The Order of Preachers (The Dominicans) was established in 1216 by St. Dominic de Guzman “for preaching and the salvation of souls.” Following the Rule of St. Augustine and the Constitutions of the Order of Preachers, Dominican friars devote their lives to study, contemplation, and preaching, united by their common profession of obedience and the living of the Evangelical Counsels, in order to be effect instruments in Christ’s saving plan.

The Book of Constitutions and Ordinations of the Brothers of the Order of Preachers provides five major elements to the way in which a Dominican follows Christ: the common life, celebration of the liturgy and prayer, the observance of the vows, the assiduous study of truth, and the apostolic ministry of the Word. Each of the elements is essential, and the whole must be simultaneously maintained for the full vibrancy of Dominican life to be revealed.

Already we see just within this schematic outline the dynamic tension at the heart of the Dominican life: Dominicans are not half-contemplative and half-apostolic, but fully both at the same time. These two are not in conflict, but in counter-position, each driving the other to be more fruitfully and completely lived. The goal of the Dominican life is not to contemplate at some times and to preach at other times, but to develop a contemplative vision, enabling the friar to “pray at all times in the Spirit” (Eph 6:18), living his life as an act of preaching, a holy witness to the abiding presence of Jesus Christ. It is for this reason that the Dominican conventual life has been known as “the holy preaching”; because even in his moments of repose and restoration, the Dominican’s life is to be a harmonious clarion to the Kingdom of God.