ACTIVITY # 2: DOMINICAN SPIRITUALITY

The Four Pillars of the Dominican Spirituality or also known as the Order of Preachers was

founded by St. Dominic de Guzman in the 13th century in France. The Dominicans seek to bring

gospel-revealed Truth and their passion for God to others and they do this in a variety of ways

that perhaps are best understood through the four pillars. The four pillars which are preaching,

community life, study, prayer gave me an insight into the Dominican spirituality and its

flexibility in response to God and the challenges of the day. Dominicans centered our lives on

Jesus Christ, the true light, and are moved by the Holy Spirit who radiates God’s healing

presence in the world today. We celebrate the Word in daily common prayer, meditation, study,

and in the proclamation that is preaching.

Prayer is where we build a relationship with God and where I learned what authentic love looks

like, as that love grows, so too does my desire to know God more deeply. Hence, we turn to

study to increase our knowledge of Christ and to be able to speak accurately and adequately

about Church teaching so as to express the beauty of the Church to others. The desire to know

God draws us to fellowship with others because we are able to recognize our Love, Jesus Christ,

in others. The basic idea of community is not just people living together under one roof. Rather,

community life is about the willingness to share our lives with one another. As a community we

simultaneously grow with knowledge of God because we are all made in the image and likeness

of God that simply means that we all have God within us. Through community we are called to

use our various gifts and talents to serve the Kingdom and to preach the Word of God not just to

my fellow teenagers but to everyone that we may encounter. Simply spreading the act of

kindness is a form of spiritual work of mercy but what makes it preaching is the person’s desire
to proclaim the Person of Christ to others. Things that I’ve realized for every pillar is to keep

prayers simple and real in order to keep my life and possessions simple too. I should also

consider exercising my brain muscles so I can preach the Person of Christ whenever I want to.

Lastly, is to be a supportive and caring friend and family member.

During this Enhanced Community Quarantine, I am applying the four pillars by:

Preaching – I remind my siblings to atleast read the bible once a week, so we can do a sharing

about it and watch a TV Mass afterwards.

Community life – I always join in family meals because it has been our tradition ever since.

Study – I make sure that I do a self-study regarding on the modules that teachers have been

sending every week in order for me to finish it on time.

Prayer – I wake up early every Sunday to make sure that I’ll be on time for the Live TV Mass

and pray a novena with my family.