Confraternity of the Holy Rosary 

If you pray the Rosary regularly, you should consider joining the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary. Membership in the Rosary Confraternity is open to all the Catholic lay faithful as well as to priests and religious. Members promise to recite the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary over the course of each week and to include the other members and their intentions in their prayers. This obligation does not bind under pain of sin. For more information about the spiritual benefits, obligations, and conditions of membership, Visit our site:  www.tlh3op.org

Can the Dominicans Help Rescue the Age from Itself?

Kathryn Jean Lopez | Jun 07, 2016

If Chesterton was right about the "degrading slavery" of being children of our era, author Kevin Vost suggests the Order of Preachers is vital to the age

“The Dominicans are going to save the world,” a friend commented while waiting for a newly ordained priest’s first blessing on Saturday. It’s not the first time I’ve heard something along those lines – usually as commentary on the scene of young, stimulating, grounded, prayerful student brothers and priests filling the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. Or the fact that what was once a residence for elderly and ailing priests at St. Dominic’s across town now houses those starting out instead, their numbers beyond the capacity at the DHS priory.
The Dominican order, founded by St. Dominic, is 800 years old this year. And so it was particularly fitting for the Eastern Province of St. Joseph to have its largest ordination class in 45 years. The eleven men were ordained two weeks ago by Archbishop Augustine DiNoia, also a Dominican, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.  — the scene of a papal Mass and the Mass of Christian Burial for Justice Antonin Scalia in months past. Archbishop DiNoia, the highest-ranking American at the Vatican these days, called the men an answer to prayers. Pray for them and pray for more.

Kevin Vost is author of Hounds of the Lord: Great Dominican Saints Every Catholic Should Know, a bit of a practical primer to the 800th anniversary.
Kathryn Jean Lopez: You wrote: “One way to counter modern pressures to conform to the world and to ignore God is to embrace the Dominican way…” What’s so special about this “Dominican way”? And is there any basic recipe to follow?
Kevin Vost: There is an old saying that “If you’ve met one Dominican, you’ve met one Dominican,” which suggests there is certainly more than one “Dominican way,” at least as far as how it is expressed though the personality and talents of each individual.  There are several common denominators among Dominicans that do provide the basic recipe to bake up a Dominican, though. One of their mottoes declares their active mission: “To praise, to bless, to preach.” The traditional “four pillars” of the Dominican life are Prayer, Study, Communal Life, and Preaching.  We can see then that perhaps the most essential ingredient appearing both times is that of preaching. And what is it that they preach?  The pithiest of all their mottoes is simply “Veritas” (“Truth”).

See more.......... https://aleteia.org/2016/06/07/can-the-dominicans-help-rescue-the-age-from-itself/

Lay Dominicans

Del Espíritu Santo

Rite of

PERPETUAL Promise

  

Mrs. Carol Cline, O.P.

Mr. William Cowdrey, O.P.

Solemnity of Pentecost

May 15th, 2016

Co-Cathedral of St. Thomas More

Tallahassee, Florida

"To the honor of Almighty God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and the Blessed Virgin, and of Saint Dominic, I, ................. promise to live according to the Rule of the Dominican Laity for my whole life."

Good Friday Stations of the Cross

Stations of the Cross at Mission San Luis

Friday, March 25^th, 2016 at 12pm

Location: Mission San Luis, Tallahassee, Florida

The Lay Dominicans del Espiritu Santo will facilitate a community Stations of the Cross on the plaza of Mission San Luis.  Mission San Luis is a historic interpretation center located on the site of a Spanish colonial mission.

DATE: Friday, March 25^th, 2016
TIME: Noon
LOCATION: 2100 West Tennessee Street, Tallahassee, Florida
ADMISSION: Free!

Admission to the event is free.  Check in at the admissions desk and advise the clerk that you are there for the Stations - the clerk will direct you to the gathering area.  Participants are welcome to conduct a self-guided tour of the facility following the Stations - a great opportunity if you have never been!

Ecstasy PLUS Agony EQUALS Transformation!  

The words of the gospel of Luke’s Transfiguration washes over us again this Lent.  It is a familiar passage. The ecstasy of the vision of Jesus on the mountain is a preparation for us to be strengthened so that when we experience Jesus on another Mountain in the Agony in the Garden in six weeks we celebrate a newer person in Jesus.  Both experiences are a necessity for us to truly live out a life of transformation, moving closer to Our Lord. Ecstasy PLUS Agony EQUALS Transformation

Ecstasy abounds on the Mountain of Tabor.  Three apostles are privy to the event.  We are like these special men.  Peter, James, and John have been set apart by Jesus and chosen to travel up the Mountain.  Why them?  Peter will be the future Bishop of Rome.  James will be the Bishop of Jerusalem and the first to experience martyrdom. And John, the beloved, will give first-hand accounts of his deep relationship with Jesus in the Gospel.  The mountain’s symbolism is to meet God, to feel as close to Him as possible.  It is a “religious high” compared to the flatness of the earth at the bottom of the mountain, which exemplifies everyday reality.  Seeing Jesus in His Most Dazzling form, the men are shaken to a reality which will stay with them forever. Jesus uses this flash of glory as a strengthening device. St. Ambrose beautifully explains, “Peter saw this grace, and so did those who were with him, although they were heavy with sleep. The incomprehensible magnificence of the Godhead overwhelms the perception of our body.” When we fall asleep and something awakens us that is beyond our wildest dreams, then we want it to last forever. Peter impulsively blurts out his desire to protect the glorious magnificence and insists three tents are built.  Like us he wants the glory to last forever.  Our own personal glories reveal themselves in many facets, intensely beautiful music, Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament, and the perfection of a newborn baby!

But then there is the unavoidable Agony in the Garden. Jesus has prepared and equipped Peter, James and John and given them the experience of the Transfiguration in order for them to withstand the impending Agony in the Garden. The Mount of Olives is another mountain, actually a hill, which overlooks adjacent Jerusalem.  Matthew 26:37, “He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to feel sorrow and distress.”  Mark 14:33 “He took with him, Peter, James and John, and began to be troubled and distressed.” Then they fell asleep again. Avoiding the reality of suffering, these men, followers of Christ slept because they did not want to face the impending event.  Living a life of faith we, too, are disturbed when we are called to suffer.  We just want to sleep and make the pain depart. Luke 22:45, “When he rose from prayer and returned to his disciples, he found them sleeping from grief.” Father Roger Radloff, a friend and priest who suffered three years with cancer, had his last homilies written and bound into two volumes.  He comments on this suffering, “I would dare say that most people don’t look for happiness anymore, they look for safety, security, comfortability…happiness is long out of sight for those who are cynical and sometimes realistic.  To be comfortable seems to be the end of American living, if you think about it.  Things that inconvenience us are the things to get rid of…so in other words, it’s important to make enough money and to secure that money in such a way, a lifetime goal, to be as comfortable as possible…and maybe the exact purpose of Christianity is to make us uncomfortable, because if we were comfortable all the time, if we were Peter sitting up there in his little tent looking at the Transfigured Christ we would never deal with the reality of the problems we have here on earth and the very complacency of our lives would force us to be uncreative.  In other words, it almost takes agony to make ecstasy possible; you have to have one end of the polar spectrum in order to be able to share in the other…” Our realities, our agonies could be in the shape of uncontrollable circumstances, family disappointments or unexpected deaths and long term dying.

Both these elements, ecstasy and agony, each one of us MUST trudge through to be transformed.  We must endure the difficult experiences.  Every morning is not spent seeking suffering, but just living out our normal everyday lives. Without pain, Christ says, there is no growth toward Him.  When we recognize Christ’s life, and embody his Whole Divine Glory and Human Passion, we receive all of Him. In the fourth mystery of light of the rosary, the Transfiguration, the meditation is, “I desire to be transformed by God” or “I desire to be a new person in Christ.”  As we move closer to our death, the Lord calls us to urgently live both the agony and the ecstasy. Incorporating both elements, Jesus urges us to change. In the Transfiguration true discipleship on the Glory Mountain means take up the cross, then by embracing the suffering, the Lord empowers those who answer the call because Jesus will be seen, face to face. On that high glorious mountain, the voice of God from the cloud vehemently commands the three men (and us), “Listen to him.” In the scene with the disciples on the Mountain in the Garden, Jesus emphatically directs his disciples (and us), “Get up!” Our real life transformational decisions could include forgiving an annoying friend or family member, making a cathartic confession, or surrendering  and  healing from a  lost, strained relationship.

Experiencing, fully engaging, and completely embodying the indescribable presence of God the Father and His Son in our life, holding on to that experience and never losing it, helps us to then be able to endure the unavoidable pains, challenges, and sufferings of our everyday lives. The Ecstasy on the Mountain of Tabor plus the Agony on the Mount of Olives together produces, equals, becomes Transformation in our lives. St. John of Avila, a priest and spiritual advisor to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, among others, commented in a letter, “If you long for these festivals of heavenly joy, if you want to behold them and take part in them, be assured that there is no better way to reach them than the way of suffering.  This is the way Christ and his disciples have always traveled.  He calls it a narrow way, but it leads straight to life.  That is why he tells us that if we want to join him, we shall travel the way he took.  It is surely not right that the Son of God should go his way on the path of shame while the sons of men (Daughters of Mary) walk the way of worldly honor…”

Submitted by: Mrs. Ann Salancy,O.P.  02/18/2016

Our Lay Dominican Sister, Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta,

Edges Closer to Beatification!

By Mrs. Carol Cline, O.P.

                In celebration of Luisa’s 150th Birthday, an international conference was held in her hometown of Corato, Italy last April. It demonstrated how far and wide the teachings Jesus gave her for all his children in the world have spread! Almost 1,000 people attended! The greatest representations were from South Korea and the Philippines. Led by a Cardinal, several Bishops, and many priests, Masses were celebrated with joy and inspiring talks were presented during the three days of the conference. On the last day, a witness told the participants the details of a miracle attributed to Luisa that has been submitted to the Vatican. Interestingly, it occurred in Florida. In addition, a second miracle which took place in Italy has just this month been reported!

            Contributing greatly to progress of Luisa’s cause, especially I think by the Church, has been the convincing defense and publication of the dissertation by Rev. Joseph Ianuzzi (Father Joe) titled, The Gift of Living in the Divine Will in the Writings of Luisa Piccarreta, An Inquiry into the Early Ecumenical Councils, and into Patristic, Scholastic and Contemporary Theology. It was written in 2012 to complete his doctorate in theology at the Gregorian Pontifical University of Rome and is available for purchase on Amazon. Since then, he has traveled worldwide giving talks and retreats on the Divine Will according to the Book of Heaven and other volumes written by Luisa.

            The Vatican has given permission for all Luisa’s writings to again be published, now that the theological correctness of the material has been acknowledged, and the critical translations are underway. Moreover, a new biography of Luisa has just been published by the Vatican and is just arriving in the U.S.!

            As fellow Lay Dominicans, we should keep our Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta in our prayers that she will soon be raised to sainthood. I encourage you to read the biography published by the Vatican. Currently this book is available in Italian, See: http://www.libreriaeditricevaticana.va/content/libreriaeditricevaticana/it/novita-editoriali/il-sole-della-mia-volonta-.html

         How our first lay Dominicans sought to perform ‘works of mercy’

The sons and daughters of Saint Dominic are blessed with the opportunity to celebrate two jubilees. The first started last month with the launch of activities marking the 800^th anniversary of the Order of Preachers. The second began this week, when Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica to commence the Jubilee of Mercy.

For Dominicans – particularly for lay Dominicans – the timing of these celebrations is auspicious. The jubilee praising 800 years of Dominican life in the world urges the Order of Preachers to renew itself in the spirit of our Holy Father Dominic and to re-nourish our Gospel witness. To Pope Francis, the upcoming year also is a time to “rediscover the infinite mercy of the Father who welcomes everyone and goes out personally to encounter each of them.”

The earliest assemblies of the Dominican laity can show us how to bring each of these missions together. In fact, the first documents we have on record from the Order of Penance – the precursor to today’s Dominican laity – and from the various confraternities that formed in the spirit of Saint Dominic looked toward God’s mercy as a source of salvation.

This is most explicitly stated in the Statutes of the Congregation of Our Lady, Arezzo, 1262, written just 41 years after the death of Dominic. This lay fraternity of St. Mary of Mercy gathered in the Tuscan city of Arezzo “on the advice and encouragement of certain sensible friars of the [Order of Preachers]” in order to perform “works of mercy” so that its members “might obtain God’s mercy in this present world and in the world to come …”

The preamble to these statutes, which are reproduced in the Simon Tugwell-edited Early Dominicans (Paulist Press), abounds in its praise of mercy:

The Lord, who is compassionate and merciful, whose compassion is on all that he has made and whose mercy fills the earth, wanting no one to perish, but to bring everyone back to the way of truth, decreed lovingly in the law of his gospel and established it as an inviolable precept forever, that anyone who wants to obtain his marvelous mercy in this world and in the world to come must follow his most sacred example with regard to mercy, in this time which he has granted for the salvation of men, and must love mercy and devote himself zealously to the works of mercy.

With God’s mercy as its foundation, this congregation of pioneering lay Dominicans sought to “relieve the various needs especially of the embarrassed poor, and of widows and orphans and also, in times of urgent distress, to help religious houses, poor monasteries, hospices and recluses, to foster charity and love and harmony …”

In other words, their Gospel witness and their reason for joining the family of Saint Dominic was in answer to the call to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and care for the sick and imprisoned (Matthew 25:35-36). This animated the Dominican vocation to “bring everyone back to the way of truth,” as written in the preamble above, while responding to the call of our Lord to be “merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36).

Let this witness inspire our apostolate today as well. May the Blessed Saint Dominic and all the Dominican saints intercede for us so that we might obtain, and bring others to, God’s mercy.

Written by: Mr. Adam Emerson - Candidate for Lay Dominicans del Espiritu Santo