The Preaching Mission

A passion for God and a conviction that god’s love was meant for all characterized the preaching of Dominic de Guzman, founder of the Dominicans. Although Dominic neither founded a school of rhetoric nor wrote a treatise on preaching, he did send his young followers out to preach, just as Jesus had sent his disciples. The circumstances of Dominic’s historical time were different from ours, and yet in some ways they are remarkably similar to ours.

Dominican theologian, Mary Catherine Hilkert, OP, observes:

Most of the people in our world who hunger for the good news of salvation or liberation are not to be found in our churches. If preaching is a matter of making connections, enabling people to hear the Gospel as good news for them, then the Gospel and its preachers have to meet people where they are.

This is the task of every preaching project today:  to create ways for people to encounter the Gospel message wherever they are, so that it can help them shape lives that have personal and social integrity.

Preaching is a gift. It proclaims the story and memory, the presence and grace of the Living Word. It is also a sign of God’s ongoing presence. Every Dominican preaches, whether from the pulpit, in the classroom, on the street, at the office, in relationships.

The arts have always been a way to express, interpret and enter into the mystery of God. Through the use of language, color, material, music and movement, artists of all kinds create woks in every medium imaginable. Their creations capture the imagination and have the power to evoke insight, conversion and faith.