LETTER OF BROTHER BRUNO CADORÉ, O.P.
PRIOR PROVINCIAL OF THE PROVINCE OF FRANCE
OF FRIARS PREACHERS

Father Marie-Dominique Philippe belonged to the Province of France of Friars Preachers (Dominicans). Here is the letter which brother Bruno Cadoré, Prior Provincial, wrote on September 1, 2006, to brother Jean-Pierre-Marie, prior general of the Brothers of Saint John, and which was read at the beginning of the funeral mass.


Dear brother Jean-Pierre-Marie,
Dear brothers, sisters and friends of the family of St. John,
Dear friends of the family of brother Marie-Dominique,

The death of brother Marie-Dominique Philippe and his passing on to the Father reunite us, beyond the sorrow, in thanksgiving for the life that he gave so generously, and with an ardour uniquely his own, to the service of the Gospel. The Order of Preachers, of which he remained a son, would like to unite itself to the family of St John, of which he was the founder, during this time of prayer.

Brother Marie-Dominique was a brother of the Order of Preachers, born into a family for whom St Dominic was a well known figure. He was fond of calling to mind his uncle, brother Dehau, who played such an important role in the awakening of his vocation, as was also the case for his brother, Thomas Philippe. His family was an essential source for him, and with him we express an immense gratitude to them, as well as our fraternal friendship.

Having entered the Order in 1931, brother Marie-Dominique was ordained priest seventy years ago. It is certainly not possible to depict in just a few words his long apostolic life. We might mention, of course, that he spent many years as a professor, and it is my belief that he loved that mission very much indeed – not because he liked the academic setting of a teaching career, but rather because what was dear to him was the opening up to an intelligence of the heart. It was probably these same reasons that led brother Marie-Dominique to write so profusely, in the philosophical domain as well as in that of theology and spirituality, thereby revealing his conviction that it is good for the Christian life to be rooted in the three wisdoms of the philosopher, St Thomas Aquinas and St John. On one occasion he wrote to me in the following words: “Reflecting on the itinerary of my life, from the perspective of intellectual work, it seems to me that what I have tried to do from the beginning – above all thanks to Father Dehau, and later with what I received from Father Chenu at the Saulchoir – is to discover a sapiential reading of St Thomas in the light of the three wisdoms. This is truly what my effort has been since entering the Order, as I have sought to return to the source and to deepen St Thomas’ effort, continuing it and renewing it from within. And this has always seemed to me to be one of the things that the world today is eagerly waiting for and that it very much needs.”

This conviction was, indeed, apostolic; it was anchored, I believe, in the spirit of the Gospel of St John and animated by a passion that light might spring forth in the world. It was this same passion, moreover, which made him a tireless preacher of retreats and countless conferences, as well as a guide and even spiritual father for so many. As a preacher his passion was indeed for meeting people on the path of their human and spiritual search, listening to them, learning with them to read the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives, supporting them in their contemplation of the truth manifested in Jesus. These encounters and this labour for the Gospel undoubtedly animated his prayer as he interceded, at the school of the Lord, for those who had been confided to him.

It was as a preacher that, after a long period of teaching at the Saulchoir, he went to teach at the University of Fribourg, where he remained from 1945 to 1982. It is unlikely that many of you here attended his classes there, but we have all heard tell of the crowded audiences who were fascinated by the words that awoke in them the taste for the indefatigable quest for the truth. And it was thus as preacher and, as he liked to emphasize, as teacher, that he found himself, as it were, compelled to receive the young people who wanted to give an apostolic expression to the call that this quest awakened in them. He hesitated for a long time to respond to this call, I believe. But the vigour of the apostolic generosity that he saw in these young people and his intense concern to serve the Church during a difficult period, and also, no doubt, the feeling that a new form of apostolic consecrated life was being called for, finally led him to decide to become the founder of a new congregation, choosing, in order to do so, the statute of extra conventum of our Order.

The family of St John became his new family and he carried its joys and its plans, its initiatives for new projects and foundations, as well as the challenges of the need for consolidation. He would openly say that his task at the service of the Community of St John had given a new depth to his teaching. The Order of Preachers had, nevertheless, also remained for him his Order, the place of his origins, of his faithfulness, of his contemplative and intellectual roots. Each time we met he wanted to tell me how much he lived everything in the continued momentum of one and the same fidelity. And it was natural, then, that at the end of his service as Prior General, and with the agreement of his superiors in the Order of Preachers, he wanted to remain among his sisters and brothers of St John, who had brought him so much joy during recent years.

A life given for the Church and for the world! By taking part in the Eucharist on the eve of his death he was able, once more, to receive that life which he had always given. At the moment of his death, the chant of the Salve was no doubt raised – chant by which the tradition of the Order entrusts to Mary’s intercession the final journey, upon which the gift is truly consummated

Brother Bruno Cadoré, o.p.
Prior Provincial