MEMBERS of the Order of Preachers must promote dialogue between God and communities through education, the leader of Filipino Dominicans said during Holy Mass on the eve of the feast of St. Dominic de Guzman, the founder of the Dominican Order, at the Santisimo Rosario Parish Church.
Fr. Napoleon Sipalay Jr., O.P., prior provincial of the Dominican Province in the Philippines, called on his brother Dominicans in the University to find the “way of holiness” and share it through preaching and education.
“I hope [that] this University continues to satisfy the hunger of our many students; the hunger to have the answer to the questions they have in themselves [and] in the world that they’re going to enter… We have to lend our voices to be the voice of Christ in our time,” he said in his homily.
Sipalay reminded members of the order to emulate St. Dominic’s example of genuine brotherhood, which is a vital foundation of every community.
“[O]ur first ministry as Dominicans is fraternity. That’s the essence of the gospel that even Jesus himself when he started preaching, gathered his apostles. Our first mission is to be in a community,” Sipalay said.
St. Dominic de Guzman founded the Order of Preachers in 1216 to combat heresy and address the spiritual and intellectual needs of the people during his time.
Following the four pillars of prayer, common life, study and preaching, the Dominican Order’s intellectual tradition has produced theologians and philosophers including St. Thomas Aquinas, the patron saint of UST. P. A. M. Gumapos
