God has only one thing to say, which is himself, he has only one thing to give, which is himself. And he invites us to hear that Word, to treasure it in our hearts and find in it the source of all our bliss.

Simon Tugwell OP

Believing in God, listening to the Word of God and loving God lead us naturally, perhaps inevitably, into prayer: prayer of thanks and adoration, prayer of sorrow and repentance, prayer of petition and intercession. In our Baptism we are incorporated into the Body of Christ, the Church, and our Christian belief is that it is the risen Christ himself, at the right hand of the Father, who speaks for us.

St Dominic's First Way of Prayer

St Dominic himself was renowned for his enthusiastic prayer life:

I never saw anyone pray so much, nor anyone who wept so much. And when he was at prayer he used to pray so loudly that he could be heard everywhere said Fr Rodulf, the Abbot of St Paul's at Narbonne, of him.

Prayer demonstrates the truth of our relationship with God: we recognise him for who he is, what is due to him from us, and the many gifts and graces he affords us. When we pray it is for our own good and that of others; it is an expression of love for God and for us, his creatures. It was in this that St Dominic excelled in such an intense and heartfelt way.

St Dominic's Second Way of Prayer

Lay Dominicans pray as the Church invites the people of God to pray. We celebrate Eucharist; we recite the Morning, Evening and Night Prayer of the Church in common or in private. In this way, the liturgical and scriptural tradition of the Church become better known and more a part of oneself than before. Individually we may also participate in other forms of Christian prayer, some traditional like the Rosary and the Stations of the Cross, some newer like Taize style worship.

St Dominic's Eighth Way of Prayer

"CONTEMPLARE ET CONTEMPLATA ALIIS TRADERE"

is a Latin tag summarising the Dominican vocation within the life and service of the Church: to pray and reflect on the Word of God, and to hand on the fruits of such prayer and reflection to other people. This is the vocation of the whole Order of Preachers; individuals each have their own place within this great calling.

This was how he prayed when travelling from country to country, especially when he was in a lonely place: he disported himself with meditations, in a state of contemplation, in fact, and would sometimes say to his companions, 'it is written in Hosea: I will lead her into the wilderness and speak to her heart'.

So sometimes he went aside from his companion, or went on ahead, or more often lingered behind, and then he would walk by himself and pray as he walked, and in his meditation a fire was kindled. 

A curious thing about this kind of prayer was that he seemed to be brushing away ashes and flies from before his face, and because of this he often defended himself with the sign of the cross

The brethren thought that in this kind of prayer the saint reached the fullness of sacred scripture and the very heart of the understanding of God's words, and also a power and courage to preach the gospel with fervour that nothing could intimidate, and also a hidden intimacy with the Holy Spirit to know hidden mysteries.

St Dominic's Ninth Way of Prayer

extract from The Nine Ways of Prayer of St Dominic ed. & trans. by Simon Tugwell OP Dominican Publications

Illustrations from Dominican Clip Art web site

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