Dominican Tertiaries, Other Third Orders, and Purgatory

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Tis_Bearself

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In re-reading the old Fr. Paul O’Sullivan booklet, “How to Avoid Purgatory”, which EWTN has posted on their website, I noticed that Fr. O’Sullivan, who was an OP himself, threw in a little “commercial” for the Dominicans:
Chapter 11

THE THIRD ORDERS

Among the extraordinary graces which Catholics gain by becoming members of
a Third Order is a share in many Masses and prayers.

To mention, for instance, the Third Order of Saint Dominic, Pope Benedict
XV, himself a Tertiary, said: “One of the easiest and most effectual ways
of reaching a high degree of sanctity is by becoming a Dominican Tertiary”

The members of this order receive during life a share every day in
thousands of Masses and prayers, and after death, when, alas, so many are
neglected by their relatives, those who are members of this Third Order
have a share daily in thousands of other Masses and prayers, this for as
long as they remain in Purgatory!

Among the many beautiful characteristics of the Order of St. Dominic is its
intense devotion and love for the Holy Souls, especially for the souls of
its members, friends and benefactors. So true is this that a young Italian
nobleman who consulted the Pope as to which religious order he would do
well to enter received for answer: “My dear son, you may with much profit
join any of the Orders, for in each you will find abundant means of
becoming a Saint. After death, however, be a Dominican” The Holy Father
meant to imply that the suffrages given after death to their deceased
members are, indeed, most abundant in the Dominican Order.

The conditions of becoming a member of this order are so easy and the
advantages so many that half the world would become Dominican Tertiaries
did they know these advantages.
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https://www.ewtn.com/library/SPIRIT/AVOIDPRG.TXT

He does also reference at the very end of the book the Brown Scapular and its Sabbatine Privilege, which is now considered unsupported, if not actually discredited.

So, given that Fr. O’Sullivan was perhaps a bit biased here in favor of the Dominicans, anybody got any thoughts on which third order is the best one for helping the Holy Souls? (And maybe being helped yourself after death?) I like to help the Holy Souls, and I have nothing against the Dominicans, but I don’t feel terribly called to be one or to follow their spirituality.
 
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Told to me by a French Little Brother of Jesus:

A Jesuit, a Carmelite and a Dominican were arguing which of the Orders God loves best. After hours of heated talk, they decided to visit a church, and ask God directly.

After ten minutes, or so, a piece of parchment fluttered down from the ceiling, and landed, very gently, on the altar.

As one, the three rushed over, and peered at the parchment. On it was written:

‘You foolish men. Don’t you know that I love each of your Orders equally well’

Signed: God the Father…………………SJ.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Yes, that’s funny, but I’ve also heard the exact same joke told by Dominicans or Dominican wannabes, ending with “Signed, God, OP”. 😜
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I wouldn’t be surprised if God signed it as … M.I.C.

(Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception)

:hugs:
 
Shasta-Rose said:
What does “third order” mean?
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From Wikipedia:
In relation to religious orders, a third order is an association of persons who live according to the ideals and spirit of a Catholic, Anglican, or Lutheran religious order, but do not belong to its “first order” (generally, in the Catholic Church, the male religious: for example Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelite, Servants of Mary/Servites and Augustinian friars), or its “second order” (contemplative female religious associated with the “first order”). Members of third orders, known as tertiaries (Latin tertiarii , from tertius , third), may be lay men and women or ordained men (or women, if the tradition ordains them) who do not take religious vows, but participate in the good works of order and may be allowed to wear at least some elements of the order’s habit, such as a scapular. Less often, they belong to a religious institute (a “congregation”) that is called a “third order regular”.[1]

Roman Catholic canon law states:

Associations whose members share in the spirit of some religious institute while in secular life, lead an apostolic life, and strive for Christian perfection under the higher direction of the same institute are called third orders or some other appropriate name.[2]
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An example of a “third order” member would be the actress Jane Wyman (Ronald Reagan’s first wife), who in her later years became a Dominican tertiary and was buried in her Dominican habit.
 
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Shasta-Rose said:
What does “third order” mean?
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In my day a Third Order was (still is) a branch of a given religious Order (Carmelite in my case), made up of people who made a formal promise (profession) to live the Community’s way of life. Tertiaries may practise poverty, chastity and obedience according to their personal circumstances. I was attached to a Community based at Hazlewood Castle, in West Yorkshire. We worn a brown scapular; and were entitled to be buried in the full habit of the Order. Our Spiritual Advisor was a Fr. Killian Lynch.

I imagine that other Third Orders operate in a similar fashion.
 
Niblo, did you practice vows of poverty and obedience? I’m presuming you practiced chastity because we’re all supposed to do that anyway.
 
Thanks, Bearself! My husband worked for years at a Franciscan Univ., where all of the religious there had TOR after their names. I think in the case of the Franciscans, the TOR are a whole different branch of the Franciscans, not just lay people who joined in. But I don’t really know. Well, they do say it’s the same for Franciscans as the rest. Just seems that the upper members of the univ. people must have higher standing or something, rather than just, Well, we joined as tertiaries. I don’t think the chancellor considers himself “tertiary.”

I always thought Jane Wyman was a class act, after Reagan ran for President. She could have cashed in on being married to him and told stories of him back in Hollywood or told some juicy tidbits about their marriage. Not a word. Not one single peep. How many people would have that kind of discretion?
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
Niblo, did you practice vows of poverty and obedience? I’m presuming you practiced chastity because we’re all supposed to do that anyway.
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Hazlewood Castle – now a hotel – became a Carmelite House in 1972. I moved to Leeds in 1979, and for just over a year used to spend most weekends, and holidays (from normal work) there. An older man called Danny, and I, used to care for the fabric of the building – both inside and out.

Among other things, we converted one of the rooms into a chapel (there is a church on the site; and during the time of Elizabeth 1 the resident family – the Vavasours – were permitted to practise their Faith, on condition they did not do so beyond the castle grounds. Lady Vavasour was a Lady-in-Waiting to the Queen). The chapel we converted is now an office.

During my time there I practised poverty, in the sense that the tools and equipment I used – including stuff brought to the Castle by me – were held in common. I made no charge for my labour. Obedience came by following the Community’s way of life……and Danny’s instructions!

I can see him now…in the dead of winter, with snow everywhere…and me shivering away…standing in his shirt-sleeves saying (in his thick, Glaswegian, accent): ‘It’s awfee mild!!’
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
Niblo, did you practice vows of poverty and obedience? I’m presuming you practiced chastity because we’re all supposed to do that anyway.
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There are two kinds of Third Orders. Historically know as Third Order Regulars and Third Order Seculars.

The Regulars (like the TORs at Franciscan University of Steubenville) are similar to other religious orders.

The Secular orders (often referred to as Lay Fraternities) are what most people think of. These groups make promises, not vows. And typically there isn’t a poverty one that I’m aware of.

Personally, I’ve stated to discern a calling to the Lay Dominicans, so I can provide more info as I learn more.

As an aside, I beleive the Franciscans have the greatest number of different Third Orders. Many Religious orders only have one Third Order, the Franciscans have several (not including independent orders that simply follow the Franciscan Rule)

God Bless
 
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Yeah, I seriously can’t keep track of all the Franciscan orders, third orders, everything else.

St. Francis was a great saint, but I never felt called to any of his orders so I’ve not spent time sorting them all out.

If I joined anything, it would probably be lay Carmelite. I’m far from the point of actually joining though. I wear the Scapular and pray the Rosary and read about Carmelites, that’s about as far as I have gotten.

However, does anyone have anything to add on the Holy Souls/ Purgatory question?
 
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I remember reading a few things, but only bits and pieces are floating in my mind. I’ll see if I can make them coherent enough to share, but ultimately, it all depends on the individual and God.

One thing was that there’s sort of like a ladder to heaven, like in the image below. The ladder represents our desire to grow close to God-- but at the same time, the world tries to distract us from our path, and demons try to pull us down. However, when you put yourself in religious life, it’s as though your ladder suddenly has a railing. And it’s much harder to be pulled off a ladder when you’re able to grip that railing. If you ignore the railing, of course, and don’t make an effort to conform yourself to the disciplines and obligations that go along with your Order-- then it’s just as easy for you to fall as anyone else.

5578a87b5e059a141584b8409ed9a15146bc93c4.jpeg


Another anecdote was about the Rosary. St. Francis de Sales had a vision of a ladder between heaven and earth that led to Jesus-- and it was very steep. There was a second ladder to heaven that had a much gentler incline-- it led to Mary. (Who, obligatory caveat, is never a destination unto herself, but ultimately leads everyone to God.) So there are ladder rosaries that are specifically designed to make you think of this ladder imagery.

328da1795542600cb6fada83f0c131e15ed5f10c.jpeg


and you also run into it in art-- like in Michelangelo’s Last Judgment, where two souls in Purgatory are being pulled from it by a rosary.

b0470ddbc9a1477c929b5f53fc1e6259c49b54e6.jpeg


A third thing was something along the lines of a saint talking about a “Carmelite Garden” in heaven, which is sort of a super-privileged area for people who had dedicated themselves to God on the Carmelite path. So I would expect there to similarly be things like Franciscan gardens, or Benedictine gardens, or whatever. Whether it’s literal or figurative doesn’t matter so much— just that there’s some sort of special reward that’s distinct to each Order that non-members of that Order don’t participate in. Just like you have things like a Red Crown of Martyrdom, or a White Crown of Heroic Virtue, or other things like that.

So— I’d say go with whoever attracts you the most, and where you feel like you belong, rather than trying to strictly analyze the sign-up bonuses. 😛 Because they all ultimately are different paths that lead to the same place, but each path has its own flavor.

But if none of them attract you enough to bind yourself to them, that’s okay as well. Do your best with what you have, where God put you to do your work.
 
The gardens for particular orders kinda sounds like the VIP section at concerts… “oops sorry dear, you have the wrong color wristband, you can’t come in”

Really I was just wondering if there was one order that is dedicated especially to helping the Holy Souls. Sounds kind of like they are really all equal in that respect. As for Fr. O’Sullivan’s discussions of Mass benefits, there are many of those you can enroll in during your life, different shrines and orders. I did join Friends of the Suffering Souls which is just focused on offering Masses for the Holy Souls, you agree to contribute at least one Mass per year, but you don’t have to be part of an order to do it.
 
Have you checked out the Society of Helpers?
The Society of Helpers, formerly known as the Society of the Helpers of the Holy Souls, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women founded in Paris, France in 1856, with the objective of assisting the souls in Purgatory through their service to the needy of the world. The Sisters use the postnominal initials of “A.P.” (French: Auxiliatrices des âmes du purgatoire) in Europe, or, alternately, “H.H.S” in English-speaking countries.
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and
Choosing never to adopt a traditional religious habit, the Helpers have worked with the poor and the marginal of their societies since their founding. They work in a variety of ministries, based in Ignatian spirituality, with the goal of working for peace and justice in a lifestyle based in contemplation. Today (2015) they number some 500 Sisters worldwide.
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