Following a wonderful weekend in London visiting some beautiful churches (blog post to follow), I returned to Leicester in time to see the final preparations being made for the Feast of St Dominic.

And what a day it was! A low-key Lauds this morning, a Solemn Mass at lunchtime with well-chosen hymns, lovely singing and a moving homily. This was followed this evening by Solemn Vespers and Benediction.

Since I was brought into the church by the Order of Preachers, the “Dominican Way” has become THE Way that I am familiar with. My excursions to London and Newcastle have shown that the warmth and humour I have noticed is common to many of the Order. As I further explore that special something that distinguishes the Order from the Catholic Church in general, I keep coming back to the saint himself.

The little I have read about St Dominic presents him to me as a man with great faith but also a deep understanding of how the world “works”. Trying to inspire others in a world actively trying to move away from religion but find deeper meaning sounds like a job for the man I’ve read about but now instead of St Dominic and his small “band of brothers”, we have over 6000 Dominicans carrying the torch around the world! May we pray for their work and all who support them. May we also build up the pillars of Study, Community, Prayer and Mission in own lives.