Dominican Tertiaries, Other Third Orders, and Purgatory

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I was about to suggest this one, too.

We lay Dominicans (the Order declared itself one big family in the 70s) are to strive to have three Masses offered for deceased Dominicans. We also pray the Liturgy of the Hours, Office of the Dead for deceased chapter members. I’m not the only one who has felt as if the deceased was standing right behind us while praying such.

The St Cecilia Dominicans have a De Profundis Hall in their convent where they stand facing each other reciting the De Profundis for the deceased of the congregation. The hall used to be an actual room, but is now the corridor outside the refectory, if memory serves correct.

Blessings,
Mrs Cloisters OP
Lay Dominican
http://cloisters.tripod.com/
http://cloisters.tripod.com/charity/
http://cloisters.tripod.com/holyangels/id9.html/
 
Would also suggest the book “I am on Fire,” which is about Blessed Mary of Providence. Her final months saw her bedridden, experiencing what sounded like fibromyalgia.
 
phil19034 said:
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.
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Yes, ‘promises’, thank you. I missed the OP’s reference to ‘vows’. We observed the Evangelical Counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. This may no longer be the case.
 
Shasta-Rose said:
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.
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Yes, the TOR are religious. The secular branch of the Franciscan third order have OFS after their names (Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis).
 
The Joke is a version of the trial by fire disputattion story, like this one from Jordan of Saxony’s early biography of St Dominic:
One day a famous disputation was being held at Fanjeaux and a large number of the faithful and unbelievers had gathered. Many of the former had written their own books containing arguments and authorities in support of the faith. After these books had been inspected, the one written by Blessed Dominic was commended above the others and unanimously accepted. Accordingly, his book and that produced by the heretics were presented to three judges chosen with the assent of both sides, with the understanding that the side whose book was chosen as the more reasonable defense should be regarded as having the superior faith.

After much wrangling, the judges came to no decision. Then they decided to cast both books into a fire and, if either of them was not burned, it would be held as containing the true faith. So they built a huge fire and cast the books therein. The heretical book was immediately consumed by the fire, but the one written by the man of God, Dominic, not only escaped burning, but, in the sight of all, leaped far from the fire. For a second and a third time, it was cast into the fire, but each time it leaped back and thereby openly testified to the truth of its doctrine and the holiness of the person who had written it.
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Every third order has quite a list of indulgences granted to its members. All indulgences may be applied to the Holy Souls in purgatory. So, if you wish both to assist the Holy Souls and to join a third order, one of the best things you can do is look at the list of indulgences and privileges that their members enjoy, will to gain the indulgences and fulfill their conditions, and have the intention of applying them to the Holy Souls.

EDIT: Just to follow up, here is a list of the particular indulgences available to Lay Dominicans, to exemplify that of which I speak. Other third orders have similar lists of indulgences: https://motherofmercychapter.com/Archives/indulgences.pdf
 
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Thanks, yes I get the Carmelite Brown Scapular indulgences which you can get on various Carmelite saint feast days and I give those to the Holy Souls.
 
angel12 said:
Niblo, it is still the case.
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Thank you. Much appreciated.

I’ve mentioned Danny - at Hazelwood Castle - and his indifference to cold weather. On one occasion we were cutting a drainage channel. I was on my knees in this ditch…wet, miserable, freezing cold…and very very sorry for myself. ‘What on earth am I doing here?’ I moaned. Quick as a wink came: ‘Working for God!’

Me…put in my place.
 
If you don’t mind me asking and briefly (or longer) high-jacking this thread, why isn’t there a lot of outreach and promotion in regards to the Third Orders and the like (e.g. Lay Associates, Oblates as well as Solidaties and Confraternities) , they seem like a constructive way to help people develop (and mature and grow their own spiritual life) their own spirituality and get them involved and active? Last person to say this if you look at my profile but it seems like a lot of are not unengaged, perhaps there are masses even within the Church that need to be reached out to; maybe they need help in finding their own niche and place in the world or is there a point where people need to be proactive? Also, I’m in a rather transitory/transitional state of life (don’t want to talk about it) where I just don’t understand how busy people can get; are people really busy which explains why many don’t get involved?
 
Speaking from my own common sense who cares what order just pray for goodness sakes. I pray every day and believe God hears men too. No disrespect to any order and where 2 or more gather in my name etc. I completely believe. But in the end it’s not about which group order it’s about prayer.
 
My impression is that a lot of lay people get inspired to be involved with an order because either they’ve had an interest in that order for a long time that just got put on the back burner for marriage or some other life path, or else they happen to live near a particular monastery or abbey or they come in contact with members of the order regularly, and they get interested in it. The closest order to me currently is a Norbertine abbey and I have to admit if I thought I was going to stay in the area, it would be attractive to try to join up with them because you get to be part of a community and they do a lot of interesting things, both prayerwise and charitable. Of course one can still go there for Mass, retreats, prayer times without being a member of the order, but it would be nice to be part of some group that was a little more stable/ solid than your average parish group.
 
It is a vocation to join a 3rd order. It involves discernment just like entering religious life. Anyone can start looking into them, but in order to enter formation you need to show signs of a vocation to that order-- just like with 1st and 2nd orders. The formation can be a long and tedious process. Then at the end of formation you make lifelong promises to that order. So it’s not really something people should do if they don’t feel called to live out the rest of their life in that order. It’s not the same as joining the tabernacle society or something like that.
 
Yes, that’s a good point. If you’re just looking to get people more engaged with the Church, promoting a third order to them isn’t really the way to do it. For one thing you would need to have a pretty developed spiritual life already to even be discerning whether to join a third order, and then they have to agree to accept you also. If they just started promoting themselves to all kinds of people, I can see perhaps a lot of rejections, which might be discouraging.
 
I really wish I had more appreciation for the Dominicans. I think their habits are awesome. And Fr. O’Sullivan was a very good writer of little booklets, many of which are still in print and available from TAN books and I see them strewn around in the churches I attend. I just don’t feel too drawn to them other than that, though.
 
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The different religious orders jazz each other in jest.

It’s like siblings-- they tease each other, but they love each other and all want each other to succeed.

And certain people are called to be in one order or another. The different orders don’t keep people from praying-- they add to people’s spiritual lives. A person who is called to Franciscan or Dominican spirituality will flourish within that order. We all worship the same God, but the focus and “flavor” of each order helps bring out the best traits in those called to that order and helps them find their place in the Body of Christ. Remember-- an ear isn’t meant to be a nose and a nose isn’t meant to be a hand. There’s nothing wrong with people having different focuses that all point to Christ. And there’s also nothing wrong with a little friendly ribbing.
 
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I had the same experience. When I was in college and I first started discerning religious life, I thought for sure I’d fit in best with the Dominicans. I’ve always been very interested in school and knowledge and learning and I’m a teacher. It seemed like the perfect fit. So imagine my surprise when I started really looking into them and I found it just didn’t click. I love their habits and their mission and their values. But they don’t feel like family.

Cue me discovering the Franciscans (or rediscovering-- I grew up in a Franciscan parish, but never really paid much attention as we were Christmas and Easter Catholics). Right from the start they felt like family. I don’t always get along with some of my more hippie dippie brothers and sisters, but they still feel like my brothers and sisters. I can’t explain it. I read about the Franciscans and I think “these people are crazy. But they’re MY crazy family”.

Sometimes I think God knows that I NEED the focus on simplicity and childlike spirituality. If I were to become a Dominican, I’d get so bogged down in the details of Theology that I’d never come up for air. Not to mention the crazy levels of intellectual pride I’d reach (I already have a problem with that). My Franciscan family helps keep my feet on the ground and brings me back to what’s really important.

And, of course, the Dominicans don’t have a monopoly on intelligence. We’ve got Bonaventure and Scotus and Lawrence of Brindisi and of course St. Clare herself was no dummy.
 
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