English Summary – 800 Years of Dominicans
Oldřich Selucký
Brother Dominic
Paths to the Spiritual Form
The writer Oldřich Selucký in his introductory text deals with the personality of founder of the Order of Preachers, St. Dominic, and tries to apprehend his spiritual portrait. He starts from three events of Dominic’s life – the moment when he sold his Bible and then other things, to be able to support the poor; his disputation with the Pyrenean innkeeper who professed the heretical doctrine; his meeting with unsuccessful Cistercian preachers unable to face the Cathar heresy at the time of the crusade against them.
Paul Murray OP
Preaching Today
The essay analyses key factors influencing success of the sermon and effectiveness of the evangelization. Referring to the papal document The Joy of the Gospel looks upon the need to experience influence of the Spirit in the preaching. The author emphasises the liturgical dimension of preaching, which distinguishes it from the academic discourse. He discusses preparation for the sermon, which must include an honest spiritual life. He also speaks about the proper understanding of the slogan “new evangelization”. And then he highlights contemporary examples of sermons attracting modern people.
Alain Quilici OP, Guy Bedouelle OP
Dominican Common Life
The common life is a substantial element of Dominican life. It is not just a mean of sanctification or something else. It is not only the most important and the most significant element of life of the Preachers. It emanates directly from its essence. The fact of the common life is, of course, essential for all forms of religious life. In comparison with the Rule of St. Benedict and the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus the authors point to several significant differences in the understanding of common life in the Order of Preachers. They use the image of the orchestra where everyone plays his instrument, according to his knowledge and ability. The goal is to provide the best, not in order to create a personal work, but to live in harmony and in accordance with the teachings of our Lord.
Basil Cole OP
Study in the Dominican Order
The essay is dedicated to the importance of the study in the life of the Order. The first part deals with the topic generally, and refers to the Order sources (Constitutions, the work of St. Thomas) describing the importance of the study, and deals with the apparent antithesis of prayer, contemplation and study. The author, however, remarks that the study and contemplation alone cannot create a contemplative preacher who can awaken the faith in the people. In the second part he describes one specific project for promotion of the study, the House of studies of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph, Washington D.C., USA.
Irenej Šiklar OP
Rosary
Meditation on a Prayer
The essay discusses briefly the history of the Rosary. There is mentioned its wider context and its origi-
nality. The author competently shows that the roots of the Rosary, as we know it, are to be sought at fraternities established by Friars Preachers practically from the beginnings of their Order. In such manner Rosary genuinely builds a representative of the specific features of Dominican spirituality.
Survey
What Does it Mean to Me to Be a Dominican?
In the 800th anniversary of foundation of the Order of Preachers we asked several Czech and fo-
reign Dominican brothers, sisters, and lay members, to describe what does it mean to them personally to belong to the Order. Surveyed parties were Tomáš Machula, Marie Růžena Mináriková OP, Dominik kardinál Duka OP, Jean H. Miyamoto OP, Sara Böhmer OP, Gabriel M. Nissim OP, and Wojciech Giertych OP.
Adrien Candiard OP
By Friendship and Study
Dominicans in the Service of Dialogue with Islam
The article deals with the history and mission of the Dominican Institute of Oriental Studies (IDEO) in Cairo which constitutes a centre aiming attention at the study of Islam. There is presented the history of the relationship between the Dominican Order and Islam since the foundation of the Order, and the renewal of academic interest in the 19th century and a new approach towards the dialogue in the 30s of the 20th century containing much deeper reflection on Islam. This reflection resulted in the founding of IDEO in 1953, and also later in the passage on Islam in the Declaration Nostra Aetate of the Vatican II. The study then describes the formidable situation on the field of dialogue in the second half of the 20th century, marked by the radicalization of Islam. The idea of IDEO is based on the aspiration to be present in the western academic world and to spread knowledgeable reflection on Islam, and at the same time to act in an environment of Egyptian intelligence, in order to be able to take advantage of the offered tools of critical thinking to overcome the proper problems.
Jean Jacques Pérennès OP
Brother Pierre Claverie OP
Witness of the Faith of the 20th Century
The study introduces the life and work of the Dominican Pierre Claverie (1938-1996), who was murdered by Islamic radicals in Algeria, where he served for the 15 years as a bishop of Oran. The author describes his journey to recognition of Muslim dimension of his native Algeria and to the decision to serve Christianity in the midst of an Islamic state, his bishopric endeavours, and difficulties he was confronted with. The end of his life was fully penetrated by awareness of the potential martyrdom, but he didn’t allow this fact to discourage him. His life is documented by a number of extracts from his texts.
Wojciech Jędrzejewski OP
Evangelize or Educate?
Dominican Pastoral Care of Youth in Poland
The text outlines the practice of the Dominican Pastoral Care in Warsaw, Poland. There are shown the basic dilemmas of access to today’s young people, their specific needs and expectations in the spiritual domain. In very concrete way there are described important features of today’s youth: the feeling of loneliness; the problems with the father figure in their lives – and consequently a danger for pedagogues, who can become a substitute of this figure; complexity of emotional education; false images of God. The author pursues the topic of education of the will (and thus the education to the commitment), and of the reason, which both may lead to a new experience of strength and stability.
Raúl Gómez Sánchez OP
Beaten Paths of Friars Preachers in Colombia
Beginnings, Summits and Present of the Province of St. Louis Bertrand
The study introduces the history of the Dominican Province in present-day Colombia. The author deals with its origins in the 16th century, with expansion of its houses and convents, and activities of friars among the natives. He also discusses the role of the Dominican environment (especially the University of St. Thomas) during the time of struggle for independence in the early 19th century, the abolition of the province around 1861, and its renewal after 1881, or more precisely 1910. The last section is devoted to the current activities of the Order in the country, its contribution to the peace negotiations and promotion of humanity.
Thu Lieu OP, Thom Nguyen OP, The Tran OP
The Experience of Hope of Dominican Sisters of Tam Hiep, Vietnam
The text introduces the touching history of Dominican Sisters in Vietnam, whose presence in the country dates back to the 18th century. In 1951 was officially founded the Congregation of Vietnamese Dominican Sisters in North Vietnam. After the Vietnam War, years 1975-1980 were the years of exile. The sisters lived and worked as other Vietnamese women, without any outward signs of being religious sisters. Since the late 80s, the situation is slightly released but control over the sisters is still high. Still, the sisters are devoted to many charitable and missionary projects.
Between Mercy and Truth there is no Contradiction
Interview with the Master of the Dominican Order Bruno Cadoré, OP
The interview with the Master of the Order Bruno Cadoré discusses his journey to the Dominicans, the fundamental points of the Dominican spirituality, the challenges of the contemporary Church and the world, the need to pay attention to intellectual honesty, and the dangers of conformity with convenient structures.
Christoph Schönborn OP
The Sermon on the Corpus Christi 2016
Sermon of the Archbishop of Vienna, who is also a Dominican, shows the character of the contemporary Dominican preaching that reanimates the text of the Gospel by the context of today’s immigrant crisis.