PRAISE            BLESS            PREACH

Everyone has and lives a spirituality.  There are many families of Christian spirituality and great riches in the spiritualities of other world faiths as well.  Spirituality refers to the movement /energy within us that yearns for something greater, guides us in our searching and in our responses to the situations of our lives, and calls us beyond ourselves.

Dominican spirituality is the principal resource for the work of the Dominican Center: Spirituality for Mission.  We hope to share it with you in ways that will nourish your own spirituality.  Dominican spirituality summons us into awe and appreciation of the profound mystery of the presence of God (Praise), calls us to love what God has created and to be a gift to the world (Bless), and impels us to share the gospel message for the healing and transformation of society and creation (Preach). Understanding Dominican spirituality as leading to personal holiness is incomplete. Genuine Dominican spirituality and authentic holiness demand that we also transform the world.

The Dominican motto calls us to contemplate and then to share the fruits of that contemplation. This means that we study, we learn from one another, we bring ourselves into the presence of God, and only then can we be faithful preachers of the Word and address the heresies of our day in the work of social transformation. To quote St. Thomas Aquinas: It is better to illuminate than merely to shine, to deliver to others contemplated truths than merely to contemplate.

Our Dominican Center mission states: Rooted in the charism of Saint Dominic and formed in the Christian spiritual and social traditions, the Dominican Center: Spirituality for Mission assists people of every faith to nurture a thoughtful, prayerful relationship with God and to be a strong voice in the world for God’s justice.  Likewise, in the Dominican tradition, we strive to bring about the reign of God by assisting people of every faith to live in the Spirit of God as one human family with all creation in our common home.  May the resources offered here be of help to you in this profound mission.