Hounds of the Lord

Praying for our precious religious orders

08/08/2017

Matthew 15:1-2, 10-14 Some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands when they eat a meal." He summoned the crowd and said to them, "Hear and understand. It is not what enters one's mouth that defiles the man; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one." Then his disciples approached and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?" He said in reply, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."

           Sometimes people ask me an unusual question, but if you grew up Catholic, you’ll know exactly what they mean. They ask me: “Are you an order priest?” They are asking if I am a diocesan priest or if I belong to a religious order, like the Dominicans or the Franciscans or the Jesuits. I try to explain this fundamental difference between diocesan priests and order priests by comparing it to the military. A military has a standing army, with ranks of private and captain and general, but a military also has special forces like Navy Seals and Army Rangers and Marino Commandoes. Diocesan priests are like the standing army with ranks like deacon, priest and bishop, and the religious orders are like the special forces because they live in small groups called communities and have a special mission called a “charism.”  Men and women who join religious orders have an awesome vocation, and I am in awe of them.

           That always reminds me of that old joke about religious orders. What are the three things that even God does not know about the Church? (1) How many congregations of religious women there are, more than even God can count. (2) How much money the Franciscans have stashed away (they’re supposed to be poor). And (3) What the Jesuits really think, and what they will do next (they’re known for being very stable and predictable). Of course, that joke is only told by Dominicans.

            Every year on August 8 the Church celebrates the feast of the founder of one of those great “special forces” called the Dominicans because it was founded by St. Dominic. St. Dominic, on December 22, 1216, received the approval of Pope Honorious III, to start a religious order to preach the gospel particularly against heresies. At that time the Albigensians were running rampant in Southern France and convincing Catholics that the world was inherently evil. But Catholics believe what it says in Genesis 1:10: that God created the cosmos “and saw that it was good.” For 800 years, therefore, the Dominicans have preached the gospel against those who attack Catholicism. Dominicans will have two letters after their name – O. P. – which means “Order of Preachers.” Perhaps the greatest single Dominican to ever live was St. Thomas Aquinas, whose teachings in the Summa Theologica and other writings still shape the studies of seminarians who are preparing to become priests. I had a Dominican professor in the seminary who taught us Mariology – the study of the Blessed Virgin Mary – and warned us not to commit “Mariolotry,” that is, not to worship Mary. That’s what Dominicans do: they keep us Catholic. That’s their special charism, their “special sauce.”

            Today, I want you to pray for the Dominicans, but also for all religious orders. Why? Well, I am convinced that they have a singular and unrepeatable role in the life of the Church and in the life of Christians. The Second Vatican Council taught that these religious orders practice the highest virtues and aspire to the greatest levels of sanctity called “perfectae caritatis,” or perfect charity, or perfect love. They want to identify themselves as closely to Christ as possible by exercising the “evangelical (gospel) counsels” of “poverty, chastity and obedience.” Religious orders may have touched your life: you may have been taught by the Sisters of Mercy, or the Benedictines; you might have attended a Jesuit university like Boston College, or perhaps you worked in a soup kitchen with Franciscans, or helped the poorest of the poor with the Missionaries of Charity started by St. Teresa of Calcutta, or asked for the powerful prayers of cloistered Carmelite nuns. These are the special forces of the Catholic Church, and their special sauce adds great flavor to our faith. We simply could not be victorious in our struggle against Satan without their help.

            One of the nicknames the Dominicans have, and one they wear with particular pride, is “Hounds of the Lord.” Where does that name originate? You divide the name “Dominicans” into two Latin words, “Domini” and “canes,” which mean “Hounds of the Lord.” And like a good watchdog, the Dominicansm, the Hounds of the Lord, keep the House of the Lord safe from intruders.

Praised be Jesus Christ!