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Volume 44, Issue 4
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fr. Carlos A. Azpiroz Costa, OP -- Master of the Order
Rome, January 28, 2003
On a visit to Iraq, we heard the sound of an Anglo-American plane and the noise of exploding bombs in the distance. We were walking along the streets of Qaraqoch, a small Christian village a few kilometers from Mosul. We soon learned that the bombing is a daily occurrence here but it still surprises strangers. The Chaldean priest who accompanied us simply commented that“those are your bombs". When children hear the noise, they climb on roof tops to see where they fall.
During our eight days in Iraq in October 2002, we met the Dominican friars and most of the Apostolic Sisters present in the country as well as many Lay Dominicans.
The friars are located in Mosul and Baghdad where they are responsible for the teaching and formation of the Christian communities in Iraq. They publish a journal, La Pensée chrétienne (Christian Thought) which has an impact beyond the Christian community. Additionally, the friars have a Theological Centre, created some ten years ago, which they look after in collaboration with others. The Centre attracts 500 to 600 students who attend theology courses on Monday nights. There are approximately 800 who register annually and 300 to 400 who complete the yearly cycle.
The Iraqi Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena, founded by the friars 110 years ago, is a dynamic community which is present in Christian villages. The sisters live close to the people and serve the local church. They serve as catechists, run clinics and some teach in their old schools from which they were expelled some thirty years ago. They also direct a house of spiritual exercises and Christian formation, near the University of Mosul. The sisters also have communities in Baghdad as well as abroad in Jordan,Italy, Sweden, Turkey, Lebanon and Palestine. The sisters breathe a joy of life in the communities and their presence provides comfort to Christians. However, their situation is becoming more difficult because of the arrival of groups adhering to Wahabbi Islam, who are very aggressive against Christians.
In Baghdad, the community of the Sisters of Charity, Dominicans of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary including their novices, run a clinic which is one of the best in the city that provides great services in spite of the difficulties in obtaining medicine and drugs as well as medical supplies. Their maternity ward is especially appreciated by everyone and, in recognition of the work of the sisters, a number of Muslim families have named their children Joseph and Mary.
In Mosul, the sisters of the Presentation operate a small guest house for Christian female students who are subjected to pressures to convert to Islam.
Lay Dominicans are organized in three regions consisting of eight groups with about 500 members. Besides their formation activities, they are also very involved in their parishes as well as in charitable activities. One of the activities consists in working with the sisters to provide financial help to families who must cover the travel costs of students who wish to attend school. Schools are free but travel costs are more than the families can afford.
The possibility of war in the near future and its consequences for Christians and other religious minorities is uppermost in the minds of people. The situation also contributes to a large emigration of the Iraqi elite, especially among Christians. However, people continue to plan for the future. Notwithstanding the menace of a war, the friars and sisters themselves are building and developing projects and activities in common. At the same time, those we met all expressed concern for the immediate future, viewing the increase of Islamic fundamentalism and the effects of the embargo as a dangerous mix. Malnutrition is one of the causes of the deaths of four to five thousand children per month. In spite of this, they remain hopeful and this in itself is a testimony of faith founded on a history of martyrs. The presence of religious is a sign of hope, especially since these last years they have continued to put up new buildings and restore old ones that were in disrepair. Their endeavors are examples of service to the Christian and Muslim populations in the country.
The Iraqi regime is certainly not exemplary and people are aware of this fact. Iraqis are the primary victims of the situation, which is aggravated by the embargo that adds to the material and economic constraints the regime imposes on them. We can at least raise the question of the moral legitimacy of a 12-year embargo that has failed to achieve its goal of ending the regime. We can as well question the moral legitimacy of the concept of a“preventive war". This concept would appear dangerous for a number of reasons: who establishes the criteria for determining the launching of such a war? if this reasoning is acceptable, who would prevent another country from doing likewise in the face of a “potential danger" of its own design?
In terms of the embargo, it has brought about a general impoverishment of the population with a consequent quasi disappearance of the Iraqi middle class that was previously a relatively important and cultured one. In a country that, according to many accounts, was secular and religiously tolerant some years ago, impoverishment has paved the way for the development of fundamentalism.
In the present context, the action of religious and lay Dominicans in the Western World is limited. It is evident that as well as praying for peace, they also have rights and duties as citizens and, therefore, it is possible for them to inform and put pressure on elected officials. Since one of the main challenges is the lack of balanced information, members of religious communities with their independent information networks can help to develop a less simplistic public opinion on the situation, for instance in reminding people that there have been Christians in the Middle East since the Apostolic age and inviting all to pray in union with them. This can take place, for example, in parishes and would be a response to a request often heard from Iraqi Christians: “Don’t forget us!" Furthermore, certain symbolic actions such as fasting are possible even though they will not attract wide attention from the media. This was undertaken by a number of Dominican men and women who fasted for one month in September 2002, in New York City. The fast ended with a Liturgy of the Word presided by the Master of the Order in the gardens of the UN and had a strong impact on the participants including the homeless of Union Square who supported the fasters. Regretfully, the fast was barely mentioned in a media that is dominated by a single way of thinking. It is also worth noting two initiatives of the Dominican Leadership Conference, an organization made up of the leadership of the Dominican sisters and brothers of United States. The first initiative was a petition addressed to members of the US Congress, which was widely circulated. The second one was an invitation for Dominicans to wear a badge, which reads: “I have family in Iraq". Such initiatives could be repeated elsewhere in line with local context and requirements.
We recognize that there are other actions being undertaken for peace beyond the ones mentioned above. All actions for peace are useful including gestures of solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Iraq. The situation is complex and therefore it is necessary to analyze it and to highlight what is at stake, without falling into angelism or naiveté. We need to act without prejudice but with all the boldness and the radicalism which the Gospel inspires. Peace is worth the risks while war is the easy way out.
We encourage all members of the Dominican Family to work resolutely for peace through prayer and actions inspired by the Spirit. Your lobbying activity vis-à-vis elected officials and governments can make a difference. Non-violent action carried out in a serious and determined way, in the name of justice and peace and with reference to the Gospel, can still avoid a cataclysm that could lead to disastrous results for the Iraqi people as well as for the Middle East and its relations with the rest of the world.
By Roberta Popara, OP
Iraq is a country of about 23 million people, mostly Muslim with about a half-million Christians, most of whom are Roman Catholics of Syrian and Chaldean rites. Christianity came to this region of the world by the end of the first century AD. Iraq's biblical sites include: the traditional site of the Garden of Eden, Abraham's homeland in Ur, location of the Israelites exiled to Babylon, where Jonah prophesied to the people of Nineveh and where the Good News has been at home for centuries.
Historic accounts of the Dominican Order indicate that at least one friar was part of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad in the Middle Ages. This "house" was a gathering of scholars from around the world, brought together by the Caliph reigning at that time. This Caliph wanted to nurture both the gathering and dissemination of knowledge worldwide.
Dominicans came as a part of the Church more permanently when friars arrived to minister among Christians more than 250 years ago. In 1873, the Presentation of Our Lady Dominican Sisters arrived. A second congregation, the St. Catherine of Siena Dominican Sisters, began to organize in 1877. While this latter congregation consists entirely of Iraqi sisters, there are now Iraqi friars and Iraqi Presentation sisters as well.
Today, Iraqi Dominicans, including the laity, minister among Christians and Muslims in schools, clinics, orphanages, hospitals and numerous other apostolates. Since the Gulf War, our family in Iraq has suffered greatly. The Dominican Family in Iraq continues to witness, through their ministry, the love of God in the midst of hardship.
We are all children of God. I have Dominican Family, Christian family - HUMAN FAMILY - in Iraq. And, so do you. ------from www.dominicanfastforpeace.org/iraq.html
Buttons and bumper stickers claiming "I Have Family in Iraq" have been distributed in Dominican convents
and provinces throughout the country. The idea for the campaign sprang into being in mid-October [2002], when
Dominican leaders from around the United States gathered for their annual meeting in Adrian, Michigan.
Most had expressed their frustration and anxiety about the warring stance our country was beginning to take in Iraq. Over the last three years, delegations of Dominicans have traveled to Iraq to learn of the situation there firsthand from their brothers and sisters in the Order of Preachers, the Dominicans. The campaign comes out of the angst about what our country has done to innocent Iraqi people through 12 years of economic sanctions and with the Bush Administration's seeming determination to go to war with Iraq. To order buttons or bumper stickers, contact Jane Boland, OP by telephone at (608) 748-4411 ext. 255; by fax at (608) 748-5501; or by e-mail at jboland@sinsinawa.org. The cost is 30 cents per button or bumper sticker, plus postage. ---- from www.dominicanfastforpeace.org/iraq.html
| QUEEN OF PEACE, PRAY FOR US |
By Fr. Jim Motl, OP, Central Province Promoter for the Dominican Laity
As I write this in late February war is uppermost in my mind. By the time you read it we will either be at war with Iraq or still be waiting for war to start. As I write I am sure that you are all praying with me that world powers will find some way to peace. I am saying a rosary each day for peace. Even if we avoid war somehow, there will still be plenty in the world situation for us to focus our Lenten prayers upon. We may be praying for the Iraqi people suffering most directly the devastation of war. It may be for our own country, if we suffer some new terrorist attack. It may be for the healing of wounds opened or further deepened by the attack of one people upon another. Whatever the situation, there will be plenty to pray for this Lent. Of course, there always is much to pray for, but that is not the principal reason for praying. The first reason is to praise and thank God for all that God has done for us even as we recognize that we have not used the gifts we have received very well. As a nation we have enjoyed many natural resources and many freedoms that other people only dream of. Reflection on how poorly we have used these gifts on all levels, from personal to international, should lead us to want to atone for squandering God's generosity to us. Recognition of how poorly we do with what God gives us leads us to petition God for help in better using these gifts. This four-fold pattern of prayer has guided mystics and ordinary Christians for centuries. The same movement from recognition to response leads naturally to the other two traditional practices for Lent, fasting and charity. Both are practices in using God's gifts to better advantage than satisfying our self-centered desires and so-called needs.
I praise and am thankful to God at this time for the generosity and hospitality that the St. Louis and Denver chapters have shown to me and to Ruth during our visits with them. We were both inspired by the evidence of prayer, study, community life, and ministry that we found in both chapters. I hope that our reflections with them on these four "pillars" of Dominican life will prove helpful. I am looking forward to our visits in the months ahead to our other chapters. If you haven't yet arranged a time for us to visit your chapter or group with Ruth, I urge you to be in contact with her about dates that we might come this spring or summer. I know that we have set weekends to be at Rockford, Springfield, Albuquerque, Milwaukee, River Forest, Dubuque, and Minneapolis. I am happy to report that our visit to West Lafayette, Indiana, resulted in a new group of Dominican Laity starting at Purdue University. I appreciate the work of Br. Doug Greer, O.P. and the commitment of Fr. Dan Davis, O.P., in helping get this group started. The first members of this group are planning for a reception ceremony on June 8. Let us keep them in our prayers. Fr. Chuck Leute, O.P., is going to being working with several people in North Dakota interested in starting a group of Dominican Laity there. When we go to Albuquerque, Ruth and I hope to meet with people interested in starting a group in another part of New Mexico. There have also been inquiries from people in Kansas City, Missouri, and Wausau, Wisconsin. There may be possibilities of starting new groups in these places and others as well. There is real interest in becoming lay members of the Dominican family in the Midwest. Let us praise and thank God for this interest. Let us work to make the Dominican Laity better known and respected in areas where we are already established. Improving community life can even provide opportunity for atonement. Above all, let us petition that God will continue to inspire us all with love for God's Word that will help each of us to live in such a way that will attract others to Jesus and his Church. I just read that the fastest growing faith in the world today is Islam, not Christianity. This alone should give urgency and focus to our determination to deepen the practice of our faith this Lent.
by Ruth Kummer, OP, Provincial Dominican Laity President
A brief search of the documents on the Rule in the Dominican Laity Office finds that laity in the 13th Century were seeking for a way to connect with the work of the Church. Many guilds were formed to cultivate and protect artisans and laborers while others identified with the work of the Church. Often the church-related groups focused on penance for sins of their world and on the works of mercy.
St. Francis of Assisi and St. Dominic were examples of penance and mercy in their time, and both founded religious orders with associated lay groups called Third Orders. Lay members of both orders exercised a corporate Christian response to the Gospel in a penitential manner. It was customary for groups of penitents to operate and staff hospices and other centers of mercy. (A reflection on how this is done today would be surprisingly the same and different. What works of mercy today came from the word "hospitality" - hospital,hospice, hotel, hostel, etc.? Though, many of today's institutions have the ideal of the gospel and mercy, they lean more toward profits and are less and less identified with a corporate Christian movement of the Gospel.)
Penitent fraternities aligned themselves with one order of the friars or the other (Franciscan or Dominicans). Human nature being what it is tensions grew between the two groups of fraternities. A resolution of the tension was that the author of the Dominican Rule used the formula of the Franciscans but the structure was reorganized and tightened. Dominican Fraternities must be willing to be under the direction and correction of the Dominican Master of the Order or local Provincial. Even today friars (Promoters) are appointed in consultation with the members of the Provincial Council of Dominican Laity. In 1285 Munio of Zamora, a successor of Saint Dominic, promulgated the first Dominican Laity Rule, the Rule of Brothers and Sisters of Penance of Saint Dominic.
The second Rule was adopted to conform to the new Code of Canon Law in 1917. The Master General of the Order approved the Rule in 1932 with the title: Rule of Secular Third Order of Saint Dominic. Changes were made regarding the recitation of the office, confession, communion, days of fasting, visiting the sick of the fraternity and other nuances.
After Vatican II the Order recognized a need for updates of the 1932 Rule. The third Rule was approved in 1964. The General Chapter of Friars in River Forest in 1968 proposed a fourth Rule, which was approved on an experimental basis by the Sacred Congregation for Religious in 1972 under the title: Rule of the Lay Fraternities of Saint Dominic. By legislation of the 1974 General Chapter of the Friars at Madonna Dell'Arco the terms of First, Second, Third Order reference disappeared.
The new Code of Canon Law, the Bologna Document of Rome on Dominican Family and the General Chapter of Rome in 1983 commissioned the Master of the Order to hold an International Congress of Dominican Laity (1985) to renew and adopt it's Rule. The fifth Rule: The Rule of the Lay Chapters of Saint Dominic was approved by the Sacred Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes in January 1987 and promulgated by Master General Damien Byrne on January 28, 1987.
In conclusion, you will find a correction or addition to the Rule as published by the Central Province. After reviewing various available documents of the translation of the Rule, it is clear that item # 23 was omitted along the way to publication. As of this publication of the Challenge, add a copy of the change to your Rule Book and as a chapter, study what are the implications to the future of Dominican Laity's responsibility in the Dominican Order.
In your Rule Book on page 12 and 13 make the change to:
National and International Councils
22. a. Where there are several Provinces of the Order within the same country,
a National Council may be established according to the norms formulated
in the Particular Guidelines.
b. Likewise, if judged opportune, there may be an International Chapter.
The Chapters of the whole Order are to be consulted on this matter.
23. Councils of Chapters may submit requests and petitions to the Provincial
Chapter of the Friars; Provincial Councils and National Councils may submit
them to a General Chapter. Members of the Laity Chapters should be invited
to these Chapters to deal with matters that pertain to the Laity.
[This paragraph was missing from the Central Province text,
and thus the subsequent paragraph was numbered differently.]
The Statutes of Chapters
24. The statutes, which govern the Dominican Laity, are:
a. The Rule of the Dominican Laity (Fundamental Constitution, norms of life
and government of the Chapters);
b. General Declarations of the Master of the Order and General Chapters
c. Particular Guidelines.
by Sister Beth Murphy, OP, Friday, January 10, 2003
My Dear Sisters and Brothers,
It is past time for me to share with you news of our Dominican Family in Iraq. Our sisters and brothers want me to tell you, first of all, how grateful they are for your love and support. It was my privilege to carry to them your notes, well wishes, and prayers. And I was humbled to receive, on your behalf, their gratitude and promise of mutual prayer. This letter is long. My apologies; there is much to tell. You don't have to read it all at once. Since this is a "family" letter, I'll try not to repeat stories that have already been published on the Pax Christi website, which you can still access for details about the other aspects of the journey (www.paxchristiusa.org).
In each place of pilgrimage, Jordan, Baghdad, Basra, and Mosul, we were welcomed with what I've come to know as characteristically Dominican Arabic hospitality. The basic elements are lots of kisses and laughter, lovingly and lavishly prepared food, non-stop conversation (What language barrier?) and a deep, infectious spirit of generosity and joy. My companions on the Iraq Peace Journey were duly impressed by the welcome we received from our Dominican sisters and brothers, and I must say, I was proud to show them off!
There are now five St. Catherine of Siena OPs in Jordan, which was our first stop on the journey. The two
most recent arrivals, whom we did not meet, take care of the Vatican consulate in Amman. Three, Habiba, Najma,
and Sara, run a clinic in Zarqa on the outskirts of Amman. They greeted us warmly at the airport in Amman and
spirited us off to the hotel in a borrowed mini-bus. The next night they sent the bus again to fetch us for a
feast at their convent in Zarqa. How they managed to prepare such a banquet
after having worked all day still mystifies me. Though we didn't have time for a tour of the clinic, they
explained that their clients are mostly refugees from Palestine, Iraq, and other nations in the region. On a
typical day they and their small staff serve 180 patients. Further U.S. aggression (the term used by many
Jordanians and Iraqis) against Iraq is likely to increase their workload some, though, according to the NGO
representatives and aid workers with whom we spoke, Jordan will not allow refugees into the country, nor will
other neighboring nations. These groups are preparing for tent cities inside Iraq near its borders, with the
attendant complications of poor sanitation and nutrition.
In Baghdad, I was blessed to spend some wonderful hours with small groups of sisters and friars, in addition to the time all of us spent on tours of al-Hayat maternity hospital, St. Raphael's general hospital, and at one of the local convents, where we were treated to another great feast. That evening I handed around the bag full of "I Have Family in Iraq" buttons and spoke about the efforts U.S. Dominicans are making to forestall the war. The hope and gratitude that generated was palpable. Father Yousif Thomas looked at the button, looked around the room at the guests, and said proudly "and I have family in America!"
It was the same reaction when we visited Sr. Mary Anne and the Presentation Dominican sisters at St. Raphael's hospital. I have great admiration for healthcare workers in Iraq who must deal everyday with the frustrations of trying to fulfill their healing vocation under the most desperate circumstances created by 12 years of economic sanctions. In a private moment, Sr. Mary Anne confided that the emotional and psychological health of the people was severely tried by the crescendo of war rhetoric coming from Washington. I found it difficult to look her in the eye when she asked, "When will it end? Isn't this enough?"
I was in Mosul for only a few precious hours, but still was able to meet Sr. Rihab and Sr. Luma's families. Luma's mother and father, and Rihab's parents and five of her siblings made the short trip from Karakoosh to get a look at one of these American Dominicans. Like any families would, they wanted to know all the details about their loved ones' lives. Are they healthy? Are they learning English? Are they behaving themselves? I reassured them on every count.
Everywhere we went people wanted to know what we thought about the chances for war. After a while it began to feel absurdly like the small talk we make about the weather, with less chance of an accurate prediction. It must have seemed equally absurd to our Iraqi friends when we'd ask them what was their plan in the event of a war. Where would they go? What would they do? While some few seemed to have plans in mind, most of them said they'd stay put and do what they could.
What amazed me more than anything, I think, was that in the midst of the uncertainty and fear, our Dominican sisters and brothers maintain their commitment to their ministries and a deep sense of Dominican mission. As you may know, the first Dominicans arrived in Iraq in the 13th century and studied at the "House of Wisdom" in Baghdad, the oldest university in the world. Dominicans have had a continuous presence in the country for the past 250 years. They continue to publish, work, teach theology, pray, produce catechetical materials, keep open dialogue with the leaders of the Muslim community, minister to the sick and the orphaned, and comfort those who come to them.
In Mosul, the sisters accept new postulants every year and continue to plan for the future of the community. They recently opened a new spirituality center where they provide retreats and conferences for the public. The sisters responsible for formation are intently updating their theology and passing that along to the new community members. The friars speak enthusiastically about opening a formation program in Baghdad. (Currently their students go to France.) Two of the Presentation sisters recently accepted a call to Basra to run a kindergarten - more like our pre-schools - associated with one of the Chaldean parishes there. Basra, in the southern no-fly zone, has been ground zero for two wars, from which it has never recovered. It is likely to be one of the first targets in any further aggression. One of the sisters explained to me that she accepted the assignment even though it meant putting herself more directly in harms way, because she could provide a little hope for the children and families served by the program.
Are they daft? If love is daft.
The friars in Baghdad and Mosul were particularly pleased to show me their convents, renovated recently as part of the celebration of their 250 years in Iraq. I had seen the buildings the last time I was there and heard the same explanations. This time I understood, not because of the buildings, but because of the witness of their lives, reflected in that marble and stone: Those who love, suffer. God is love; God suffers with the people in Iraq. How can we not suffer, and love, with God? This theology is born of the experience of our sisters and brothers in Iraq. Their suffering-with, and their experience of God's love in God's suffering-with, is their Holy Preaching.
The circumstances under which they preach are chilling. Perhaps you saw news from the Vatican just before Christmas alluding to the dangerous situation that awaits Christians in the event of a U.S. aggression against Iraq. Archbishop Renato Martino, the prefect of the Council for Justice and Peace and the Vatican's former UN envoy, said a preventive war was a "war of aggression" and therefore not a "just war." Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, the Vatican's foreign minister, warned of "disastrous" consequences for the Christian community. "One must think of the consequences for the civil population and of the repercussions in the Islamic world," he said. Our sisters and brothers in Iraq, the leaders of the Christian churches, aid agency representatives, and journalists working in the region, all articulated these same concerns during our meetings with them. U.S. bombs, the humanitarian crisis that will be created by an aggression, and the consequent destabilization of the region put all innocent Iraqi's at great risk, but especially minority populations, including Christians. These are the circumstances that create the context in which our sisters and brothers preach the gospel. Their lives are at risk every day. Under these circumstances, our love, care, and concern matter deeply to our Iraqi family. Our efforts here in the States to speak out for the people of Iraq, to preach, to pray and fast, to stand on cold street corners with our wilting signs and frozen feet, to write to our elected officials, to engage in acts of civil disobedience - these are gifts of hope and love beyond telling.
When I went to Iraq I took with me all of your great and small acts of love for the people of Iraq. I told you I would do that, but I only understood what it really meant for me to say so when Sr. Marie Therése ran from the house to greet me, and when she smiled and said, "Now it is Christmas." Then I realized that I got to be the Magi. I went, and I come back, bearing gifts. Like those the Magi carried, the gifts I brought to Iraq - our continued promise of support - and the ones I carry to you now - the witness of our Iraqi sisters' and brothers' lives - are signs of Incarnation. They are expensive gifts. They cost us our lives. In one way or another, they cost all of us our lives.
Peace to you,
Beth Murphy, OP
P.S. At the invitation of Sister Margaret Ormond, director of Dominican Sisters International, I will participate in a panel about Iraq at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Jan. 23-29. This is an unexpected and exciting continuation of the Iraq Peace Journey, one that I will look forward to sharing with you. Sister Sharene, one of the St. Catherine of Siena Dominicans from Iraq, may also be participating, though I am uncertain about that. I ask once again for your prayers. If you would like to learn about the meeting, you can visit www.worldsocialforum.org.
by Trappist Fr. M. Basil Pennington, ocso
It is reported that our Blessed Mother one day said to one of the seers of Medjugorje: "You do not pray enough." That is undoubtedly true of all of us. In fact we have been told to pray constantly, to pray without ceasing, in one way or another. In these most perilous times, the human spirit and the very earth itself cry out to us: Pray for peace.
Actually, when we gather as a praying community, we do pray for peace again and again.
Traditionally, at the beginning of the liturgy the bishop would and today any priest might -- pray: "Peace be with you." And the community gathered will respond with its prayer: "And also with you." As this peace flows into this cell of the Mystical Body, the Whole Christ, this segment of the People of God, it flows into the whole. Our prayer and the Lord’s response do not cease until they have embraced the whole, every member, and every corner of the creation.
Again, as the time for Communion approaches, the presider will again pray: "The peace of the Lord be with you always." And the community will repeat its prayer: "And also with you." And then turn to repeat the prayer again and again, one to another.
But before that moment, praying in the name of all, the priest will take up the Lord’s Prayer and go on to pray to the Father: "Deliver us, Lord, from every evil and grant us peace in our days…."After the completion of this prayer, in union with all, he will go on to address himself to God the Son. Reminding him of his own commitment: "Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles, "I leave you peace, my peace I give you," he will ask: "…grant us the peace and unity of your Kingdom, where you live for ever and ever."
And yet still again, as the priest breaks the Sacred Bread in preparation for Communion, we raise our voices in prayer to the Eucharist Sacrifice:"Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: grant us peace."
In the traditional Roman Eucharist Prayer (Number 1) there is yet another prayer for peace. Just before the Memorial of the Lord’s Supper, the priest will pray: "Grant us your peace in this life…."
Prayer for peace is woven deep in the fabric of the prayer of the People of God. But obviously it must not be restricted only to this time of communal prayer. Communal prayer is meant to form our minds and hearts in the ways of true Christian prayer. Ardent prayer for peace, so much a part of the praying community, must be as much a part of our personal prayer as Christian persons. In these times, morning, noon and night, not just daily but hourly, prayer for peace seeks to find its place on our lips, rising up from our hearts.
The multiplication of prayers, of course, is not the important thing; quality not quantity is uppermost. The repeated prayers for peace that come to lips at the Eucharist can unfortunately be said by route, with little conscious concern about that for which we pray. It is the deep concern of our hearts that finds expression in the prayers that is heard. But if that deep concern is there, it will, of course, abide and seek to express itself again and again as we go about our daily lives. Quantity may give us some indication of the quality of our prayer. The prayer for peace is repeated again and again in the communal Liturgy precisely because it is the heartfelt concern of the Christ person.
So with confidence let us dare to pray
Our Father, … grant us peace in our day.
Lord, … grant us the peace and unity of your Kingdom.
Lamb of God, … grant us peace.
And may the peace of the Lord be with you always.
Abba Basil
from Catholic Free Press,
January 24, 2003
Dominican Liturgical Calendar March 2003 19- St. Joseph (S) 23-3rd Sunday of Lent, Hours Week III 25-The Annunciation of the Lord (S) 30-4th Sunday of Lent, Hours Week IV April 2003 5- St. Vincent Ferrer, priest (M) 6- 5th Sunday of Lent, Hours Week I 10- Bl. Anthony Neyrot, priest/martyr 13- Palm Sunday, Hours Week II 17- Holy Thursday 18- Good Friday 19- Holy Saturday 20- Easter Sunday (S), Hours Week I 27- 2nd Sunday of Easter (S), Hours Week II 29- St. Catherine of Siena, lay Dominican/ doctor (F) 30- St. Pius V, pope (M) May 2003 4- 3rd Sunday of Easter, Hours Week III 5- St. Vincent Ferrer, priest (M) 7- Bl. Albert of Bergamo, lay Dominican 8- Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary over the entire Order of Preachers 10- St. Antoninus of Florence, bishop (M) 11- 4th Sunday of Easter, Hours Week IV 13- Bl. Imelda Lambertini, religious 15- Bl. Andrew Abellon, priest - Bl. Giles of Portugal, priest 18- 5th Sunday of Easter, Hours Week I 21- Bl. Columba of Rieti, religious - Bl. Hyacinthe-Marie Cormier, priest 24- The Translation of Holy Father Dominic (M) 25- 6th Sunday of Easter, Hours Week II 27- Bl. Andrew Franchi, bishop 28- Bl. Mary Bartholomew Bagnesi, lay Dominican 29- Bl. William Arnaud, priest, & companions, martyrs 30- Bl. James Salomonio, priest 31- The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (F) June 2003 1- The Ascension of the Lord (S), Hours Week III 4- St. Peter of Verona, priest/martyr (M) 7- Sacred Heart of Jesus (S) 8- Pentecost Sunday (S), Hours Week II 10- Bl. John Dominici, bishop (OM) 12- Bl. Stephen Bandelli, priest 15- The Most Holy Trinity (S), Hours Week III 18- Bl. Osanna of Mantua, lay Dominican 20- Bl. Margaret Ebner, religious 22-The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (S), Hours Week IV 24- The Nativity of John the Baptist (S) 27- The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus 29- SS. Peter and Paul (S), Hours Week I July 2003 4- Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, lay Dominican 6- 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Hours Week II 8- Bl. Adrian Fortescue, lay Dominican/ martyr 9- St. John of Cologne, priest/martyr, and his companions, martyrs (M) (S) Solemnity (F) Feast (M) Memorial (OM) Optional Memorial * Office for the Dead is prayed
Litany of Saint Dominic Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us. God the Son Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us. God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us. Holy Virgin of virgins, pray for us. Holy Father Dominic, pray for us. Light of the Church, pray for us. Day Star of the world, pray for us. Preacher of Grace, pray for us. Rose of Patience, pray for us. Most zealous for the salvation of souls, pray for us. Most desirous of martyrdom, pray for us. Evangelical man, pray for us. Lover of the Word, pray for us. Ivory of chastity, pray for us. Man of an apostolic heart, pray for us. Doctor of truth, pray for us. Model of poverty, pray for us. Rich in purity of life, pray for us. Burning as a torch for the salvation of sinners, pray for us. Herald of the Gospel, pray for us. Rule of obedience, pray for us. Shining as the sun in the temple of God, pray for us. Enriched with the grace of Christ, pray for us. Clothed in heavenly virtue, pray for us. Father and leader of the Order of Preachers, pray for us. You, who at your death, promised to be our intercessor, pray for us. At the hour of our death, receive us into the heavenly kingdom, pray for us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Pray for us, O holy Father St. Dominic, R. That we may be worthy of the promises of Christ. Let us pray. Lord, let the holiness and teaching of our Father Dominic come to the aid of your Church. May he help us now with his prayers as he once inspired people by his preaching. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
- ALBUQUERQUE, NM NUESTRA SEÑORA DE LAS MONTAÑAS PROCHAPTER
- Sick: Sonia Sabath
- Their first annual Christmas potluck was held on December 7. In February, they studied the life of St. Joseph
from a supplemental booklet written by Pope John Paul II entitled Guardian of the Redeemer from the magazine
Inside the Vatican. Fr. Gene Bowski was their March 1 retreat director. Members are preparing questions for
their April 5 chapter visitation. A combined Dominican/Franciscan retreat is being planned for November 1.
- DUBUQUE, IA ST. ROSE OF LIMA CHAPTER
- They discussed Set Aside Every Fear by John Kernan.
- DENVER, CO ST. DOMINIC CHAPTER
- Sick: Fr. Cornelius Hahn
- Deceased: Florence Morahan on February 23
- Their chapter visitation with Day of Prayer occurred January 31 and February 1.
- FARMINGTON HILLS BLESSED SACRAMENT CHAPTER
- First Profession: Marian Schulte on October 13, 2002
- MILWAUKEE, WI QUEEN OF THE ROSARY CHAPTER
- Sick: Marcie Boyer; Winnie Dahle; and Karen Sabourin
- MINNEAPOLIS, MN HOLY ROSARY CHAPTER
- Congratulations: Jim Longie celebrating his 68th Anniversary of Profession
- Deceased: Virginia Barrett, Roseville, MN; and Shurrell Olmstead
- The Annual Memorial Mass for Deceased Members was held on November 9, 2002. The chapter has been blessed with a
special guest for the last few months, Lay Dominican Clare Atang from Cameroon in West Africa, who has been in
the Twin Cities on an extended visit with her daughter and family.
- RIVER FOREST, IL ST. VINCENT FERRER CHAPTER
- Congratulations: Moderator Guy Murphy and Vice Moderator Virgil Kolb
- The chapter voted for a 2003 Chapter Project on Promotion of the Rosary. Their ongoing formation's six-month
plan utilizes the text, The Kingdom and the Glory: Meditation and Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew by Alfred
McBride, O. Praem., Our Sunday Visitor, Huntington, Indiana, 1992. Some members assisted with a March 7-8
Lenten Retreat/Conference open to the public with themes of prayer, conversion, and the new evangelization.
- ST. LOUIS, MO QUEEN OF THE HOLY ROSARY CHAPTER
- A January 4 Day of Recollection was part of their chapter visitation. Ways of Imperfection by Simon Tugwell, OP, continues as their chapter study.
- SPRINGFIELD, IL OUR LADY OF THE SACRED HEART CHAPTER
- A "Come and See" Day open to the public was held on November 24, 2002 to introduce prospective new members to
the Dominican Laity. Chapter visitation occurred on March 23.
- OUR PRIVATE MEMBERS
- Sick: Mary Ruth Cullicott, River Forest, IL; Jill O'Brien's mother, sister, and brother-in-law, Chicago, IL
- Deceased: Rosemary L. Byrne, Blaine, MN; Jill O'Brien's father, John J. O'Brien, on February 24
- PRAYERS REQUESTED FOR:
- a return to health for Br. Regis Hovald, OP, former Provincial Promoter for the Laity, and for all members of the Order who are ill
- an increase in vocations to all branches of the Dominican Order
- for the repose of the soul of Aurelia Stookey, mother of Fr. Jerry Stookey, OP, Promoter General of the Dominican Laity, around January 1, 2003
My Dear Sisters and Brothers,
The start of the new calendar year marks the beginning of our annual collection of Provincial membership dues for 2003. We are synchronizing our Provincial dues collection with the beginning of the new year to eliminate confusion about when to collect dues.
Fund Drive contributions and Provincial membership dues largely finance our operating budget. Yes, we need and appreciate your dues payment to support our work that benefits you. Individual dues of $30.00 or $40.00 for families are apportioned with $5 for the Challenge subscription, $5 for the Dominican Laity Provincial Council meeting, and the remainder for the dues account.
Thank you, chapter treasurers, for your invaluable assistance in the collection of Provincial dues from your respective active members. A chapter check or individual personal checks payable to DOMINICAN LAITY are to be remitted to the Laity Office.
Private members are asked to mail their annual dues payments directly to the Dominican Laity Office; P. O. Box 85451; Racine, WI 53408-5451. If on a fixed income, please pay what you can. Even paying $5 for the Challenge subscription is helpful.
Thank you in advance for your prompt response to this request.
Yours in Saints Dominic and Catherine,
Mary Lee Odders, OP, Provincial Treasurer
- - - - - - - - - - - -print, cut and return - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Thank you for your 2003 Provincial membership dues payment, which supports our Province's Dominican Laity work for your benefit. Please make checks payable to DOMINICAN LAITY. NAME____________________________________________________________ ADDRESS________________________________________________________ CITY, STATE, ZIP______________________________________________________________
THE MYSTERIES OF LIGHT OF THE ROSARY recited especially on Thursdays
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Your Holiness:
...Indeed, on October 16, the twenty-fourth anniversary of your election to the See of Peter, with joy and emotion, I learned of the promulgation of the Apostolic Letter "Rosarium Virginis Mariae."
In my own name and in the name of our Order, I want to thank you for the gift of this preaching. Your Holiness, for the Order of Saint Dominic, the Rosary is a prayer that beats to the rhythm of our charism which was defined to a certain extent as being "to contemplate, and to give to others the fruit of contemplation." (Summa Theologiae, II-II, q. 188, a.6, c).
...May this Year of the Rosary help us all TO PRAISE, TO BLESS AND TO PREACH through this devotion, the infinite mercy of the Father who has seen our misery. This grace brings great joy to our hearts. A joy that, as Jesus himself promised during the Last Supper, nobody can take from us.
I pray that the Holy Spirit enlightens you in your ministry that you may daily discern what is the will of the Father, what is good, what pleases him, what is perfect.
With filial gratitude in Saint Dominic,
Fr. Carlos Alfonso Azpiroz Costa, OP
Master of the Order from I.D.I. (International Dominican Information), no. 406, Nov. 2002, p. 200-201
| QUEEN OF THE ROSARY, PRAY FOR US |
Mary Lee Odders
P O Box 85451
Racine WI 53408-5451
mlodders@execpc.com