Duc in Altum

Published in Dominican Ashram , Vol. 4 No. 4 (December 2022), pp. 176-179. Reproduced with permission. M Y RECENT STUDY of the history of the Catholic Missions in Central India roused my desire to know something about the history of the community where I am assigned, namely, St. Dominic Ashram, Nagpur and the Province of India that eventually took its birth from it. Since I was not content with the fragmentary information available in the public domain, one of the friars suggested that I request access to the community chronicles. My Prior readily obliged and I was handed a voluminous red ledger book, its pages slightly yellowed with age and its binding in a delicate condition. As I opened it in search of a few historical facts, I was pleasantly surprised to find a captivating picture of those early days which, although not too distant in the past, are still quite a treat for the modern reader. I invite you to join me as I try to recount and re-paint this engrossing account. Building...

  A poem published in Dominican Ashram , Vol. 4 No. 2 (June 2022), pp. 83-85. Reproduced with permission. Like fragrant incense, rising up In clouds before the altar, The fragrance of your sanctity, Has filled the Church with wonder. And like a candle burns itself out To illumine the deep’ning darkness So your sacrificial life has brought To sinners, light and gladness. Father, Dominic, your earthly life Radiated Christ the Light: O Lumen Ecclesiae , Shine on us today.   Like gentle music, which delights The ears of all who listen, Your voice resounded ceaselessly In tireless, holy preaching. And like a solemn hymn or psalm Gives joy to all its singers, So you announced the Gospel loud Bringing salvation to us, sinners. Father, Dominic, in silence now Your voice is yet more clear and loud. O Doctor Veritatis , Guide our steps to Jesus.   Like grains of wheat that fall and die To yield a hundredfold, In penitence you...

A poem published in the annual magazine of the Dominican Studentate at Nagpur, Veritas , Vol. 18 (2021-22), pg. 52. W hen Adam’s side was opened, while he slept in Paradise, O ut of his ribs, God fashioned a companion by his side. ‘ M other of all the living’, Eve was Adam’s wife A nd sin came to all nature when she heeded Satan’s wiles. N evertheless, her fault was healed in God’s appointed time.   W hen Mary said her ‘Fiat’ to the Angel Gabriel, O vershadowed by the Spirit, she conceived Emmanuel. M other of the Redeemer and of the new Israel, A ll generations shall hail her and proclaim her blessed N ow that she has trampled on the infernal serpent’s head.   W hen Christ’s side was opened on the Cross at Calvary O ut of his heart, blood and water flowed to renew humanity M ystically forming the Church, his ever-living Body. A dorned with twelve stars and the moon, shining radiantly N ow the Bride of Christ is ready for the nuptials of eternit...

Published in Dominican Ashram , Vol. 3 Issue 3 (September 2021), pp. 117-121. Reproduced with permission. In the year 1321, seven centuries ago, a zealous Dominican missionary, Jordan de Catalani of Severac, together with four Franciscan companions, arrived in India, having left from Tabriz in Persia and sailing along the coast to reach Thane (off present-day Mumbai) on the shores of the West Coast of India. They were not the first friars to visit the country. About thirty years earlier, the Franciscan Giovanni da Monte Corvino and the Dominican Nicolo di Pistoia had arrived in South India en route to their mission in China. However, due to the promising prospects of missionary work in India, Nicolo was asked to stay on in South India to care for the small Christian community in the Mylapore region. Unfortunately, his plans came to an abrupt end with his untimely sickness and death. So, Jordan and his companions had stepped in to fill this vacancy, hopeful of reaping an abundant harves...

  Published in Dominican Ashram , Vol. 3, Issue 1 (March 2021), pp. 16-21. Reproduced with permission. As a humble husband, father and head of the family, St. Joseph appears to be in the shadows of the life of Jesus and Mary at Nazareth. And yet, this carpenter of whom very little is said in the Scriptures, was declared the patron of the Universal Church, by Pope Pius IX in 1870. Celebrating the hundred and fiftieth anniversary of this momentous declaration, Pope Francis has declared the Year of St. Joseph affording an opportunity for the entire Church to contemplate more closely the life and virtues of St. Joseph. At first glance, it may appear that the Dominican Order has no associations with devotion to St. Joseph. Interestingly, however, the Dominicans were among the first Religious Orders to introduce a liturgical celebration of St. Joseph into their calendar in 1518 (about 40 years after the Franciscans had done so). The observance of this feast by the mendicant Orders was t...