The St Dominic Guide to Defending your Faith

by Joanne Rolling

St Dominic (1170 - 1221) was the founder of the Order of Preachers and spent much of his life travelling the world preaching the faith through word and deed, fighting heresy, and defending the truth. We have so much to learn from his example and teaching, and this piece offers a 4 - part guide to defending your faith!

Study: 

St Dominic was devoted to the cause of truth. One of the mottos of the Order of Preachers, the religious order which he founded, is ‘veritas’ – truth. St Dominic recognised the necessity of theological literacy among those who would proclaim the truths of the Gospel, witnessing the damage caused by ignorant or negligent preaching[1]. Our first line of defence therefore starts with personal formation: you cannot defend your faith if you do not know it first. The purpose of study is twofold: it is both an asceticism which should facilitate personal conversion and a discipline which should enable us to engage in evangelisation. Both are inseparable aspects of bearing witness to Christ: preaching without practise is scandal. 

Study must begin by marinating in the meat of Scripture. Tradition holds that St Dominic knew St Matthew’s Gospel and the letters of St Paul by heart[2]. The Word of God roots us in the mind of Christ[3] and endows us with the ability to discern all things[4]. But defending our faith based on Scripture alone is fallacious. Just as St Dominic situated himself in the marketplace of ideas and the centres of intellectual development, so too must Christians pursue serious study of secular subjects. Truth, having nothing to fear from investigation, should be pursued relentlessly in all disciplines[5]. St Dominic believed that while there was all truth somewhere, there was also some truth everywhere[6]; for example, he saw what he could adopt from the Cathars and Waldensians and what had to change[7]. This requires us to hone our ability to perceive truth[8] as much as defend it. We must be like miners, sifting the dirt to find the diamond of truth in everything we encounter. 

Attentive Listening: 

There is a rather well-known story that when St. Dominic was traveling through southern France, he spent the night at an inn, the owner of which had joined a heretical sect. St. Dominic spent the whole night conversing with the innkeeper and by morning had converted him back to the Catholic faith[9]. One thing that can be deduced from this story is the necessity of dialogue; a rant or a monologue would not have resulted in the innkeeper’s conversion. 

St Dominic had a reputation for being a compassionate listener[10] and it is the ability to listen well which separates those speaking with conviction from those chastising with condemnation. In defending our faith, “the role of talking is frequently overemphasised”[11]. Rather, it is “silence and especially true listening which are often our strongest testimony”[12]. The silence of Zechariah preceded the proclamation of John the Baptist[13]. There is an asceticism to attentive listening[14]; it requires effort and an emptying of the self; it calls us to imitate Christ’s own kenosis[.1] . Defending our faith does not mean being defensive. Defensiveness is rooted in our own fragile ego whereas listening calls us out of ourselves and trains us in humility. St Dominic counselled his followers to always “be clothed with humility”[15] for then we wear the garments of Christ. 

Charitable speech: 

St Dominic was said to exhibit great gentleness of speech, especially when communicating with those who were in error[16]. By our words we will be judged[17] and careless words cost souls. The letter to St James admonishes us that any Christian who does not bridle his tongue renders his religion useless[18]. Every apologist has a particular responsibility to aggressively root out the ‘sins of the tongue’: gossip, lies, exaggerations, obscene language, criticism, sarcasm, teaching error, rash judgment, inciting fear or hatred, detraction, backbiting, calumny, complaining, blasphemy, mockery, glib consolation, boasting, flattery and ad hominum attacks. Love must infuse our speech if our words are to be heard as anything more than a noisy gong or clanging symbol[19].  

In any apologia, precise speech is imperative. Precision requires several things: that we do not assume either prior or accurate knowledge of our faith from others; that we do not use jargon; that we explain the meanings of our words and try to find mutually agreeable definitions. This renders justice to both ourselves and our neighbour as we allow each person to present an accurate argument and a fair defence of their position.  

Courage: 

St Dominic was known for his habitual courage[20] and his desire for martyrdom. Although he did not receive the grace of physically dying for Christ, there are important parallels between the defender of the faith and the martyr. Both bear witness to the Gospel through the public confession of Christ – at home, in the workplace, in civil society. In defending of our faith publicly, we risk facing bemusement, ignorance or derision from those we expose ourselves to, most painfully those closest to us. The public defence of our faith in word, deed or omission may well call for instances of interior martyrdom[21] but fortitude presupposes vulnerability because to be brave means to be able to suffer injury[22]. Yet the brave man suffers injury only for the sake of preserving a deeper intactness[23] , in this case, love. It was the furnace of divine love [24] which inspired St Dominic to seek the good of the other despite the personal cost. This conviction coupled with courage made him unstoppable. 

References:

[1] Very Rev J. B. O’Connor, OP. Saint Dominic and the Order of Preachers. 1916. The Holy Name Bureau. New York City. 

[2] Fr Richard Finn, OP. Dominic and the Order of Preachers. 2016. The Catholic Truth Society. 

[3] 1 Corinthians 2:16

[4] 1 Corinthians 2:15

[5] Pepperdine University. Seaver College. Affirmation Statement. California. 

[6] Fr Leon Pereira, OP. Dominican Mottos: Veritas.

[7] Fr Richard Finn, OP. Dominic and the Order of Preachers. 2016. The Catholic Truth Society. 

[8] Fr Timothy Radcliffe, OP. Sing A New Song: The Christian Vocation.  Templegate Publisher. 

[9] Fr Simon Gaine, OP. Homily for St Dominic’s Day. 2019. 

[10] Fr Richard Finn, OP. Dominic and the Order of Preachers. 2016. The Catholic Truth Society.

[11] Dallas Willard. The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives. 1999. HarperCollins e-books.

[12] Dallas Willard. The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives. 1999. HarperCollins e-books.

[13] Sr Claire Marie de Jesus Rolf, OP. Nuns at the Heart of Preaching.

[14] Fr Timothy Radcliffe, OP. Sing A New Song: The Christian Vocation.  Templegate Publisher.

[15] St Dominic 

[16] Very Rev J. B. O’Connor, OP. Saint Dominic and the Order of Preachers. 1916. The Holy Name Bureau. New York City.

[17] Matthew 12:37

[18] James 1:26

[19] 1 Corinthians 13:1

[20] Henri Lacordaire, OP. Life of St Dominic. 1883. Burns and Oates. 

[21] Peter T Sanlon. Augustine’s Theology of Preaching. 2014. Fortress Press.

[22] Josef Pieper. The Four Cardinal Virtues. 1966. University of Notre Dame Press. 

[23] Ibid

[24] Very Rev J. B. O’Connor, OP. Saint Dominic and the Order of Preachers. 1916. The Holy Name Bureau. New York City.