Preaching

I've understood very little about the nature of preaching. I think I've been so conditioned by the bible-thumping sense of verbal preaching that it has taken my thick head a while (and a lot of grace, no doubt) to understand and appreciate it a little bit better.

After the communion antiphon at mass the other day, something called to mind one of the things I read the night before about St. Dominic. It said, to paraphrase, that there was never a person who met St. Dominic who went away not feeling good.

After the antiphon, I was given to wonder why or how that was so. Was it merely the saint's habit of encouragement and exhortation? Was it just his personality? Although St. Dominic seems to have been a charming man, I suspect there must have been more to it. I wonder if the effect he had on people was the effect of Christ radiating from St. Dominic. If to radiate Christ is to radiate the Word, then it seems that it was precisely his charism of preaching that was at work!

This brings greater depth to the idea that Dominicans should contemplate and share the fruits of contemplation. For what are the fruits of contemplation? Surely they are insights and wisdom to be verbally shared with others, but what if we also consider that the fruit of contemplation is holiness?

When we contemplate, by God's grace we may be brought closer to him. As we approach he radiates from us with an intensity proportional to our proximity to him. Exuding, transmitting the Word, is the very heart of preaching, is it not? This kind of essential preaching gives others an experience of the word, not merely the sound of the word. This is not simply "giving witness by example," but is a direct outlet of the word, by the action of the Holy Spirit, from preacher to soul. It is an encounter of the Word fully alive in another person.

So perhaps in this way, those who encountered St. Dominic encountered our Lord profoundly in their hearts, and that is why they were left feeling good. Were our hearts not on fire? They might have asked. Was it an experience similar to -- if to a lesser degree -- the Apostles' experience when they encountered Jesus for the first time. They must have felt something powerful indeed if they dropped their nets, dropped everything, to follow him after so few words spoken. It must be a wonderful thing to experience. Is it any wonder that so many conversions result from encounters with saints like Dominic?

If this is preaching's pinnacle, then indeed, what a grace it is! And if that is preaching's pinnacle, how far I am from it!