“To contemplate and to
give to others the fruits of contemplation” - this is one of the treasured
mottoes of the Dominican Order. It sums up the goal of a spiritual son or
daughter of St. Dominic. To attain this goal, we centre our life around the two
great spheres of prayer - Contemplative Prayer and the Sacred Liturgy.
Contemplative
Prayer:
Our life of contemplative prayer comprises daily periods of
Mental Prayer and Lectio Divina, which are nourished by our study of Truth as
found in Scripture and in the Church's sacred teaching and Tradition.
Liturgy:
The Solemn celebration of the Liturgy is described in our Constitutions as "amongst the principal
functions of our vocation".
We sing in choir each day at least five Hours of the Divine Office - Matins, Lauds, Terce, Sext or None, Vespers and Compline. Some of our Office - the unchanging texts, as well as the traditional chants of the Order used on feast days, - is sung in Latin. We have access to and fully appreciate both the Ordinary and Extraordinary forms of the Latin Rite of Mass. We preserve in practice, as far as possible, the Church’s and the Order’s liturgical traditions in music and ceremonial.
Liturgical Style
We sing in choir each day at least five Hours of the Divine Office - Matins, Lauds, Terce, Sext or None, Vespers and Compline. Some of our Office - the unchanging texts, as well as the traditional chants of the Order used on feast days, - is sung in Latin. We have access to and fully appreciate both the Ordinary and Extraordinary forms of the Latin Rite of Mass. We preserve in practice, as far as possible, the Church’s and the Order’s liturgical traditions in music and ceremonial.
Liturgical Style
True
to the ways of prayer favoured by our Father St. Dominic, the Dominican
liturgical style is "incarnational" - showing forth interior devotion
by strong bodily gestures. Our chants and prayers are, according to the
traditions established by St. Dominic, sung or said in a succinct, lively yet
devout style which expresses the combination of contemplation and action.
Suffrages
for the Dead
The
glory of God and the salvation of souls is always the intention of Dominican
prayer, which is firmly rooted in the Church and attuned to its needs. Devotion
to the souls in Purgatory is a special feature of Dominican prayer not only
daily, but on the special anniversaries observed throughout the year, and
weekly, in the "Libera Me" procession.
Marian
Devotion
Devotion to the Mother of God is reflected in many Dominican customs - the daily recitation of the Rosary in common, the solemn "Salve Regina" procession each night, the sung Litany of Loreto each Saturday and a monthly Rosary procession traditional in the Order.
