Notes on the Memorial of St. Dominic.

Today the Roman Catholic Church remembers St. Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers. The Dominican motto 'Veritas' and the emblem of the order are visible in the photo above, which I took outside the Dominican church in Lima in July 2006. Educated in public schools and in universities founded by the Society of Jesus and the Congregation of Holy Cross, I've had very little direct experience with members of the Order of Preachers. This will change in the fall, as I'll be taking a course with an English Dominican who teaches at Fordham. More indirectly, I've come into contact with the vibrant intellectual tradition of the Order of Preachers through my reading of works by Thomas Aquinas and other Dominican luminaries.

The relationship between the Dominicans and the Jesuits has not always been positive: at the end of the sixteenth century, Pope Clement VIII had to intervene to resolve a heated dispute between Dominican and Jesuit theologians over grace and free will. Nonetheless, the Society of Jesus and the Order of Preachers share a strong and enduring commitment to the service of faith through direct evangelization and learned ministry. On this Memorial of St. Dominic, I'll be praying in thanksgiving for the gifts that the Dominican charism offers to the universal Church. AMDG.