Dominicans

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Benignus

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I was just wondering if there are any Dominicans on this list. When I say Dominican I mean the Religious Order, not the nationality.

Also, could you tell me what you guys think of the Dominicans?

I just visited the University of Dallas in Irving, TX, and the Dominicans Fathers have a Priory there. I want to go to University of Dallas for college, and I believe that God might be calling me to the Dominicans.

Anyway, I was just wondering what you guys think of them.
 
I guess religious orders vary from province to province, but my general impression of the OP’s is that they are pretty solid. My only real experience with them is from 2 years of being taught at the Dominican-run Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (aka, the Angelicum) in Rome. With the exception of a couple of priests who were a bit shaky on some issues, the vast majority of my teachers were very orthodox in the faith. The Thomistic system is still probably the best foundation for studying theology. That University is made up of priests from various provinces throughout the world, with about 5 or 6 Americans. They all wear their habits to teach, which I think is also important.
I also think that, based on what I have read, the Dominican theologians are more solid in areas of moral theology than are theologians of other orders. There is so much fresh insight that can be gleaned from St. Thomas’ doctrine, so much that is relevant today.
I do not know how the Doms are in the States, I have had no formal experience. But, they are have a great tradition as an order and deserve good men for the future.
 
Well, Mary gave the rosery to St. Dominick so she must of had something in mind. Also the 1st North American martyr was on, Luis de Cancer.
 
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Benignus:
I was just wondering if there are any Dominicans on this list. When I say Dominican I mean the Religious Order, not the nationality.

Also, could you tell me what you guys think of the Dominicans?

I just visited the University of Dallas in Irving, TX, and the Dominicans Fathers have a Priory there. I want to go to University of Dallas for college, and I believe that God might be calling me to the Dominicans.

Anyway, I was just wondering what you guys think of them.
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In the past Dominicans were one of the most powerful preaching orders the Church had. They also spread the rosary as a devotion and in the mid 40-s-50’s they did heavy US church mission work, renewal, uplifting services and again powerful preaching.

Then in the 60’s like so many orders they got “infected” so yes you will find wonderful, faithful Dominicans and unfortunately you will find those who have gone the way of so many of our religious out the back door to come back the front way with all kinds of “stuff”. Recently we had one diocesan abroad jump into the order when his bishop changed - he knew he couldn’t make the cut.

One of their Father Generals was a real hero post Vatican II but then…times and people change. But like the Jesuits, the Franciscans, and many other orders, their history is replete with wonderful people of the past.
 
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Benignus:
I

Also, could you tell me what you guys think of the Dominicans?
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As a P.S. to my previous post there is a very courageous one in Australia - I posted his response in defense of Abp. Pell in the Misc. section. Great witing.
 
Coming from someone who has know CERTAIN USA provinces of that order from WITHIN: NO> they have become very liberal. The only great world province seems to be the POLISH province.
Code: 
   There are people I know who have liked the Legionaries of Christ, or the INSTITUTE of THE INCARNATE WORD, new order founded in ARgentina, spreading throughout the world and USA where the US Bishops thank God have given them PLENTY(and growing) of parishes.  They are solid, faithful, THOMISTIC=they follow the Teachings of AQUINAS, and are young and GROWING!!!  Why not maybe seek info from them:  [www.iveamerica.org](http://www.iveamerica.org)     or: [www.ive.org](http://www.ive.org)
I will be praying for your vocation into a HOLY order.
 
The American Dominicans are, as has been noted, varying in their degrees of orthodoxy from province to province. But do not discount the Dominicans!

From what I understand and have experienced, the St. Joseph’s Province (eastern US) is the oldest, and the most orthodox. The Central province, where our Dominican priests here in MN are from, is not-so-much. :tsktsk:

However – the times they are a changin’, and orthodoxy is being renewed throughout the order. The Dominicans as a whole were not as affected by the modernistic liberal agenda as the Capuchins, Jesuits, Franciscans and Paulists!!

The Order of Preachers is a very large order, and as such have had their share of “problematic” members, but on the whole, the Order has been able to maintain their tradition of steady theology throughout the whole mess of the last 40 years.

If you feel you may be called to the Dominican order – answer the call! Seek out Dominicans in your area. If you do not feel comfortable with them, seek out other Dominicans elsewhere. Seek to find the heart and soul of the Domician order.

I have noticed, in talking to Dominicans, that many of them felt called to the Order after being attracted to the Thomistic philosophy and the theological history of the Order. This is not to say that it was their own decision, per se, to enter the Order, but that the call may come differently for a Dominican who is theologically inclined than to a Carmelite who is prayerfully focused.

Do not let certain unorthodox Dominicans who might be out there dissuade you from the Order entirely – if all the good soldiers leave the battlefield, then the bad ones who are left will be free to ransack the countryside!

(BTW, in this post I am mainly referring to the Dominican men… the Dominican women, both nuns and sisters, have also weathered the storm pretty well for the most part. Some of the most orthodox orders you can find in the United States today are Dominican women - the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in Nashville, the Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist in Ann Arbor, the Hawthore Dominicans, to name a few)

+veritas+
(A Dominican at heart!! :))
 
My original home parish is Dominican, and these priests are the kindest priests I have ever met in my life. They also are the finest homilists I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. The Dominicans brought me back home to the Church, and they have had the most powerful effect on my spiritual life; I can barely begin to even express how much they have helped me to grow, and how inspiring they have been in my life. Thank God for all Dominicans everywhere! :clapping:
 
+veritas+:
The American Dominicans are, as has been noted, varying in their degrees of orthodoxy from province to province. But do not discount the Dominicans!

From what I understand and have experienced, the St. Joseph’s Province (eastern US) is the oldest, and the most orthodox. The Central province, where our Dominican priests here in MN are from, is not-so-much. :tsktsk:

However – the times they are a changin’, and orthodoxy is being renewed throughout the order. The Dominicans as a whole were not as affected by the modernistic liberal agenda as the Capuchins, Jesuits, Franciscans and Paulists!!

The Order of Preachers is a very large order, and as such have had their share of “problematic” members, but on the whole, the Order has been able to maintain their tradition of steady theology throughout the whole mess of the last 40 years.

If you feel you may be called to the Dominican order – answer the call! Seek out Dominicans in your area. If you do not feel comfortable with them, seek out other Dominicans elsewhere. Seek to find the heart and soul of the Domician order.

I have noticed, in talking to Dominicans, that many of them felt called to the Order after being attracted to the Thomistic philosophy and the theological history of the Order. This is not to say that it was their own decision, per se, to enter the Order, but that the call may come differently for a Dominican who is theologically inclined than to a Carmelite who is prayerfully focused.

Do not let certain unorthodox Dominicans who might be out there dissuade you from the Order entirely – if all the good soldiers leave the battlefield, then the bad ones who are left will be free to ransack the countryside!

(BTW, in this post I am mainly referring to the Dominican men… the Dominican women, both nuns and sisters, have also weathered the storm pretty well for the most part. Some of the most orthodox orders you can find in the United States today are Dominican women - the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in Nashville, the Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist in Ann Arbor, the Hawthore Dominicans, to name a few)

+veritas+
(A Dominican at heart!! :))
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Actually the CAPUCHINS are MORE orthodox than the Dominicans. As per the numbers, the dominicans are shrinking, not more then 9,000 worldwide, while the JESUITS number 22,000 or so. The LARGEST religious order of men CONTINUE to be the JESUITS, and I PREFER them way more than those dominicans. Ohh, as Per THOMISTIC, the JESUITS are supposed to be THOMISTIC, as he was the only theologian recomended by Vatican II. Furthermore, I LOVE the Congregations that came after the Council of TRENT(16th Century) they seem to be more in touch with the people, and less hermits. I LOVE REAL Jesuits like the late Father John Hardon, S.J, and present ones such as Father Kenneth Baker, S.J.(GREAT!!!) And others. What about the LEGIONARIES of CHRIST???
 
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misericordie:
Actually the CAPUCHINS are MORE orthodox than the Dominicans. As per the numbers, the dominicans are shrinking, not more then 9,000 worldwide, while the JESUITS number 22,000 or so. The LARGEST religious order of men CONTINUE to be the JESUITS, and I PREFER them way more than those dominicans. Ohh, as Per THOMISTIC, the JESUITS are supposed to be THOMISTIC, as he was the only theologian recomended by Vatican II. Furthermore, I LOVE the Congregations that came after the Council of TRENT(16th Century) they seem to be more in touch with the people, and less hermits. I LOVE REAL Jesuits like the late Father John Hardon, S.J, and present ones such as Father Kenneth Baker, S.J.(GREAT!!!) And others. What about the LEGIONARIES of CHRIST???
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Must you ALWAYS go BACK and FORTH in CAPS all the TIME? 🙂 When one uses too much emphasis, the emphasis ends up being on the emphasis instead of on what is meant to be emphasized… just a thought.

There have been, and continue to be, great Jesuits. There have been, and continue to be, great Capuchins. There have been, and continue to be, great Dominicans.

When looking at the larger umbrella orders (such as the broad grouping of Jesuits, Dominicans, Carmelites, etc) one must look for the underlying and foundational spirituality and mission of the order. Each order was founded by a particular man for a particular purpose – each order has its own charisms.

Orders should be thought of rather like the Church – we are all quick to point out to non-Catholics that their bad encounters with individual priests are not indicitive of the Church Herself. The Church, and these orders, are larger than the individual members. The reason for the existence of the Dominicans still exists. St. Dominic’s charism is still at the heart of Dominican spirituality.

When you start going deeper and checking out individual groupings within the Order, then you can start to bring the problems into focus. But you cannot apply the characteristics of the particular to the universal – you can only apply the characteristics of the universal to the particular.

Therefore, I stand by what I said. If someone feels that they may be called to be a Dominican (or a Carmelite, or a Franciscan or whatever) then answer the call! Investigate the universal identity and charism of the order as a whole, then look into individual groups within the order and/or examine the problems present in the order. Then, look at the order’s statistics and trending patterns. Like many orders, the tide is turning towards orthodoxy in many of these cases, and the problems that are currently present appear to be settling down and being sorted out. Ask yourself, if I remain open to this call, and perhaps even accept at some point that I have been called, will my being in this order help this order – am I meant to be here to aid in the renewal of this order? No matter what the current problems are in an order, ask yourself this question!

No order should be “written off” and abandoned by us, particularly if we feel drawn to the foundational charisms and mission of the order. (By this I mean the big orders, not necessarily the smaller sub-orders that may in fact end up withering on the vine, sadly) Be the salt of the earth and the light of the world! Remain open to the call of God, and accept His will for your life - you may be surprised where He wishes to lead you…

Now, having said all of this, I myself feel drawn to the Dominicans (as you perhaps figured out already ;)) but I also agree with misericordie that the Legionaires of Christ are worth looking into as well, as are many other smaller orders apart from the “big ones”.

God bless,

+veritas+
 
Therefore, I stand by what I said. If someone feels that they may be called to be a Dominican (or a Carmelite, or a Franciscan or whatever) then answer the call! Investigate the universal identity and charism of the order as a whole, then look into individual groups within the order and/or examine the problems present in the order. Then, look at the order’s statistics and trending patterns. Like many orders, the tide is turning towards orthodoxy in many of these cases, and the problems that are currently present appear to be settling down and being sorted out. Ask yourself, if I remain open to this call, and perhaps even accept at some point that I have been called, will my being in this order help this order – am I meant to be here to aid in the renewal of this order? No matter what the current problems are in an order, ask yourself this question!

No order should be “written off” and abandoned by us, particularly if we feel drawn to the foundational charisms and mission of the order. (By this I mean the big orders, not necessarily the smaller sub-orders that may in fact end up withering on the vine, sadly) Be the salt of the earth and the light of the world! Remain open to the call of God, and accept His will for your life - you may be surprised where He wishes to lead you…

Thank you very much for your encouragement and advice. Btw- do you know anything about the Southern Dominican Province (Province of Saint Martin de Porres)? I live in Arkansas and I want to go to college at the University of Dallas. The Dominican Fathers have a priory there which is right by the campus. I think that if I do have a vocation to the Dominicans, this would be a great place for it to flourish. There is also a Seminary there, and some of the Dominicans teach there. Also, the Chaplain at the University is a Dominican.

I am about to read a book called The Dominicans, by Benedict Ashley OP. It is quoted on the International Dominican site so I think it will be good. I think after reading this book I will have a better idea of whether God is calling me to the Dominicans.

Again, thank you VERY much for your wonderful advice. I have a little book called My Way of Life, and it is supposed to be a simplified version of the *Summa *of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Maybe I will also start reading this to familiarize myself with Thomistic Theology before I go to college.
 
Oops, sorry about that. I was trying to quote you, but I’ve never done that before and I didn’t know how to do it. 🙂
 
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Benignus:
Thank you very much for your encouragement and advice. Btw- do you know anything about the Southern Dominican Province (Province of Saint Martin de Porres)?
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No, unfortunately I don’t know much about the Southern province… you’ll just have to wait and see I guess 🙂
I live in Arkansas and I want to go to college at the University of Dallas. The Dominican Fathers have a priory there which is right by the campus. I think that if I do have a vocation to the Dominicans, this would be a great place for it to flourish. There is also a Seminary there, and some of the Dominicans teach there. Also, the Chaplain at the University is a Dominican.
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Hopefully somebody else on this board is more familiar with this group of Dominicans, I am not… You can usually tell pretty quickly if a specific community is orthodox or not though – attend their weekend Mass and that in itself may be enough to tell you what’s up with them!! :whistle:
I am about to read a book called The Dominicans, by Benedict Ashley OP. It is quoted on the International Dominican site so I think it will be good. I think after reading this book I will have a better idea of whether God is calling me to the Dominicans.
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The best book to read about the Dominican order as a whole is Hinnebusch’s “Dominican Spirituality”. It is an older book, and somewhat hard to find, however the entire text is now online free!!

Visit op.org/domcentral/trad/domspirit/default.htm to read it.

There is also a great book titled “The Life of St. Dominic” by Sr. Augusta Theodosia Dane, and published by TAN Books – highly recommended for learning about the historical origins of the order.

TAN also has another book called “Dominican Saints” that gives details of the multitude of Dominican saints throughout Church history (including Sts. Dominic, Catherine of Siena, Thomas Aquinas, Martin de Porres, Rose of Lima, Pius V, Vincent Ferrer, etc!). It was written by the novices at the Dominican House of Studies.
Again, thank you VERY much for your wonderful advice. I have a little book called My Way of Life, and it is supposed to be a simplified version of the *Summa *of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Maybe I will also start reading this to familiarize myself with Thomistic Theology before I go to college.
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I have never read that book, can’t comment on it 🙂 But, Dr. Peter Kreeft (philosopher at Boston College) has a great little book called “A Shorter Summa” that targets key elements of the Summa and explains them in clearer terms. He also has a larger book called the “Summa of the Summa”, which is thicker than the other one and more advanced.

There are also two other neat books - one is the Thomas Aquinas prayer book (Thomas Aquinas not only wrote the Summa, but he wrote the beautiful liturgy for the Feast of Corpus Christi, as well as the songs we sing at Eucharistic Exposition/Benediction!) and the other is one in the “Praying With the Saints” series of books (begun by Fr. Benedict Groeschel) and is the one specific to “Praying with St. Thomas Aquinas”. I think Mike Aquilinna wrote it.

Have fun!! God bless your adventure in faith! 😃

+veritas+
 
Fr Vincent Serpa of Catholic Answers is a Dominican and his province appears to be doing well. He was interviewed on the radio show (can’t recall when exactly but do a search on the CA’s radio show section of the web site).

I agree with what was said about not writing off a religious order. What matters is what the Lord is calling you to. No one can answer for you and it is rarely a matter of weighing one order against another.

Prepare your heart for whatever He may ask.
 
Thanks for answering my questions. I have the Thomas Aquinas Prayer Book, and it is VERY good.

Also, I have a biography of Saint Dominic by Sister Mary Jean Dorcy OP, and this was really the first book about a saint that I read after my conversion. Ever since I read it I have been very inspired by Saint Dominic, and continue to be to this day.
 
Thanks for answering my questions. I have the Thomas Aquinas Prayer Book, and it is VERY good.

Also, I have a biography of Saint Dominic by Sister Mary Jean Dorcy OP, and this was really the first book about a saint that I read after my conversion. Ever since I read it I have been very inspired by Saint Dominic, and continue to be to this day.
 
Oops, sorry. I posted it twice. BTW- that biography of Saint Dominic that I have is published by TAN publishers.
 
Also, does ANYONE know ANYTHING about the Southern Dominican Province, particularly the Dominicans at the University of Dallas?

BTW Veritas- My Grandparents live in Somerset, OH and attend a Dominican parish there. It is part of the Eastern Province of Saint Joseph.
 
The Eastren Province of the Dominicans are very orthodox, and have done fairly well vocation wise, and even invited Alan Keyes to speak are the graduation at their mother house in DC. The Westren Provid from what I understand is becoming more orthodox, and its novices are orthodox, but still has many friars from the 60s and 70s.

As for the Centeral province, it is still quite liberal and the Southren Province uses the centeral provices facilities to teach Novices.
 
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JNB:
The Eastren Province of the Dominicans are very orthodox, and have done fairly well vocation wise, and even invited Alan Keyes to speak are the graduation at their mother house in DC. The Westren Provid from what I understand is becoming more orthodox, and its novices are orthodox, but still has many friars from the 60s and 70s.

As for the Centeral province, it is still quite liberal and the Southren Province uses the centeral provices facilities to teach Novices.
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Thank you very much for your reply. This is very interesting. From looking at the Southern Province’s website it seemed to be orthodox. Just how liberal is the Central Province? Is it SO liberal that an orthodox person just couldn’t make it?

BTW- have you ever been to Saint Patrick’s in Columbus? I went there when I was visiting Columbus one time, but at the time they were remodeling their sanctuary. Therefore, they had the mass in a fellowship hall. I really enjoyed it though.
 
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