About Godzdogz

Welcome to Godzdogz! This blog is run by the student brothers of the English Dominican Province, based at Blackfriars, Oxford. Since 2006, we have been creating written and digital content that explores the Catholic Faith and engages with our contemporary culture.

We post on a wide range of topics, covering the four pillars of our Dominican life – preaching, prayer, study, and community life:

1. Preaching

Dominican friars belong to the Order of Preachers: we exist to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ! Here you will find reflections on Bible readings, meditations on the Rosary and the Stations of the Cross, and sermons for feast days, including podcasts and videos.

2. Prayer & Liturgy

We cannot preach if we have not first learned to listen to God in prayer. In Dominican spirituality, we seek to contemplate and to pass on the fruits of contemplation. Drawing inspiration from the Mass, the Divine Office and private meditation, we offer reflections on worship and the Christian life of prayer.

3. Study

Assiduous attention to the Word of God, by which we are enabled to preach Christ and through which we contemplate him, is a vital part of the Dominican life. We post articles related to our study, including helpful resources for Catholic teachers or the inquisitive layman. You can also ask any question you like and we will do our best to answer it in our ‘Quodlibet’ series!

4. Community Life

We live in Dominican priories across Britain and also in the West Indies. Community life is the rich soil in which our prayer, study and preaching take place; it helps to keep our feet on the ground and inspires us to be brothers to one another. Together, we praise, bless and preach Jesus Christ. This section shares events, news and photos of the student brothers and the Priory of the Holy Spirit (Blackfriars), Oxford.

Why “Godzdogz”?

We are called ‘Dominicans’ after our founder, St Dominic, but the word was also a medieval pun on the Latin phrase ‘Domini canes’ which means ‘Dogs of the Lord’.

This was in turn based on a dream which St Dominic’s mother, Blessed Jane of Aza, had in 1170 when she was pregnant: she saw a black and white dog with a torch in its mouth setting the world ablaze. This was interpreted to refer to St Dominic and his spiritual children, the Dominican Order – in their black and white habits – whose preaching would bring the light of Gospel truth to shine upon and inflame the world with divine love.

And so, this blog is like the barking of a young generation of God’s dogs, if you will, who are passionate about preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ, to set the world ablaze with his love.