Dominican Friars in the U.S

[zjl56]

As of recently I have taken an interest in the Dominican Friars, and maybe some of you could offer some of your personal advice in relation to the Dominicans. The reason that I have steered towards them recently is that I felt that I am called to more of a communal life, as well as a preacher. I also find deep inspiration in the stories of some of the greats of the order such as Dominic, Thomas, Louis de Montfort, etc. Are most Dominicans truly preachers to the laity, while also having a semi communal part to their life? How has the Dominican order changed in the light of Vatican two? And, do most Domicans still deeply follow the traditional charisms of Saint Thomas and the Rosary?

 

[LaudemGloriae]

I’ve heard that generally the Western and Eastern Provinces in the US are orthodox, but the Central Province, not as much. Of course it depends on the individual, but just in general. I do know two very orthodox priests in the Central Province at a parish near me, but then a few other not so orthodox ones.

I’ve heard the Friars in Washington, DC in the Eastern Province (op-stjoseph.org/) are good.

dominicanfriars.org/
dhs.edu/

But actually if I were you, I’d start by asking Fr. Vincent Serpa, OP here at Catholic Answers. He’s in the Western Province. I’m sure he could answer all questions and steer you in the right direction.

opwest.org/profiles/s/serpavincent.htm

Then finally the Brothers of the Community of St. John have some Dominican aspects to their charism, as well as Carmelite, and they are very good. Their founder was Dominican.

communityofstjohn.com/

God bless!

P.S. St. Louis de Montfort was in the Company of Mary.

Also, in case you know French and might have an interest in a community that uses the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, there’s the Fraternity of St. Vincent Ferrier.

 

[zjl56]

About Louis: it’s interesting that both wikipedia and catholic encyclopedia both don;t specifically mention him as a Dominican, yet this book I have, written by a Dominican Nun, cites him as one of their own.
Anyway, thanks for your response, I’ll look into those links and will continue to discern.

 

[debraran]

This is a little off-topic but the Dominican church is one of the things that brought me back to the fold. I was floundering in my Catholic church, really all of them near me, felt stale, boring, full of noise and cliques and things that didn’t have anything to do with the mass., I just felt numb. Then one day I was running and saw a beautiful church. I went inside and it was like the feeling I got when I watched EWTN’s mass. The reverence was great, people didn’t talk, the mass atmosphere was “this is the church of God”. The friars were wonderful, each had their own flavor so to speak, but wonderful speakers, (part of their charism) and very orthodox.
They have 3 masses a day, confession 6 days a week and there are people in line everyday. Near the holidays they have to get visiting priests to help, 4 or 5 at a time!
I love that we have 3 regular priests, at least 5 “in residence” living at the priory and a new one staying with us for a year or two. You would never know there was a shortage. I love the library, gift shop and wonderful, orthodox advice and trust I have with this community. Maybe being a Dominican priest isn’t going to be your call, maybe it is, but it is definitely something to look into. They helped save me and I’ll always be grateful.