"Duc in altum!" - "Set forth into the deep!"
- Luke 5: 4
This is the Century of the Holy Spirit -
Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicemus tibi; quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum - We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your holy Corss, you have redeemed the world.
- To strive ceaselessly to hear ever more clearly God's Word, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, taking that Word to heart and shaping one's life according to it.
- To speak about the faith and even instruct, strengthen, and motivate others, not only non-believers, but fellow Christians as well and to manifest Christ's message by words and deeds and to communicate His grace to the world.
- To lead others - not only non-believers but fellow Christians - to a deeper faith, not simply by our words but also by our deeds, making the Gospel known and more holy through the witness of an exemplary life.
- To learn the deepest meaning and value of all creation, and how to relate it to the praise and glory of God.
- To be appreciative of our own humanity and the mysteries of being human: the body, feeling, emotion, love, sex, work, play, community celebration, art, science, the aspirations of the human mind and the longings of the human heart.
- To work to see that created goods are more fittingly distributed among men and women and in our own way lead to general progress in human and Christian liberty.
- To establish firmly in our hearts the kingdom of God wherein all creation itself will be delivered out of the slavery to corruption and into the freedom of the sons and daughters of God.
- To struggle to free ourselves from the value system of our society - whatever it may be - in order to judge and act by the justice of God and the norms of the Gospel.
- To bear witness to the power and glory of Christian love for the inspiration of others.
- To promote the unity of all Christians and dialogue with non-Christians and non-believers.
- To be dedicated in a special way, with authentic mercy, to the defense of freedom, to social justice and peace, and above all the defense of human dignity, to remedying the different forms of suffering, to relieving the misery of those suffering injustice, working assiduously to change the institutions of society that generate suffering, whether it be economic, psychic, social, moral, or spiritual.
- To pursue a social order marked by justice, peace, and freedom for each human being, regardless of race, sex, age, or other distinction and to imbue culture and human activities with moral value.
Refer to Internet Article: Dominican Spirituality and Vatican II Expectations of Lay People with much thanks to God and utmost appreciation to the charism of our Holy Father Dominic de Guzman made present in Christopher Kiesling, O.P.