Dominic on his deathbed bequeathed to his brethren, as their rightful inheritance, his last will and testament saying: “have charity, guard humility and possess voluntary poverty.” This was the path which led him to holiness and he was and is inviting us his sons and daughters to imitate him as he imitated his Saviour, Christ Jesus.

After a long preaching tour in Northern Italy, brother Dominic falls gravely ill in Bologna. It is July 1221, and the town is so stifling, humid and hot that there is no hope of improvement for Dominic’s health. The decision is made to carry Dominic to a small Benedictine hermitage on the hillside outside Bologna.

As he feared being buried in the Benedictine monastery where he had stayed, he begged to be carried anew among his brethren. Once he was back in town and settled in one of the convent’s cells, he was asked whether he wished to be buried next to the relics of this or that saint. Dominic gave this superb answer: “God forbid that I be buried except under the feet of my brethren.”

As Dominicans we treasure what few writings Dominic has left us and those words of his of which there is a record, especially his last words. As Nuns of the Order we hold dear his letter to the nuns in Madrid, but there are two words in particular which should be written on our hearts and woven into the very fabric of our beings and it is on these two words that I would like to reflect this evening.

It is a happy coincidence that the Feast of the Transfiguration occurs during the Novena to St. Dominic. Because I was thinking about the Mystery of the Transfiguration I was more alert to some elements of Dominic’s life than I might otherwise have been. Two things in particular caught my attention. In St. Dominic’s nine ways of prayer there is the following observation, to quote:
At other times he, Dominic, would remain quietly on his knees, his mind caught up in wonder, and this sometimes lasted a long time. Sometimes it seemed from the way he looked that he had penetrated heaven in his mind, and then he would suddenly appear radiant with joy, wiping away the abundant tears running down his face.

As we continue our Novena to St Dominic, let us reflect on a tradition of love and devotion of Our Father Dominic to our Blessed Mother and how his order of preachers influenced the growth, devotion and spread of the Most Holy Rosary.

Dialogue of night and day

When my youngest niece saw me
for first time in our Dominican habit ,
she stared at me and asked...

Do you always have dreams in white and black? Do We?

I love this question, children always look more deeply than we do.

I think that all of us privileged to belong to St. Dominic’s family have a great love for the hymn that concludes our Liturgy at nightfall – “The O Lumen”- after joyfully praising our father Dominic as LIGHT of the Church and Doctor of TRUTH, we move on to highlight him as ROSE OF PATIENCE.

There are so many facets associated with this vibrant virtue of patience –but we may ask why “Rose of patience” – what is the connection?

In recent weeks I have been asking myself what does it mean when we say “I give my life to the Lord”? Yes I’m sure that we all want to give Him our ALL – after all this was the guiding light which led us to the monastery. But how do I give my ALL? If I focus my attention on my giving I can become very discouraged and perhaps there is a danger that I can become oblivious to what the Lord wants to give me? Ultimately the Lord is seeking our hearts to possess them in such a way that He can pray his prayer and radiate His love in and through us. Once He has our hearts we can trust Him to do that rest

As we continue our short reflections on St Dominic in our Novena, I would like to say a word on St Dominic and Prayer. The following lines from the psalms are significant:
"I have called to you Lord: hasten to help me! Hear my voice when I cry to you;
Lord let my prayer rise before you like incense,
The raising of my hands like an evening oblation." (Ps 14:1-2)
This sums up for me so well St Dominic's prayer.