Wednesday, the Memorial of St. Dominic
(Numbers 13-14)
Caleb sounds like the rambunctious voice of youth as he urges the Israelites to form an expedition into Canaan in the first reading today. The land seemed unassailable to the scouts who examined it. Perhaps Caleb’s confidence comes from the assurance that the Israelites have more than swords and shields to claim the land. God, who has accompanied them past high waters and ensuing armies, has promised them victory.
Caleb’s nerve is matched by St. Dominic’s many centuries later. In 1217 Dominic had just received papal confirmation for the Order of Preachers. He had a group of seventeen men in various stages of formation walled up in a house in Prouille, France. They had much to learn about the apostolic life, but Dominic saw the need to begin an expedition of preaching throughout the world. “Wheat stored up in bins only rots,” he told the friars as he sent them forth in different directions. With God’s help they successfully established communities and then provinces.
Often we face what appear to be daunting challenges. Sometimes it’s a diet or exercise regime that we just don’t think we are up to. Sometimes it has to do with relationships whose disruption may make life unpleasant. A woman, for example, recently had to tell her company’s administration that her supervisor was stealing company funds. Certainly her action would seem a betrayal to the thief-supervisor and, likely as well, to other employees. With prayer and perhaps some consultation, we can – like St. Dominic – boldly move ahead to do what we know to be right.
