Dominicans – Page 3

Building a tithe barn to last 600 years

The Dominican nuns at Our Lady of Grace Monastery (North Guilford, CT) lost their barn this past winter with the constant snow fall. The old barn collapsed under the weight of lots of snow –it’s poor, old legs couldn’t bear the torment of heavy snow and ice. But the monastery needs a barn.

Since the nuns have no sustained interaction with the outside world due to being papally enclosed, the ever competent grounds keeper and building supervisor, Ryan, decided to build an old fashion tithe barn that’s expected to last 600 years. No nails will be used to keep the building together. And, all the wood was harvested from the monastery property and trimmed to need by Ryan and a local friend who’s graciously sharing his equipment and time.

Continue reading Building a tithe barn to last 600 years

Blessing of St Jude Oil at the St Jude Shrine NYC

For centuries the Church has blessed olive oil as a sacramental for healing. Some will have oil blessed for lighting a lamp, bodily healing, and even some will use it in cooking. As a sacramental, oil is used in the same way we’d use Holy Water, Holy Salt, and holy images. The blessing given by the priest beseeches God through the intercession of Saint Jude to heal those who use the Oil protecting them from evil and giving the gift of good health of both mind and body. The Bible also speaks of the healing power of oil and its use also reminds us of our own consecration at the time of Baptism and again at Confirmation. This oil is blessed with the relic of St. Jude but is not to be confused with the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.

Today, asking for Saint Jude’s intercession and using the relic of Saint Jude, Father Ken blessed Saint Jude Oil for the Dominican Shrine of Saint Jude. The Shrine is a ministry of the Church of Catherine of Siena –NYC.

If you would like to get Saint Jude Oil, write to the Shrine at 411 East 68th Street, New York, NY 10065. A $5.00 donation is requested to cover costs of mailing the Oil.

Blessing of Saint Jude Oil

Priest: Our help is in the name of the Lord.

All: Who made heaven and earth.

God’s creature, oil, I cast out the demon from you by God the Father + almighty, who made heaven and earth and sea, and all that they contain. Let the adversary’s power, the devil’s legions, and all Satan’s attacks and machinations be dispelled and driven afar from this creature, oil. Let it bring health in body and mind to all who use it, in the name of God + the Father almighty, and of our Lord Jesus + Christ, His Son, and of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, as well as in the love of the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who is coming to judge both the living and the dead and the world by fire.

Priest: O Lord, heed my prayer.

All: And let my cry come unto you.

Priest: The Lord be with you.

All: And with your spirit.

Let us pray. Lord God almighty, before whom the hosts of angels stand in awe, and whose heavenly service we acknowledge; may it please you to regard favorably and to bless + and hallow + this creature, oil, which by your power has been pressed from the juice of olives. You have ordained it for anointing the sick, so that, when they are made well, they may give thanks to you, the living and true God. Grant, we pray, that those who will use this oil, which we are blessing + in your name, may be delivered from all suffering, all infirmity, and all wiles of the enemy.

Let it be a means of averting any kind of adversity from man, made in your image and redeemed by the precious blood of your Son, so that he may never again suffer the sting of the ancient serpent; through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

It is sprinkled with holy water.

Benedictine, Capuchin and Dominicans take Vows, ordained deacon

Several men have committed themselves more fully to the Lord and His Church today. A Benedictine monk, a Capuchin friar and Dominican deacons took vows or were ordained.

Dom John McCusker, Benedictine monk of The Abbey of Saint Mary and Saint Louis, St Louis, MO.

Brother Salvatore Cordaro, OFM Cap., professed Solemn vows in the Province of St Mary. The Mass and profession of vows took place at The Church of Saint John the Baptist, NYC.

5 Dominican brothers of the Province of St Joseph were ordained to the Order of Deacon. The ordination took place in Crypt Chapel of the Basilica National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception by the Most Reverend Martin D. Holley, auxiliary bishop of Washington, DC.

We are exceedingly joyful for the witness of these men for the Kingdom of God. Let’s pray for them!

Thanks to Andrew Skonieczny for the photo.

Exercising proper judgment in our life so that we share in God’s glory

Last week the novices of the Order of Friars Preachers –the Dominicans of the Province of Saint Joseph– heard the following talk by Dominican Father André-Joseph LaCasse. Father LaCasse is the pastor of the Church of Saint Gertrude, Cincinnati, OH. I am not a Dominican but I have great affection for the Dominican vocation and many friends are of that persuasion, however many readers of this blog are not Dominicans. So, I thought after reading LaCasse’s talk there is something we can all be helped by what was said about the fraternal life the Dominican Order. In my estimation Father LaCasse’s thoughts are applicable to all states of the Christian life: the single person, the married couple, the Capuchin, the secular priest, bishop, etc. In the School of Community (of CL) we’ve been working on Father Luigi Giussani’s notion of charity and sacrifice and are about to start the section on virginity. And I ask myself: How is it that as a Christian I live in a state of perpetual discernment of faith, hope and charity through a life of sacrifice? In what concrete ways do I live honestly? Well, I’m off to confession to find that out. You?

You are privileged here because you
live with friars who have lived this life for quite some time. In our community
we have two jubiliarians, one who is close to being a jubiliarian, and the rest
of us who have lived this life for over twenty years. Our lives as religious is
a steady progress towards perfection, but a perfection that experiences many
imperfections along the way. Our lives are not extraordinary. None of us has
won prestige. None of us is in the limelight. We live ordinary lives of
consecration, hoping that we can do our best to advance the cause of Jesus
Christ and his Church.

The Dominican life is a life of
prayer, study, and the apostolate. Most days are ordinary days where you are
called to be simple servants of the Church. Do you desire to be a servant? Are
you willing to die to your own desires in order to do the desire of God manifested
through the will of our superiors? In a real sense you will not be able to
answer this question until something is asked of you that takes real sacrifice
and humility. But still the question needs to be asked now: Am I willing to die
to myself and become a servant of the Church? The question needs to be answered
now because from the very beginning of your discernment you must be brutally
honest with yourself.

Continue reading Exercising proper judgment in our life so that we share in God’s glory

Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist to purchase JPII Cultural Center in DC

Mother Assumpta Long announced last evening that her new congregation of religious sisters, the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, are hoping to purchase the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center across the street from the Catholic University of America, Washington, DC and using the facility as a house of studies.

Mother Assumpta’s email letter to Deal Hudson making the announcement of purchase of the JPII Center is here.

The video presentation can be seen here.

May the great Mother of God, Mary most holy, pray for the sisters and for us!

Nashville Dominicans sisters lead in new vocations

As mentioned a number of days ago I posted a list of religious congregations attracting new recruits in 2010, now the Associate Press has picked up on the trend. I am glad they did.

The AP story can be read here.

Unremarkable, perhaps quite cliched, is the remark of Dr Catherine Mooney linking the vocations to Pope John Paul II. As much as it goes, the life and work of John Paul led many to to become a member of a thriving religious order. But do you think a theology professor would mention the work of the Blessed Trinity as a source of the call? Relying merely on a pope’s influence doesn’t go to far. Does it?

Thanks be to God for those who freely say ‘yes’ to the call of Christ to live the consecrated life. Saints Dominic and Catherine of Siena, pray for us.

Fr Bruno Cadoré –new Master of the Order of Preachers, elected

The 2010 Dominican General Chapter opened on August 31st (and will close on September 21st) and the 130 capitulars elected Father Bruno Cadoré, 55, as the 86th successor of Saint Dominic; he immediately succeeds Father Carlos Aspiroz Costa who has served for the last 9 years. Father Bruno, until now, has been the Prior Provincial of the French Province and trained as a pediatrics physician with an interest in child hematology and in bio-ethics. He’s also lived and worked in Haiti.

Father Bruno will live at the Convent of Santa Sabina on the Aventine Hill in Rome.

The Dominican General Chapter meets every three years and elects a new Master of the Order every nine. This is the 290th General Chapter.

UPDATE: Father Master Bruno Cadore gave an insightful interview on H2O News and says some important things about the Word of God and how it shapes our lives, about the necessity and joy of the fraternal life and the unity we are called to live as brothers and sisters. Watch the video here.

Saint Dominic, pray for us.

Blessed Jordan of Saxony, pray for us.

Saint Raymond of Penyafort, pray for us.

Saint Bruno, pray for us.

Saint Catherine of Siena, pray for us.

Blessed Margaret of Castello, pray for us.

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, pray for us.

Cistercians and Dominicans meet in General Chapter

Prayers are requested for the members of the General Chapters of the Cistercian monks and the Dominican Friars who begin their meetings today in Rome. In the coming days both Chapters will deal the Order’s business and hold an election for new leadership: the Cistercians will elect a new Father General and the Dominicans a Master General.

You can follow the Cistercians here and here.

You can follow the Dominicans here.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help, pray for us.

Saints Robert, Alberic, Stephen and Dominic, pray for us.

DiNoia on the challenges to faith in Christ

In early June Dominican Archbishop Augustine DiNoia addressed a full house people at New York’s Yale Club on some challenges to the faith and why faith in Christ is reasonable. His talk was titled “Facing the Challenges to Faith in Christ Today: The Dominican Way,” the text of his talk is here: DiNoia Facing the Challenges to Faith in Christ Today 2010.pdf

Claudia McDonnell’s article in the Catholic New York, “Faith and Reasoning,” gives a digest of the talk and issues.

Archbishop DiNoia was ordained a bishop in July 2009 and is the Secretary to the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Disciple of the Sacraments at the Holy See.

Dominicans of the Eastern Province begin their Chapter

For nearly a month the Dominican friars of the Province of Saint Joseph (the Eastern Province) elected and/or appointed as capitulars will be at Providence College doing the normal business of governance and making a review (and coming to some decision) on how they live the charism given by Saint Dominic.

Beginning today the 35 friars will enter a period of reflection and prayer as they prepare to elect a new Prior Provincial and other province officials. The vote for the new Provincial will be Friday, June 11.

Please beg the Holy Spirit and ask for the intercession of Saint Dominic with the Dominican blesseds and saints to ask the Lord to shower these friars with clarity of thought, charity and courage to make good decisions. Also, go to the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph for help. What happens in the next few weeks charts the course for Dominican mendicant life for the next four years.

As point of interest, the Dominicans in North America (the Eastern, Southern and Canadian Provinces) are electing new leadership and assessing their fraternal life and apostolic priorities.

Praying to Saint Dominic for his help:

O wonderful hope which you gave to those who wept for you at the hour death, promising after your departure to be helpful to your brethren. Fulfill, father, what you have said and help us by your prayers. You who shone by so many miracles worked on the bodies of the sick, bring us the help of Christ to heal our sick souls.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Fulfill, father, what you have said and help us by your prayers. Amen.