritual
life for which they are looking ? They come to us without
any preconceived notions for or against the traditional
ideas that took such a hammering immediately after Vatican
II.
While
taking part in the meetings of the Inter-provincial
Conference of Latin American Dominicans, CIDAL (Conférence
Interprovinciale Dominicaine d'Amérique Latine)
in Quito this summer, I was very impressed by the deeply
serious approach of the brothers and sisters to the
problem of evangelizing their countries. And what moved
me especially was our prayer in common - two hours every
day. We simply had Lauds, Vespers and concelebrated
Mass, but these were moments of sharing and reflection
on the Scriptures, of intercession in common, of silence:
something simple and profound. I think that what made
the experience so rich, was the presence of the sisters,
both with regard to the authentic fervor of our prayer
life and also the awareness the sisters had, on account
of their natural sensitivity, of the down-to-earth daily
problems of the poor and their condition of life.
I
am encouraged by the cooperation and collaboration I
find between the brothers and the sisters of the Order.
I hope we will be able to continue in this line because
we have much to offer one another, and together we can
become a force in the Church and the world. However
up to the present I have found very little real cooperation
between brothers and sisters on the one hand and the
members of lay fraternities of Saint Dominic on the
other. However these latter, in the context of an evolving
world, should be an immense help to us and an inspiration
that is second to none. Without them would it be possible
for us to give to our world today the new soul it needs;
and which it can only find in the Gospel of Christ ?
And
now that I have told you about my three preoccupations,
I would ask every brother, every sister, every nun,
each convent, each monastery, each province, each congregation,
each lay fraternity with all its members, to reflect
and discover how together, you and I; in a spirit of
solidarity, and sharing the same hope which springs
from prayer, can prepare the Order of Preachers to-day
so that it can play its part and find its role in tomorrow's
world, the world of the 21st century.
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