“It is the smallest of seeds, but when it is grown it is the greatest of the shrubs and becomes a tree” (Mt. 13:31)
A friend of St Dominic said:
“He was utterly serene, except when the sight of another man’s misery stirred him deeply. As his glad heart made his countenance cheerful, so the peace of his soul was to be seen in the kindness and joyousness of his looks.”
Wherever he was travelling with his companions, he spoke inspiring words to lift the hearts of his hearers.
In word and deed Dominic was a man of the gospel. During the day no-one enjoyed more the companionship of his brethren. But at night no-one kept vigil before the Lord so fervently. Such was the Founder of the Order of Preachers.
Living in 13th-century Europe, Dominic saw that a new kind of preaching was required to deepen the spiritual lives of Christians, so that they would be able to resist the heresy of the day. This heresy taught that all material beings, including human bodies, had been created by an evil spirit. Hence all ordinary human things like friendship and family were suspect.
Dominic of course stressed the Incarnation of Jesus and insisted on the goodness and value of all created things.
Dominic saw that to the need was for an apostolic, itinerant and urban preaching - a new form of religious life. Like the apostles, his brothers would share a common life, as preachers they would require dedication to study, meditation and recitation of the Divine Office together. At the same time they would have that freedom of movement essential for meeting the needs of the Church in a society changing from a rural to an urban way of life. It was young people especially who were on the move, escaping the harsh laws of feudal service and allured by the prospect of independence, and even of learning, in the universities that were just then beginning to rise in Europe.
From the small seed sown by St Dominic has grown the world-wide Order of Preachers, the Dominicans.
