New Wine of Dominican Spirituality

There is a Dominican spirituality which is entirely distinctive and is inspired by the great Saint St Dominic himself. The Dominican Order of Friars was founded specifically to engage with the world-not to live in contemplative seclusion. There has always been a strong intellectual strain in the Dominican tradition. Like St Thomas Aquinas and Edward Schillebeeckx some of the greatest Christian thinkers have been Dominicans.

With the conviction that Dominican spirituality is for everyone and for people of all sorts and conditions, Paul Murray OP has written a charming and forceful short book. The Gospel invites us to taste a new wine- a wine of ever lasting joy. Indeed Christian belief is supposed to make people happy. One reason so many in society today feel unfulfilled and are not happy is because the vision of life we are offered is one that is restricted to a pragmatic one dimensional view of the world. The Dominican path is truly broad and joyous and here Paul Murray makes available some of the different voices from the whole of the Dominican tradition. Much emphasis is laid on the order's motto - Truth. Christian life is concerned with exploring the truth-not just objective truth of propositions but the truth within ourselves which is the truth that will make us free.

In this gentle and persuasive book, the author points to the underlying presence of God joy in our work and leisure but above all in our view and understanding of ourselves.