THROUGH UNTRUE

            Yesterday we celebrated the feast day of St. Dominic de Guzman, the founder of the Order of Preachers, more widely known as the Dominican Order.  Although he died more than 800 years ago, his spirit remains alive in the world through the Dominican priests, brothers, contemplative nuns, sisters, lay tertiaries, and priestly fraternities.

            What kind of creatures are these Dominicans? To answer the question, let me share with you this origin myth, somewhat similar to the late Erma Bombeck's classic piece about mothers.

            When Dominic decided to establish the Order of Preachers, he did not want followers who are distressingly ordinary, so he begged God to create Alpha men and women imbued with excellent qualities and abilities.

            God told Dominic: “The Dominicans you want seem difficult to create. First, you want them to be motormouths who can talk sensibly and eloquently at 180 words per minute without losing their voice or their enthusiasm. Then you expect them to have a brain that can understand the most sublime and profane ideas, break these down into parts, then put these all together again in simple terms for people to understand."

            God continued: "You also want me to invest them with charisma and eloquence that will leave their listeners spellbound. They will tirelessly preach the message of salvation to all, and yet they will still find time for assiduous study, considered by many as an unrewarding and dry-as-dust enterprise. They must possess a hard-knuckle intellect able to distinguish between things that appear similar but are actually poles apart, like price and value, power and authority, necessary and urgent, and satisfaction and fulfillment. They must be a moral lightning rod that can defuse the blazing power of evil and error. They must have limitless energy for work, overwhelming compassion for others, and an unquenchable thirst for solitude and prayer.

            God looked at Dominic in the eye and said: "If I put all those qualities and abilities in a person, he will become your clone. I don't create clones, only individuals with their unique abilities and idiosyncrasies.

Dominic humbly replied: "I am sorry dear God. I leave it to You to mold a Dominican as You see fit."

After a few days, while in prayer, Dominic saw God putting the finishing touches of a mold that would serve as the model of the first Dominican. He touched it and said: “Lord, this creature is too soft and fragile.”  God replied: “Only on the outside. It is very tough inside.  You cannot imagine what this creature can endure.”

            St. Dominic looked at the creature's face. He was surprised to see drops of water falling from the left eye.  He called God's attention and said: “Dear God, This first Dominican is terribly flawed. There is a leak in the eye.”

            God replied:  “There is no leak.  Those are teardrops-—for joy, sadness, triumphs, failures, betrayals, guilt, regret, loneliness, disappointment, fulfillment.”

            St. Dominic said: “How wise of you to place those teardrops there.”  To his surprise, God replied: “No, I did not place those there. Those teardrops prove that the heart of this creature works. That's how I want your followers to be: HUMAN."