Novena to St Dominic - Day 4
When I was reflecting on St Dominic’s life in the light of today’s Gospel the thoughts that came to me weren’t about the ‘miracles of multiplication’ that occurred for the feeding of his Brothers (and on occasion Sisters), but rather that in the living of his life and the establishment of his Order he let Christ take, bless, break and distribute both himself and his Order as Christ wished and indicated. As Dominic said, “seed that is hoarded does not bear fruit.”Just as the miracle in the Gospel happens when the disciples are willing to take the risk of giving away what Christ gave them even when it seemed utterly foolish, so also Dominic gave away everything that he received from God, both in his youth as a student and later as Master of the Order, and in that giving his life was fruitful and God, through him, multiplied and distributed many graces to others.
It also strikes me that the bread was multiplied by being taken into the Lord’s hands, blessed and broken. So also we Dominicans place our lives, our very selves, into God’s hands when we enter the Order - to be taken by Him, blessed, broken and distributed/used by Him as He sees fit, for the salvation of souls. It is a strange thing that while it is entirely our gift of ourselves, it is also entirely God’s gift and God’s giving; just as the Gospel miracle needed the Apostles to give the bread to the crowds while being at the same time an action of Christ.
As we prepare to celebrate our Father Dominic’s Feast Day, may we also renew our willingness to place ourselves entirely in God’s hands to be used/given as He chooses.
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