BLACK AND WHITE This week our Supplement is printed in the “Dominican” colours of black and white. Why these colours? They are the colours of the Dominican habit – but why so? THE WHITE At Baptism, each of is us clothed in a white garment. “You have become a new creation,” the priest says, “and have clothed yourself in Christ. See in this white garment the outward sign of your Christian dignity…” White is then the basic colour for all liturgical ministries: for the acolytes, for example, and although the priest and deacon wear coloured vestments on top, the white garment or “alb” underneath is always put on first. Before founding the Order, Dominic was a canon of Osma cathedral. Canons spent a great deal of time in church at prayer – perhaps even more than many monks – and so wore white. When Dominic founded his Order, it was natural enough that they adopted the white of their founder, who had until then been a canon. In fact, at first they wore a white surplice, too, though that was soon changed to the scapular, possibly under Cistercian influence, as Dominic was impressed by the monks of Citeaux and took many of the Order’s customs from them. THE BLACK If the white recalls our Baptism and the strong liturgical dimension of Dominican life, the black seems to have had a more prosaic origin. Europe can be cold in Winter, and the friars had to be out on the road, preaching. They needed a thick woollen cloak – and the cheapest wool to be had was black, unbleached wool. (People preferred white wool which could be dyed.) The evidence is that it was simple unbleached wool from black sheep – and often had traces of white or russet mixed in. In other words, it was far from high fashion, but that suited Dominic’s ideals for his band of poor preachers. Do Dominicans see everything in Black and White? This claim is sometimes made, suggesting that Dominicans lack subtlety, or that they are unable to see that there may be “grey areas” in theology, for example. In fact, every Dominican knows the scholastic adage, “semper distinguere” – never deny, rarely affirm, always distinguish! St Thomas begins every question in his Summa with the arguments of his opponents. “Is there a God?” he asks, and continues, “It seems that there is no God …” and gives – seriously and with full weight – the arguments of atheists. He then explains the five ways by which we may come to know God, before going back to give his answer to those original objections. Of course, over the course of eight hundred years, some Dominicans have been (and some may still be) unsubtle in their arguments or blinded by prejudices. They are human, after all. But the authentic tradition is otherwise. Some Trivia in Black and White Here we present some bits and pieces associated with the Order over the eight hundred years since St Dominic’s death. Did you know these already? THE OLYMPIC MOTTO The motto of the Olympic Games has just been changed by the addition of the Latin word “communiter” (in English, “together”, in French, “ensemble”), but did you know that the original motto – Citius, altius, fortius or Faster, higher, stronger – was written by a Dominican priest? Wikipedia explains: It was proposed by Pierre de Coubertin upon the creation of the International Olympic Committee in 1894. Coubertin borrowed it from his friend Henri Didon, a Dominican priest who was an athletics enthusiast. Coubertin said “These three words represent a programme of moral beauty. The aesthetics of sport are intangible.” The motto was introduced in 1924 at the Olympic Games in Paris. THE TWO CRESTS Over the centuries, the Order has used variations on two crests. The first, the “cappatum”, resembles the habit of the Order: the black cappa and capuce over the white tunic and scapular. The second, more ornate, and known as the “liliatum”, is a cross tipped with fleur-de-lys, the flower emblematic of France, where the Order began, on a black-and-white shield. SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA WAS NOT A NUN The desire to live one’s baptismal consecration more intensely in the charism of St Dominic takes many forms. In the parish here, we are familiar with the friars and the sisters. The very first Dominicans were women: the nuns at Prouille. Nuns are essentially full-time enclosed contemplatives. Australia does not yet have a community of Dominican nuns. The sisters we know so well in the parish live in community, like the friars, a “mixed” life of contemplation and apostolate. But Catherine was not a sister in this sense either: she did not live in community. She was a lay woman who belonged to the mantelleta – so called from the cloak they wore – a pious society of women in the Dominican charism who followed a rule with certain prayers and penances, and who undertook apostolic works like visiting the sick in prison. The nearest group to his in our parish is the Dominican Laity (formerly called ‘tertiaries.’) THE MOTTOES Three ‘mottoes’ are often ascribed to the Order. Each of them is worthy of a longer reflection, but for now we list them briefly. Veritas means “truth”. The life-long pursuit of truth should be the goal of every Dominican. Laudare, benedicere, prædicare comes from the Preface for Masses of Our Lady, and means “to praise, to bless and to preach”. Contemplata aliis tradere means “to hand on the fruits of contemplation to others”, a motto which summarises the Dominican “mixed life” of contemplation and apostolic work, especially preaching. 8th Centenary of the Death of St Dominic 3rd Supplement – 25.07.2021 800 YEARS OF DOMINICAN MUSIC “According to the desire of St. Dominic, the solemn and common celebration of the liturgy must be maintained among the principal duties of our vocation.” So read the friars’ Constitutions (n.57) and from the earliest foundation of the nuns at Prouille down to our own time, music has been an integral part of Dominican liturgy. The most important treatise on musical theory in the middle ages was the Tractatus de Musica written by a Dominican, Jerome of Moravia, in Paris in the late thirteenth century. Though mainly concerned with chant, it also contains detailed instructions on how to play two instruments, the viella and the rubeba – predecessors of the modern violin and viol. The Second Vatican Council declared that “The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as especially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services.” Sadly, despite this endorsement, chant is far from having “pride of place” in much of the Catholic world. At least in its simplest form, however, it continues to play a major part in the friars’ celebration of the Divine Office. Parishioners are welcome to join us – the times are posted by the main door. Modern Dominican composers are not lacking, however. For the 800th anniversary of the Pope’s approval of the Order in 1216, the Philippine province produced an attractive anthem based on the motto Laudare, benedicere, prædicare, and for this year’s anniversary of St Dominic’s death we will be singing a composition by some local-grown talent. More later! It is hard to cover music adequately in a written medium like this page, however, so here are a few links to Dominican music you can listen to on the web! Some favourite Dominican chants: Ave Regina caelorum: https://youtu.be/DO4eMvt9CkE (An antiphon to the Virgin Mary, sung at the end of the daily office. Sung here by some young friars in Switzerland.) O Spem Miram: https://youtu.be/8Vw9lv2c8sY (A responsory, recalling St Dominic’s death-bed promise: that he would be more useful to his brethren after his decease than before. Sung here by friars of the Province of France.) Requiem æternum : https://youtu.be/5wluHwu0z7E Introit for the Mass of the dead, sung by friars of the Dominican House of Studies in Washington. The 2016 Jubilee anthem Laudare, Benedicere, Prædicare: https://youtu.be/8pgXk2P4va0 (Province of the Philippines) Some music by Fr James Marchionda, O.P. (from the United States): Make us One : https://youtu.be/jhK3QredfAA As We Forgive : https://youtu.be/VTpDoN06h-8 For the Young (and the Young of Heart) 8th Centenary of the Death of St Dominic 3rd Supplement – 25.07.2021 .