COMMUNITY: A matter of heart

“Our human pilgrimage to wholeness is not a solitary adventure, but an invitation to communion. It awakens us to our solidarity with all human companions on the pilgrimage to wholeness.” --Paul Philibert, OP, in Meeting the Charism Again /For the First Time, Dominican Values, “Building Community”

Early Dominicans preached by taking the gospel to the people, begging for their daily bread and lodging. They would return periodically to the monastery and their community for prayer and study or they might spend some years at a university, as students or teachers. Community for them was not static. It could not be a location, a building, or even a set group of people. It had to be a state-of-being (a matter-of-the-heart).

Another concept emphasized by the Order of Preachers is that God’s love is poured out equally on all; each person is to be valued equally, even though they might have different gifts. This affected their way of organizing their communities. Rather than establishing a strictly top-down organization, the preachers and nuns held all things and made all major decisions in common. The prior or prioress were and still are elected for specific periods of time. This democratic structure was a radical innovation when the Order was founded in the 13th century!

Today, Dominicans embrace this same sense of community, which is not tied to place and which acknowledges the value of all persons and the interrelatedness of all creation. It forms the sense of ease a guest feels when attending a workshop or event hosted by Dominicans.  It is the commitment to social justice and community service acted upon by Dominicans and their associates in more than 92 countries.  Dominicans today continue to create community wherever they may be serving.