God Loves Obedience

Today, we celebrate 808 years of papal approval of the Order of Preachers, which took place on December 22, 1216. This approval, expressed in a letter by Pope Honorius III to St. Dominic, is a cornerstone for the Dominican Order, affirming our purpose through the authority of the Church. From its inception, our Order has embodied an extraordinary mission: the apostolic ministry of preaching. To truly be apostolic, this mission required not just inspiration, but also the approval and blessing of the successors of Peter, an essential mark of ecclesial authority in the Church. This endorsement was especially significant in Dominic’s time, when the privilege of preaching was exclusively reserved to bishops.

Clearly, this approval was more than a procedural formality. For years leading up to 1216, Dominic worked alongside bishop Diego de Acebo, other bishops, and even Pope Innocent III himself to combat heresy, particularly in southern France. Dominic’s success in preaching inspired a fresh model of evangelization, one that embraced both apostolic poverty and unyielding devotion to the Gospel. Yet it was ultimately Dominic’s obedience, not simply his practical success, that gained him the approval of the Order. His work was radical, attracting suspicion and critique, but his spirit and efforts won respect. Pope Innocent’s letter in 1206 sanctioned his preaching approach, yet it would take another decade before the Order of Preachers received formal papal recognition from the following pope, Honorius III, who declared the Order’s right to preach across dioceses and marking it as an Order with a distinct, universal mission.

This process of gradual development and eventual decision reflects a fundamental pattern in God’s relationship with humanity: He initiates dialogue and works through human cooperation, but in His time, He makes decisive choices and expects His faithful people to obey His will. We see this throughout salvation history, where God slowly reveals Himself through covenants and fulfills them through visible signs, as in the Incarnation and the establishment of the Church. God respects human freedom, inviting us to share in His work, yet He also provides moments of clarity and assurance—such as the Church’s confirmation of our Order—that guide us in a concrete, reliable path toward His will.

The papal approval of the Order of Preachers reminds us that God’s grace does not bypass structure or authority; instead, it sanctifies and elevates them. By uniting our apostolic mission to the authority of the Church, God affirms that our preaching is not our own but part of the Church’s mission to bring His Word to the world. As Dominican friars, we are entrusted with a privilege rooted in both divine calling and ecclesial endorsement, allowing us to participate in the Lord’s work in an ordered and communal way.

Today’s feast is therefore more than a remembrance of our founding; it is a testimony to how God dialogues with His people and makes clear, definitive actions within history, reminding us of the importance of obedience to His will. Through Dominic’s humble obedience to the Church, the Order gained its foundation, purpose, and enduring strength.