Meet the Dominicans. (Photo: Raymond A. Sebastián)
QUEZON City, Aug. 10, 2015―By his fruits you shall know him.
While not as popular as his friend, Francis of Assisi, nor as quotable as his spiritual son, Thomas Aquinas, the head of the Order of Preachers (O.P.) in the country said St. Dominic de Guzman’s claim to immortality is in the thousands of men and women through the centuries who have lived his spirituality and have continued his legacy.
“There is little that we know about Dominic. But the little that we know about Dominic is complemented by the family that he had founded … that he had established. That is why we get to know Dominic through his brothers and sisters … and not only through his brothers and sisters, but also through his friends,” said Fr. Gerard Francisco P. Timoner, the Dominican prior provincial, after Mass on the Feast of St. Dominic, Friday, Aug. 8, at Santo Domingo Parish, Quezon City.
Humility
Josh F. Awitan, a young professional and a devotee of the Spanish priest, believes Dominic’s humility may be one reason he is not as well-known as other saints.
In fact, before his death, he told the members of his fledgling congregation to “Guard humility.”
Commenting on his title “Lumen Ecclesiae” (Light of the Church), Awitan pointed out Dominic is called thus, not because he takes away from Christ a designation that is the Lord’s by right, but because the saint dedicated his entire life to sharing this Light, Jesus Himself, with others.
Self-denial
For Darwin Beceril, a catechist from Caloocan City, Dominic’s relative “obscurity” is something the latter would have surely wished for himself given his dislike for self-glorification.
Fr. Gerard Francisco P. Timoner, prior of the Order of Preachers (O.P.) - Philippine Province, gives communion. (Photo: Raymond A. Sebastián)
“Dominic Savio and Dominic Seelos may be more famous. Dominican saints like Catherine of Siena, Martin de Porres, and Rose of Lima may command more devotion. Never mind. At the end of the day, I do not think St. Dominic―or any other real saints for that matter―would have even wanted to be recognized for their sanctity.
OP turns 800
Dubbed the Black Friars due to the predominant color of their habit, the Dominican family was formed in Italy in 1216 in response to the Albigensian heresy.
Together with the Order of Friars Minor (OFM), the Friars Preachers helped revitalize a medieval Church weakened by corruption and scandal.
Dominicans worldwide are set mark the 800th foundation anniversary of the congregation in 2016. (Raymond A. Sebastián/CBCP News)