ABOUT US
THE SPIRITUALITY OF OUR INSTITUTE
In the family of St Dominic. The Secular Dominican Institute of Orléans is affiliated to the Order of Preachers and has drawn on the spirituality of St Dominic since its inception. In our daily life we strive to live out the Dominican motto Contemplare et contemplata aliis tradere, that is, to contemplate and to transmit the fruits of contemplation to others. Prayer, both liturgical and personal, is very important in our lives. In prayer, following the example of St Dominic, we speak to God about people; while living in the world, in the midst of our daily duties, we try to speak to people about God. We do this, however, only when we are unable to show by our lives in any other way that He is in us and in our midst.
Together with Jesus Crucified. The Institute was founded under the invocation of Jesus Crucified, and as a result, each of us strives to honour Christ in a special way by incorporating our entire lives in His saving sacrifice and Paschal victory. Our patronal feast is celebrated on 14 September, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
Together with Jesus Crucified. The Institute was founded under the invocation of Jesus Crucified, and as a result, each of us strives to honour Christ in a special way by incorporating our entire lives in His saving sacrifice and Paschal victory. Our patronal feast is celebrated on 14 September, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
PILLARS OF DOMINICAN SPIRITUALITY
Prayer. Every day we participate in the Eucharist; it is the central moment of the day. An extension of the Eucharist in our lives is the Liturgy of the Hours. We also practice interior prayer, which is our personal conversation with God. Each day we also contemplate the mysteries of Christ's life with Mary in the prayer of the Rosary.
Study. It is very important for each of us to encounter the Word of God. We try to let it penetrate our hearts and transform our personal lives. We also try to broaden our theological knowledge and learn about the various currents of contemporary thought and cultural currents, which is the basis of our apostolate.
Apostolate. Our mission is centred on contributing to making Christ present at the heart of human affairs and ensuring that the Good News of salvation is proclaimed, known and accepted. Our apostolate consists primarily in bearing witness to this life in our engagements in the world and, as appropriate, in service to the Church. From within, the members of the Institute contribute to the transformation of the world and the building of a civilisation of love.
Study. It is very important for each of us to encounter the Word of God. We try to let it penetrate our hearts and transform our personal lives. We also try to broaden our theological knowledge and learn about the various currents of contemporary thought and cultural currents, which is the basis of our apostolate.
Apostolate. Our mission is centred on contributing to making Christ present at the heart of human affairs and ensuring that the Good News of salvation is proclaimed, known and accepted. Our apostolate consists primarily in bearing witness to this life in our engagements in the world and, as appropriate, in service to the Church. From within, the members of the Institute contribute to the transformation of the world and the building of a civilisation of love.
Community.The members of the Institute, despite their lack of communal life and their dispersion in the world, are called to live in a profound fraternal unity, which is realised in relationships, in the exchange of ideas and in communion in prayer. We endeavour to form our bonds along the lines of the first Jerusalem community, where the brothers had one heart and one soul (cf. Acts 4:32). Members meet once a year for retreats, they also participate in common days of recollection, and take an active part in the meetings of their regions, being careful to be open to those who, due to age or health, can no longer actively participate in common meetings.
OUR SAINTS
Each of us is close to some saints, but for all of us as a community of the Secular Dominican Institute of Orleans the most important are:
St Dominic
Saint Father Dominic, founder of the Dominican Order, is a model for us of a life focused on God and at the same time bringing Him closer to people. By day he told people about God and by night he told God about people. We also try to follow this path.
painting by Fra Angelico
St Catherine of Siena
Saint Catherine embraced the Church and the Order with her prayers. As a consecrated lay person, she created her interior cell and knew how to live in it while immersed in the affairs of the world. She is for us a model of devotion to the Church and a model of contemplative life in a lay setting.
painting from the Church of Saint Mary of the Rosary in Rome