When we Dominicans talk of Evangelisation, we mean more than just taking the Gospel to people who don’t know it. It means first of all our own reflection on the Gospel in relation to the times we live in, and then taking the results of this reflection to as many people as we can. We have a Latin motto “contemplata aliis tradere’, which means ‘handing on to others the fruit of our reflections’. We also talk of “reading the signs of the times”.

  • We reflect on the social, political and economic systems and practices that make life fragile for so many, practices such as the use of warfare to dominate others. We have named this the “frontier between life and death”. Jesus came so that people may have life, and life in abundance.
  • We reflect on the inhuman prejudices that ignore the human dignity and value of other people, prejudices that result in racial, gender, national, religious, economic and class marginalisation in others. We call this the “frontier between humanity and inhumanity”. In the Gospel Jesus considered each and every human person to be important.
  • We reflect on the differences that divide Christians off from Moslems, Jews, Hindu’s, Buddhists and others. We call this the “frontier of Christian experience”. Jesus wanted the whole world to become one vast community of peoples.
  • We reflect on the growth of Secularism, where millions of people have no interest in God. We have entitled this the “frontier of religious experience”. Jesus spoke continually of God as his father and the father of all.
  • We reflect on the division of Christianity into so many denominations, sects, and individuals. We call this the “frontiers of the Church”. Jesus prayed that we may all be one.

It is out of these reflections, and our contemplation of God, that our evangelising mission begins. We call it A MISSION ON THE FRONTIERS.

 Our founder, Saint Dominic, walked the roads of Western Europe, carrying the Gospel of Matthew with him, and preaching in every village he passed through. He was always on the move. He wanted his brethren to imitate the life of the apostles, going out to people and spreading the good news of the Kingdom. He called it “the Apostolic Way of Life”.

 Dominicans today are similarly on the move, going out to groups of people, always available to spread the word. While many of our brethren do work in parishes, it is not taken for granted that they will work only in parishes, or only with Catholics. In this way we differ from many other congregations of priests.  

Our other ways of evangelising are that we give talks, lectures, retreats, parish missions, etc to whoever invites us, and we organise some of these ourselves.

Some of our brethren are full-time chaplains to Universities, Schools, Prisons, Sodalities, Lay Apostolate Groups, Youth groups, and so on. Others spend their time writing books and articles, or teach in Seminaries and Universities. We preach on the radio and on the Internet.

All this comes under the heading of Evangelisation.