Tis the Season of Ordinations & Vocations

Greetings from the “mile-high” city! I am here in Colorado for mother’s day as well as my niece’s first Holy Communion. It has been wonderful to be back with my family. Today I celebrated the holy sacrifice of the Mass for my parents, relatives and my grandmother who is 101 years old and the other residents where she lives. She still prays the Rosary and the Divine Mercy chaplet every day!

As you know our Dominican Ordinations are right around the corner. ALL OF YOU ARE INVITED! They will be the morning of May 27, 2011 at our church, St. Dominic’s in downtown Washington, DC. Four of our men, ordained to the Diaconate last year, are now preparing for ordination to the priesthood. If you know you will be coming, please do let me know so that I can meet you and let you know about the reception that will follow, to which you are also invited. This will be an excellent opportunity to informally meet many friars from our province, including our student friars and some of our novices from Cincinnati.

This is also that time of the year when men begin to contact us about vocations with some more frequency. Our next vocation weekends for the 2011/2012 academic year are already filling- up; the first one will be at the end of September. I would be happy also to welcome you informally before then to the Dominican House of Studies for vespers (evening prayer) and dinner or an overnight visit.

I would suggest you check out the interesting postings from the blog: Dominican History. The Order of Preachers has been in existence in the USA for 200 years. That being said, our short history is part of an 800 year tradition of the Dominicans worldwide. This living Dominican tradition continues to form men to be preachers of the Gospel.

Cloister garden at DHS

It continues to form unworthy men to be saints! Our older brothers and sisters in the Order have shown that the Dominican charism works. Extraordinary ways of living the Gospel are necessary to communicate the saving Redemption that God offers to the world through Jesus Christ. Come help us!

Finally I would draw your attention to some recent updates I have posted at www.DominicanFriars.org. So be sure to check them out and say a prayer for the men who are preparing to enter the next novitiate class. Once again the Lord has been very generous to us in sending us strong vocations for the future of the Order of Preachers. May God be Praised! Each of you are in my prayers and Masses that the Lord will help you to respond generously to His call in your life.

I will close here with a few views of the Easter season. May our Lord who conquered sin and death continue to strengthen you and may our Blessed Mother, Queen of Heaven help us!