Deputy Principal Mission and Pastoral Care

Outreach and charity in the tradition of Dominic

As has been mentioned in other places in Veritas Voice this week, we celebrated The Feast of St Dominic at the College on Friday 2 August. St Dominic’s Day is an opportunity we relish each year because as a community we can give witness to the Gospel Truth and the influence of the Dominicans in the way we express and practice our faith at the College. 

Throughout his life Dominic preached charity and acted accordingly. In 1190, while he was studying in Palencia, a famine devastated all of Spain. Palencia suffered with the rest of the country, and people died of starvation in the streets. Moved with pity at the sight of the dying poor, Dominic resolved to put into practice Christ’s counsel and do all he could to resolve their needs. He determined to sell all his belongings, even his priceless books, which he needed for his studies.

Before the invention of printing in the mid-15th century, books were laboriously copied by hand. Much of this copying was done by monks; the manuscripts, preserved in monasteries, constituted the essentials of Western learning. Books in the 12th century were extremely rare and valuable; thus, Dominic’s sacrifice was immense. Establishing a centre for alms giving, Dominic sold his goods and distributed the money to the poor. Dominic’s act astonished and deeply moved his fellow students and masters in theology. Ashamed of how meager their own assistance had been, they were inspired to give alms in abundance, the citizens of the town opened their granaries, and their united efforts relieved the most urgent needs of the poor.

(The above excerpt is from Reflections of Dominican Spirituality: The Windows of St. Dominic Church, Washington, D.C. by Dr Mary Moran.)

Although our almsgiving on St Dominic’s Day does not meet the sacrifice experienced by St Dominic, we nonetheless give willingly and generously to support the Sisters of the Solomon Islands in their good work. This year in our community collection and via the generous donations of our staff we raised close to $5500 for the Solomonese Sisters. Thank you to all those in the community who contributed to our fundraising this year. 

Outreach, service and charity in the Dominican tradition have continued across the campus this term. Under the banner of our Salamanca Model of Service and Outreach, the Del Monte campus has been inspired by Dominican Antonia de Montesinos who observed injustice and spoke up, taking action to bring about change. The P-4 students have collected donations for their Winter Appeal and raised money for the St Vincent de Paul Society via their crazy sock day last week. Our House Salamanca House Projects will also be in full swing this week and next week with each House supporting a cause they have selected using the Salamanca process (begun by Dominicans at Salamanca University in the 16th century) to select a cause or issue to support via a process of discussion, research and learning and to then use this knowledge to determine effective action. Houses are focusing on social and environmental issues and will take actions on the coming week to raise awareness, change attitudes and raise funds. We look forward to reporting on the progress of our Salamanca House projects in coming editions of Veritas Voice. 

Melanie van der Meer
Deputy Principal Mission and Pastoral Care