Dominic came to Osma in either 1196 or 1197, when he was 24 or 25. About a year later, after his profession in the chapter, he was ordained a priest. He stayed there for about 9 years. Those years in Osma were very formative. Dominic must have been struck by the contrast between Caleruega, his home-town and Osma, the small clerical town in which he now found himself. Caleruega was situated in a harsh and barren landscape; Osma was a peaceful place, its life dominated by an imposing cathedral whose bell called the canons to the hours of prayer in the cathedral choir. We are told that the inhabitants of the town "shared the tranquillity of the life of the clergy". Vicaire, pointing out the huge difference between Caleruega and Osma, writes: "Over in Caleruega, the broad horizons, the sun, the cold, spreading widely over a landscape which lay exposed to them without defence, expressed the call to heroism that could not be other than tense. Here the city nestling in the hills at the side of the streams, dominated by an imposing cathedral with its romanesque cloister, spoke only of recollection" (p.32)

Dominic had, in a sense, been prepared for the tranquil life of a canon of Osma by his years of study in Palencia. In Palencia he had eagerly become acquainted with the scriptures, meditating on them and analysing them for long hours, day and night; now in Osma he had even more time to savour them in peace, to pray them constantly, to let them mould him. His time here was given to study and prayer, both interior contemplative prayer and the public celebration of the eucharist and the divine office in the cathedral. Of course, he did reach out pastorally to the people of the town in many ways, and particularly in his preaching. He must have been delighted to have the chance to share with them the word of God which he himself was devouring so avidly and lovingly. The people whom he met and cared for outside the monastery would also have helped him to pray as they told him of their sorrows and needs.

Jordan of Saxony describes Dominic's prayer in the following way:God had given him a special grace to pray for sinners, the poor, those in distress; he made their misfortunes his own in the intimate sanctuary ofhis compassion, and the tears which welled from his eyes were an indicationof the fervour burning within him.

We associate Osma with Dominic's initiation into a life of prayer and study. Later on, when he threw himself into the task of preaching, he still devoted himself to prayer and study. What he had learnt in Osma stood to him all his life. So, in concentrating on Osma today, we are reflecting not only on a certain period in Dominic's life, but also on an essential dimension of his preaching life, and of our own lives as Dominicans. It might be helpful in this context to reflect on the call to prayer and study which we have received as part of our Dominican vocation. There are many ways to take up this topic. Today I would like to focus on just two of these ways, largely influenced by what the General Chapter of the Order held at Providence, USA, 2 years ago, has to say about the intellectual life.

Here we find emphasised that study belongs to the contemplative dimension of our Dominican life; and that it is linked essentially to our apostolic mission to preach the Word of God.As regards the contemplative dimension of study, we can say that in our tradition, and this is highly evident in Dominic's own life, study flows from prayer and leads to prayer. Paraphrasing what Thomas Aquinas says about theology, we can accept that it should begin on our knees, and send us back to our knees. In one way or another, all study, not just directly theological study, should draw us into prayer, make us prayerful and send us out prayerfully. This is because all study, worthy of the name, and certainly the study to which Dominicans are asked to dedicate themselves, brings us smack-up against truth, and ultimately all truth is God's truth. God is truth; Jesus says: "I am the way, the truth, and the life". Thomas Aquinas describes contemplation as "the simple act of gazing at the truth". This is hopefully what we do in our study too. We gaze at truth; we turn it round (like a crystal), we look at is from different angles, we probe its hidden depths, until we are nourished and satisfied.

Aquinas, in his statement about contemplation, doesn't just say that it is the simple act of gazing at the truth; he goes further and states that the act of gazing at the truth gives rise within us to a great delight. I suppose it is easy enough to accept all this in the case of the study of scripture, or even theology, but the more that prayer, contemplation, wonder, and delight, become a feature of whatever study we engage ourselves in, be it philosophy, language, home-care. mathematics, cosmology, pedagogy, the more we can be assured that it is the kind of study to which Dominicans are called. And then, the Providence Acts remind us also that in our Dominican tradition, study is not an end in itself; rather we study ultimately so that we can be helpful to others in their quest for God/salvation. We study therefore not just for our own satisfaction but also for others. Study helps us to "work thoughtfully". It enables us to have a word of truth to share with others, and to unfold for them the message of God's love and mercy.

We sometimes need to be reminded of this for we can get confused about the purpose of our study as Dominicans. It's not about acquiring a string of letters after our name but about preaching the gospel. "The mission of our Order is not to create intellectuals but to form preachers" the document says. There is an important focus to keep before us when we undertake study.

The purpose of our study will often dictate what we will study. It may not always be the topic or area which attracts us most, but the topic or area that will open a bigger and better world for others. Of course, we will all try to immerse ourselves in God's word in scripture - that word which either gives life and meaning to,or contradicts and challenges, what is going on in society as well as in our own lives. Jordan advises his friend, Diana, in one of his letters: "Read over this Word in your heart, turn it over in your mind, let it be as sweet as honey on your lips, ponder it, dwell on it, that it may dwell with you and in you for ever." (Vann, To Heaven with Diana, Chicago, 1960, L.31) Meister Eckhart reminds us that the only word we can give to others is the word that has been born within us. (cf. Eckhart's sermon on Paul's advice to Timothy, "preach the word in season and out of season." (I Tim.) Pregnancy, birthing are long and sometimes difficult processes; so is gestating and bringing to birth God's word. But the joy of finding that a word of God has come to life in a new way for us is like the joy of a mother who holds her new-born child in her arms.


These 2 characteristics of Dominican study - its contemplative nature, and its apostolic purpose, - help us to see what Jordan of Saxony is getting at in his beautiful statement (in the Libellus 7) about Dominic: Dominic had the ability to pierce through to the hidden core of the many difficult questions of his day "thanks to a humble intelligence of the heart." How do we arrive at this humble intelligence of the heart? Surely it is through prayerful study and through a sensitive (felt in the heart) concern for others? A humble intelligence of the heart helps us to be attentive and probing, going as far as we can to find answers to the difficult questions of our day but at the same time not being afraid, when we reach the limits of our intelligence and experience, to receive help from others and to submit to the infinite wisdom of God. Arising from this line of thought, the Providence document makes the assertion that contemplative (or sapiential) study "unfolds itself necessarily as intellectual compassion". Intellectual compassion, it adds, is a form of compassion which presupposes insights gained or developed by study; and also a form of insight which leads to compassion.

If we were aware that our study, even when it is not particularly exciting or easy, is able to give us knowledge and insight which can make us compassionate, perhaps we would be more eager to spend the time, the effort, and the perseverance on it which it needs! The document is extraordinary in the penetrating and beautiful way it talks about study. It adds that when we become intellectually compassionate through our study, we are able to share with others "the mercy of truth" (misericordia veritatis). How different might our approach to study be if we realised that through it we are being given the means to offer people the mercy of truth. That's what Dominic was offering the Albigensians: the mercy of truth. How badly our world needs the mercy of truth! - not harsh truth but merciful truth arising from intellectual compassion. If Dominic was able to pierce through to the core of the difficult questions of his day through the humble intelligence of his heart, we also need that humble intelligence of the heart, that intellectual compassion, to address the difficult questions of our day, and there are many of these questions begging for the mercy of truth in all our situations.

The approach to study which we have been looking at here seems to me to bring beautifully together the two essential dimensions of the christian life: love of God and love of neighbour; and, at the same time, the two essential dimensions of our Dominican life: contemplari et contemplata aliis tradere.

Mary O'Driscoll op