Dominican Preaching by Fr. Dominic Legge, OP

Above is a 45 minute lecture on the Dominican Preaching given by Fr. Dominic Legge, OP at the recent Vocation Weekend at the Dominican House of Studies, Washington, DC.

"So what does this have to do with you? Aren't you cloistered contemplatives?" you might ask. Yes, but the nuns are at the heart of the Holy Preaching. We are monastics in an apostolic order. (You might say we are a hybrid!)

The nuns no less than the other branches of the Dominican Order share fully in the Dominican charism of "preaching for the salvation of souls." How? Not by actively preaching as our Brothers do but by the witness of our lives, by our prayer, by our pondering of the Word. As our Constitutions so beautifully express it, "“the nuns while commissioned by God primarily for prayer are not for that reason excluded from the ministry of the Word. For they listen to the Word, celebrate it and keep it in their hearts and in this way proclaim the Gospel by the example of their life.”

Holy Preaching comes out of a love for souls and a desire for their eternal salvation. Once one has "tasted that the Lord is good" the desire is that others experience this same delight! The cry of St. Dominic, "Lord, what will become of sinners!" becomes the cry of each Dominican nun and united to the preaching mission of the Order the intensity of this longing mysteriously wins souls to God.

The mission of the Dominican Order is needed more than ever. Please pray that many of the young men who attended the Vocation Weekend will respond and ask to join the Order and that many young women, captivated by Christ's love will likewise become Dominican nuns!

Special thanks to the Brethren at www.dominicanfriars.org for the video clip and to Fr. Dominic Legge.