Dominican Friars of the Province of Saint Joseph

We want to invite you now to join us for the second annual Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage on September 28, 2024 in Washington, DC at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception!

There are many ways you can participate in this great event! And the first way is to start praying for the Rosary Pilgrimage—that many hearts will be led to Jesus through Mary. Learn more here: https://www.rosarypilgrimage.org/

In this short story, Mr. Richard Salat recalls his providential encounter with the Dominican Friars. We give thanks to God for Mr. Salat and all of our donors for their faithful support, thank you!

My first contact with the Dominicans Friars was, believe it or not, through Facebook. I watched their informative videos and was truly impressed by their dedicated work. I wanted to learn more about the Dominican Order so I decided to take a walk to St. Vincent Ferrer church in New York City. Standing on the front steps of the priory was Fr. Bill Holt, O.P. We exchanged greetings and continued our conversation inside.

In that initial conversation with Fr. Bill, I learned so much about the Dominicans and the outstanding work they do in hospitals and on college campuses. Fr. Bill suggested I meet and talk with Fr. John Paul. We set up a lunch date and had an amazing discussion, learning about the life and ministry of the friars.

I asked how I could help out through a gift to the Dominicans. I learned about their robust education program and the student brother scholarships. I set up a scholarship through the Dominican Friars Foundation to support the tuition and living expenses of the student brothers studying at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC.

That summer, I received a lunch invitation from Fr. John Paul. He mentioned that Br. Finbar, one of the student brothers currently in formation who was serving in New York City for his summer ministry assignment, would be joining us. We had a wonderful lunch and meeting. Br. Finbar is a remarkable young man and will make a wonderful priest. I made the right choice for my gift.
—Mr. Richard Salat

For more information about supporting the formation of Dominican friars through the student brother scholarship program, please contact [email protected].

Bl. John of Fiesole, better known as Fra Angelico, was one of the great painters of the early Renaissance. Many people don’t realize, however, that he was also a Dominican friar, and a very holy friar, too.

He and his brother, Fra Benedetto, entered the Dominican Order in their mid-twenties. Both were already skilled artists. Although Benedetto produced some of the finest illuminated manuscripts in Europe, Angelico has always been the more famous of the two, being especially noted for the frescoes he painted at San Marco, the Dominican convent and church in Florence. Michelangelo, who lived a few generations later, positively revered Angelico and his work. He even carved a statue of the risen Christ to be placed by Angelico’s tomb and said of him, “He has gone to meet those whom he painted.”

Angelico was a tireless worker and finished a great number of paintings in his lifetime, but, thinking it would somehow be against God’s will, he never retouched or reworked any of them. He always prayed when he painted, and he would say, “To paint the things of Christ, one must live with Christ.”
—Fr. Charles Shonk, O.P.

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Image #1 - Paul-Hippolyte Flandrin — "Fra Angelico visited by angels" | All other images from MUSEO DI SAN MARCO Firenze

This Lent, we have the perfect opportunity to learn that Ash Wednesday is not a contradiction of Valentine’s Day; it’s a revelation of its deepest potential. We were made for love, even if we’ve forgotten what it means.
—Fr. Gabriel Torretta, O.P.

When you realize Lent is actually for lovers There is always something oddly mismatched about love, even when people are trying their best. Together, Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday tell us that the mismatch of love is not an accident, but our path to heaven.

Meet Fr. James Dominic Brent, O.P., host of a new podcast—Contemplata, A Podcast for Contemplative Souls. Coming soon! Fr. James is a Dominican friar of the Province of St. Joseph. Born and raised in Michigan, he completed his doctorate in Philosophy from St. Louis University and licentiate in Theology from the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC where he now teaches. He frequently lectures for the Thomistic Institute and Aquinas 101. His new podcast Contemplata is born from years of traveling the world lecturing, preaching retreats, and meeting increasingly more people who hunger to know God more deeply in contemplative prayer. He is the author of The Father’s House: Discovering Our Home in the Trinity.

Learn more at dominicanfriars.org/contemplata.

The heart of the Father is rich in mercy, and he is now calling every human being on the face of the earth to a change of heart. “Repent!” was the first word out of the Lord’s mouth in his public preaching, “and believe in the gospel” (Mt 4:17; Mk 1:15). The Gospel is the happy announcement that the good God who loves us is now calling us into his divine Life. He has given us his Son Jesus Christ, he has given us his Holy Spirit, and he has given us his Church so that we might go to him into the Father’s house — into the heart of the Father who loves us beyond all we could ever ask or imagine. Yet, there is no other way to go than by the pathways of metanoia.
—Fr. James Brent, O.P. in OSV Catholic | Read more here: https://www.oursundayvisitor.com/following-the-good-thiefs-simple-steps-of-repentance/

The path to joy starts with repentance. In this fallen world, none of us starts on the path that leads to joy, and everyone needs God’s grace to convert, to turn away from sin and head towards God.
—Fr. Boniface Endorf, O.P. | Read more of Fr. Boniface's Ash Wednesday reflection here: https://dominicanfriars.org/lent-a-preparation-for-joy/

No sacrifice is more powerful or more pleasing to God than that of his own divine son on the Cross, made present at every Mass.

Beginning on Ash Wednesday, February 14, and continuing through Holy Thursday, March 28, the Dominican Friars at St. Dominic’s Church in Washington, D.C., will offer daily Masses for all those who are ill, suffering, or in need during this Holy Lenten season. Click here to submit your prayer intentions: https://dominicanfriars.org/lenten-remembrance/

Happy memorial of Blessed Jordan of Saxony, friar, priest, and Master of the Order!

Blessed Jordan of Saxony was the first successor of St. Dominic as Master of the Order of Preachers. He wrote the first work about the Order, his Libellus on the Beginnings of the Order of Preachers. He was renowned for his prudence in administration, as well as his ability to attract and receive vocations to the Dominicans. As a result, he is the patron of vocations for the Dominican Order.
—Fr. John Sica, O.P.

"O God, you made the blessed Jordan wonderful with zeal for the salvation of souls and with the grace of spreading religious life; through the intercession of his merits, grant us always to live in that same spirit and to attain the glory laid up for us in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."
—Collect for the memorial of Blessed Jordan

Blessed Jordan of Saxony, pray for us!

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Image: Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P. — "This painting of the Blessed is in the Chapter House of San Marco, in Florence (MUSEO DI SAN MARCO Firenze)"

Today the Order of Preachers celebrates the memorial of Bl. Reginald of Orléans, friar and priest!

At the beginning of the Order, a well known cleric—Master Reginald of Orleans— desired to please the Lord by living a new and more fervent way of life. After he suddenly became gravely ill, St. Dominic met with him several times, until Master Reginald resolved to enter the Dominican Order. As St. Dominic’s successor narrates, “after that, he recovered from his serious illness, but only in virtue of a miracle occurring after his condition had become desperate” (Libellus, #57). What happened?

"During the height of one of his fevers the Queen of Heaven and Mother of Mercy, the Virgin Mary, visibly appeared to him and anointed his eyes, nose, ears, mouth, chest, hands, and feet with a soothing ointment and said these words, “I anoint your feet with a holy oil in preparation for the Gospel of peace.” Then she showed him the complete habit of the Order. At once he became well. . ."

Formerly, the Dominican habit lacked a scapular. But through this vision the Blessed Virgin Mary gave the Dominican Order our white scapular as a special sign of her maternal favor. She showed Bl. Reginald how she wanted him to live a new and more fervent way of life by showing him the complete habit of the Dominican friars, where he would be a fiery preacher for the salvation of souls. And as all the early stories of the Order attest, the special maternal attention of our Lady extended in a special way over us, she who opened up so many doors to our friars, dispelled attacks of the devil, and confirmed wearying friars in their vocation.
—Fr. John Sica, O.P.

Bl. Reginald of Orléans, pray for us!

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Image: Fra Angelico — "Vision of the Dominican Habit"

Happy Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes!

Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin are extraordinary, and perhaps what is most striking in the story of St. Bernadette is the image of this extraordinary apparition before this ordinary little girl. Less striking, though also noteworthy, is that Bernadette had already become accustomed to speaking to the Blessed Virgin through praying the Rosary and that this prayer continued even throughout the apparition itself. For a poor, unlettered girl, it was a compendium in which she could read the Gospel and gaze on the face of Christ in Mary–quite literally, at Lourdes. It was providential that the Rosary was already Bernadette’s companion, even before she first saw the Virgin.
—Fr. John Sica, O.P. | Read more from Fr. John by clicking here: https://buff.ly/3HRi62e

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us!

Photo: Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P.

The month of February is dedicated to the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

When God became man in Jesus Christ, he did not come as an adult. He came as an infant born into a family. He then grew up through the care of Mary and Joseph, being obedient to them. What dignity God gives to the family!
—Fr. Joseph Martin Hagan, O.P.

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Image: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo — "The Holy Family with a Little Bird" (c. 1650)

Emeritus Professor Father Basil Cole, O.P., was recently given one of the highest honors of the Dominican Order. He was named a Master of Sacred Theology and now follows in a long line of great theologians going back to the founding of the Order.

During vespers on Wednesday, January 10th in the Chapel of the Priory of the Immaculate Conception, the decree naming Father a Master was read and the insignia of the title were conferred. First, he received the ring as a sign that he has been espoused by Wisdom. In keeping with tradition, the ring is set with an amethyst stone. It also bears the shields of both the Dominican Order and the Province of St. Joseph. He was then given the black and red four-peaked biretta, which is a symbol of Masters of Theology, and is often worn during solemn academic ceremonies.

On Thursday, January 11th Father Cole delivered a magisterial lecture in Aquin Hall to an audience of nearly one hundred people. The title of his lecture was “Spiritual Beauty and the Challenge of the Life of Virtue.” Following closely the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, the singular Master of Theology, Father Cole elucidated the importance of the arts—particularly literature, painting, and music—in helping a person grow in virtue.

On receiving the honor, Father Cole noted that the honor belonged not just to him, but to all those who’ve encouraged him, supported him, and to all of his students over the years.

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All Photos 📸 Pontifical Faculty at the Dominican House of Studies

Fr. Thomas Petri, O.P., President of the Pontifical Faculty at the Dominican House of Studies, spoke with EWTN News Nightly about the concerning rise of polyamorous relationships being depicted in film and TV and whether it signals a wider acceptance in our society.

Most Adults Under 30 Say Open Marriage is Acceptable | EWTN News Nightly A study from Pew Research finds 51% of adults under the age of 30 say an open marriage is "acceptable". And an article late last month in the New Yorker maga...

One special form of listening to God is meditation on the seven last words of Jesus. The last words of a person can move us to the core because of their power to reveal the person in a special way. St. Thérèse of Lisieux‘s last words were: “My God, I love you!” Pope St. John Paul II’s last words were: “Let me go to the Father’s house.” If listening to the last words of saints moves us, how much more should the last words of the Lord move us? The more we listen to his seven last words the more our hearts come to reflect his own — the more our hearts will live something of his own eternal Sonship in the Spirit.
—Fr. James Brent, O.P. in OSV Catholic | Read more here: https://www.oursundayvisitor.com/how-jesus-directs-us-to-life-devoted-to-prayer/

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Image: Hendrick van B***n the Elder — "Holy Trinity"

The Dominican Friars will gratefully and prayerfully celebrate a special Mass of blessing for the families of donors on Sunday, February 11 at 12:00PM at the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer in New York City. Fr. John Paul Kern, O.P., will be the celebrant and preacher.

Please click here for more information: https://dominicanfriars.org/family-mass/

Photo Credit 📸 Mr. George Goss

Fr. Patrick Briscoe, O.P., a National Eucharistic Revival preacher and host of the Godsplaining Podcast, spoke with EWTN News In Depth about preaching on the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist across the United States.

Evangelizing the Eucharist Across the United States | EWTN News In Depth January 26, 2024 Fr. Patrick Briscoe, an official preacher of the National Eucharistic Revival and host of the Godsplaining podcast shares insights into evangelizing the Euch...

The Dominican Order celebrates the witness of one of its own members today, Saint Catherine de Ricci (1522-1590). Devotion to her may not be as widespread in the universal Church as it is to Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), another Dominican for whom today’s saint was named. Yet the life of Catherine de Ricci offers us an example of how to bear the sufferings of this life while still fulfilling our daily responsibilities.

Catherine’s love for the passion of Christ led her to receive a mystical gift, something only given to a few chosen souls. On Thursdays and Fridays of each week, Catherine would receive visions of the passion, which were accompanied with great physical pain. She was entirely united to Christ’s sufferings through these experiences, which included the gift of the stigmata, or the wounds of Christ on her very body. However, in the midst of such extraordinary graces, Catherine was diligent in carrying out her everyday tasks. Recognition of her skills and abilities would lead to her election as superior of the community on several occasions. She offered spiritual counsel to the people of her town of Prato, while fulfilling the demands of her life within the Dominican community.

St. Catherine de Ricci provides an example of one who fulfilled her daily commitments, while secretly carrying the burden of the cross. Now that she shares in the glory of heaven, her witness shows us the hope that awaits us in Christ, now risen from the dead. By uniting our sufferings to his, we can be assured that he will transform our pain and sorrow for the sake of his greater glory. Such confidence in Christ allows us to go about our daily tasks without any fear, for he has been victorious in his sufferings.
—Fr. Paul Clarke, O.P.

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Image: Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P. — "This stained glass of St Catherine is in the Dominican church of St Vincent Ferrer in New York."

Like the actions of Christ Himself, the Church has taken this sign as a way to prepare people to receive a particular blessing. In her wisdom, the power of Christ’s redemption can be applied by crossed candles, just as the power of the Cross was at work in the ministration of an Armenian bishop who cleared a choking boy’s throat, saving his life. The Church sees how an ecclesiastical blessing for our physical well-being can be an instrument toward our spiritual well-being.

The Church, in her wisdom, summarized the power of the sacramentals at Vatican II:

“Thus, for well-disposed members of the faithful, the liturgy of the sacraments and sacramentals sanctifies almost every event in their lives; they are given access to the stream of divine grace which flows from the paschal mystery of the passion, death, the resurrection of Christ, the font from which all sacraments and sacramentals draw their power. There is hardly any proper use of material things which cannot thus be directed toward the sanctification of men and the praise of God.” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 61)

Even if this sign seems more cryptic and enigmatic, the Church invites us this day to receive St. Blaise’s blessing in confidence, that our voices may praise the Lord clearly, having been freed to do so by His grace and power.
—Fr. Leo Camurati, O.P.

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Photo: Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P. — "Saint Blaise"

Happy Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Candlemas)!

Whether it is a candlelit meal at a fancy restaurant, a birthday celebration with a candle-topped cake, or the procession of the paschal candle at the Easter Vigil, candles are a clear sign of solemnity. We usually sense something different, even quasi-religious, on the occasions that candles are used—think, for another instance, of candles lit at the vigils of societal tragedies and untimely deaths. Suffice to say, candles are objects with rich, religious symbolism.

The most obvious characteristic of a candle is its light. In fact, its original purpose was just that—to provide light. We have a foundational desire to know and this desire drives us to seek the light of truth, especially since sight is the most obvious way to knowledge. In the Christian realm, this is no less true. In fact, Christ says as much. He claims to be, “the light of the world” (John 8:12). Through his presence in our souls by faith, he illumines the darkness of our minds so that we may begin to see him as he is (c.f., 1 John 3:2).

A candle, by its flame, is also able to represent love. We draw in this symbolism explicitly when we pray “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of thy love…” A candle’s flame can remind believers of the flame of charity present in their hearts. This is one reason the Church gives candles to the newly baptized and why we all carry candles during the Easter Vigil; the flame represents the work of God in our souls. While we may not see God clearly in this life, the flame of charity allows us to cherish God’s presence in our souls.

The first appearance of the Lord in the Temple is commemorated by the blessing of pillars of wax—wax that will later be used to remind us of Christ’s presence in other temples: the tabernacle of the Church and in the depths of our heart.
—Br. Nicodemus Thomas, O.P.

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Photo 📸 Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P. — " Sharing Christ's Light"

Seven of our brothers have completely given themselves over to God as poor, chaste, and obedient friars preachers, following the poor, chaste, and obedient Christ. Let us pray for them and give thanks to God for their consecration!

The Catholic University of America recently celebrated its annual St. Thomas Aquinas Votive Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Our Prior Provincial, the Very Rev. Allen Moran, O.P., was the celebrant and homilist.

Photos 📸 Catholic University/Patrick G. Ryan

Happy Feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas!

It is Aquinas’ profound love for the Incarnation that makes him still a faithful guide for preserving the Christian Church from errors that erode her confession of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Aquinas knew that because God chose to save the human race by sending his only Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, the Church of Christ is committed to reconciling the human and divine. Aquinas teaches us the right way to view the creation of the world with the new creation of the gospel. The desire to know the truth that God has placed in the human heart will not disappear, nor will the two wings of faith and reason on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of this truth. Thomas Aquinas illumines the dynamics of this upward flight.
—Fr. Romanus Cessario, O.P.

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Photo 📸 Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P. — "In this painting in San Domenico, Bologna, St Thomas is taught by angels to contemplate the truth of the Eucharist."

Tomorrow here in Washington, seven young men who were once called to come and see will profess vows until death in this Order of Preachers. Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light (Eph 5:14). Tomorrow is the beginning, not the end, for in the death of Christ, death becomes life.
—Br. Jeremiah Tobin, O.P.

Come and See The life of total surrender to Christ leaves one radically dependent on the Lord for every next step. “I raise my eyes toward the mountains. From whence shall come my help? My help comes from…

Tomorrow morning, seven of our brothers will profess obedience to God, to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and to Saint Dominic, until death (usque ad mortem). Please keep them in your prayers. Thank you and God bless you!

Happy Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul!

“While I was on my way and approaching Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Then he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting.’ Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. I asked, ‘What am I to do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told everything that has been assigned to you to do.’
—Saint Paul the Apostle (Acts 22:6-10)

Grace transformed zealous Saul, a persecutor of Christ, into Paul, Christ’s ambassador to the Gentiles.

If today, you believe in the Gospel, it is by grace. If today, you act on the Gospel, it is by grace. If you give thanks for the graces you have received, it is by grace. And, if even at this moment you wonder if you have received grace, lift your heart in joyful prayer: that prayer will itself be graced. By such prayer, you may ask for more grace. Truly, “we have all received, grace upon grace” (Jn 1:16)! Praise God for this transformative gift! Oh Lord, it is you indeed who have accomplished all we have done.
—Fr. Bernard Knapke, O.P.

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Image: Caravaggio — "Conversion on the Way to Damascus" (1601)

Fr. Thomas Joseph White, O.P., Rector of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas - Angelicum and member of The Hillbilly Thomists was named a Deering Banjos artist! 🪕

Learn more here: https://www.deeringbanjos.com/blogs/deering-artists/thomas-joseph-white

On Friday, the Dominican friars marched. Today, on this Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children, we pray—that the truth about the dignity of all human life will be brought to light.

Every good thing begins in prayer! And so the Dominican Friars of the Province St. Joseph are beginning a 9-month novena to pray for the success of the second annual Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage!

The novena starts on Saturday, January 27, 2024, and will be prayed every last Saturday of the month for nine months. We're encouraging people to visit rosarypilgrimage.org to get the novena prayer card sent to them and to view monthly video reflections on the Rosary by various friars from the province. Click here to learn more: https://dominicanfriars.org/a-9-month-novena-for-national-rosary-pilgrimage/