Four Pillars
Four Pillars
Four Pillars
Dominic lived in a time when the world and church were in great turmoil and filled with scandals. He saw that people were hungry to know God. Many had little or poor instruction in the faith and were unable to see Gods blessings in the ordinary everyday life they lived. St. Dominic gathered women and men in 1206, in Prouihle, France, founding the first Dominican monastery. The nuns, lay men and women and the friars found it a place of refreshment with its foundation in prayer, study, community and the ministry of the holy preaching.
community
prayer
study
mission
For more information www.caldwell.edu www.catholicdominicansisters.org www.domlife.org or Contact: Sister Kathleen Tuite, O.P. Assistant to the President for Mission and Ministry
Caldwell College 120 Bloomfield Avenue Caldwell, New Jersey 07006-6195 973-618-3534 Email: ktuite@caldwell.edu
study
Study
SEARCHING FOR TRUTH
Mission
MINISTRY
mission
Dominic said, Always study! The one thing that is never looked upon as a luxury are the books of a Dominican.
Dominicans believe that Gods revelation takes place in all of life. To study is to find God. Dominicans especially study the Word of God. Common study was fostered from the beginning of the Order. In the search for truth Dominicans try to listen deeply even to the ideas and people with whom they disagree. All have a kernel of truth. Study requires deep listening that we might find that Truth. Deep listening requires that we take time to allow the earth and all the happenings around us to teach us our place on this planet. Today media and technology make study possible through the web, podcast, video and dvd.
Prayer, study, and community give us the confidence and direction necessary to be sent forth in service. No one is given the gift of Gods presence for themselves alone.The education we are given at Caldwell impels us outward in mission to the world. Dominic recognized that we show God to others by how we are and act as persons. Dominicans call that preaching. The preaching is profoundly who we are as persons and who we become by the way we serve others.
Prayer
prayer
Dominican spirituality recognizes that each person is unique and has a special relationship with God. Shaped by our own personality and giftedness, meditation and contemplation will take different forms for each person.
CONTEMPLATION
At the heart of Dominican Life is prayer. While we are called to share the fruits of our contemplation private prayer has traditionally found its counterpart in common prayer, especially the Liturgy of the Hours and Eucharist. It is from our prayer that all life and ministry flow.
Community
COMMON LIFE
community
We do not learn to walk alone, we do not learn to pray alone, we cannot fully know the mystery of God in isolation. We need each other. Community challenges us with interdependence and diversity. This life in common opens us up to others and calls us to grapple with differences. From the beginning in 1206, Dominican life has not been about uniformity but a celebration of unity in diversity. It raises the questions: What is the common good? How do we make room for others and their needs?