October 16, 2015, 10:30p.m. – THE INSTITUTE of Preaching awarded the former master of the Order of Preachers the Preaching Award on the third and last day of the Asia-Pacific Dominican Family Retreat last Oct. 14, Wednesday.
The contributions of Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, O.P. to the Dominican community were cited by the institute, which is under the Dominican Province of the Philippines.
On the last day of the conference, Fr. Radcliffe, also the director of the Las Casas Institute of Blackfriars Oxford, said the Dominican community should not forget to preach the Gospel.
“Go and preach the Gospel. But how do we preach it? How are we going to be the word made flesh?” Fr. Radcliffe said, adding that effective spiritual preaching of the Word can be patterned after Christ’s body.
“For Christians, the body is at the heart of our spirituality. We have to accept our bodies because they are blessed with grace,” he added.
The concluding Mass, presided by Fr. Vivian Boland, O.P., vicar of the Master of Order, emphasized the role of the Dominican community as the “salt and light” of the Asia-Pacific region.
“Asia is the retreat of the extraordinary religions of the world. And Christianity has a small presence [here]. What kind of salt and light in this part of the world?” Fr. Boland said, adding that social issues plaguing the world should not be ignored.
“One spark could trigger a third world war. The economic and political situation of the world is very fragile. The situation in the Middle East seems to be more complex everyday,” he said.
Fr. Boland said the faithful should put their trust in God’s call. “Our confidence is in the Gospel; not in economic, political, military power,” he said.
The Dominican Family Leaders Conference was held after the retreat to allow Dominican superiors to meet in plenary assembly on Oct. 15-17, to discuss various ways to celebrate the eighth centenary of the order next year. Lea Mat P. Vicencio
