Instructions for Novices

The Dominican Province of St. Joseph is pleased to announce the following book publication: During the Nineteenth Century, when religious life was on the verge of disappearing, the Order of Preachers entered a new springtime. Instructions for Novices provides the spiritual and practical principles that under-girded the Dominican renewal. Written by Blessed Hyacinthe-Marie Cormier, O.P., in 1880, the work is the fruit of his experience, learning, and sanctity. One of his primary concerns is to maintain the essential and ancient elements of Dominican tradition while adapting them to new circumstances. Faithful to this purpose, Bl. Cormier shows his readers a sure path to Christian perfection. This edition of Instructions for Novices, here translated for the first time into English by Fr. George Christian, O.P. and his brother Richard, contains supplementary materials to enrich an appreciation of the work. The significance of Bl. Cormier’s book is outlined in a prefatory letter by Fr. Emmanuel Suarez, O.P., the Master of the Order under whose auspices Cormier’s work was re-published in 1950. The historical and theological context of Cormier’s work is discussed in an introductory essay by Frs. Basil Cole, O.P., and Ezra Sullivan, O.P. Finally, the life and work of Bl. Cormier is sketched in a biographical appendix. Instructions for Novices can be purchased here.

In his life, Father Cormier had lived constantly for truth and transmitted it to all his Dominican brothers with humility and perseverance. . . . He led the children of Saint Dominic to God with his wisdom and competence, making them true sons and witnesses of the Kingdom. —Bl. John Paul II