Dominican Province of Saint Albert the Great. What a busy year! So many blessings! Our new novitiate was finally completed. We welcomed five new novices to the house of studies. We joined Dominican friars in Puerto Rico, a territory where Dominicans have long been preaching. I hope that you will make a donation to the Dominican Province of Saint Albert the Great to help us further our mission of evangelization.
I am so proud of the work my province does. We are a group of friars (priests and brothers) who are doing great work in the area of evangelization. When I look back on what we have done over the course of the year, my heart is filled with pride.
Table of Contents
The New Novitiate
For a long time (including when I was in the novitiate) our novices and novice master lived in one building, whereas the solemnly professed friars lived in another. While the situation worked, it was not really the best way for us to live out our Dominican life. As the website for the province notes,
this “does not reflect the best vision for formation in the Order of Preachers. Ideally, novices interact with professed friars throughout their day – in prayer, study, recreation, and meals – while under one roof. Completion of the new St. Dominic Priory finally allows for that.”
And this new novitiate has been necessary as we see a growing number of men entering our order. The first year, known as the novitiate year, provides a solid foundation for men to discern whether or not they are called to be Dominican friars. As this novitiate building was designed specifically to facilitate this time of discernment and formation, it is very much suited to the needs of this important stage of Dominican life.
Puerto Rico
For many years, the province of Saint Albert the Great ministered in Bolivia. This was an important and concrete reminder of our commitment to the mission of sacred preaching in the concrete circumstances of our time and place. Thanks to the hard work of the many friars who ministered in Bolivia, the Dominican vicariate has become a free standing province. We owe a deep debt of gratitude to those friars who served so tirelessly bringing the faith.
Now we have entered into a new challenge, namely assuming the vicariate of the Holy Cross and welcoming those friars as members of the Province of Saint Albert the Great. As you may know, the island of Puerto Rico has experienced hurricanes and earthquakes that have made the lives of the people hard. The friars living there, joined by friars from other Dominican provinces in the United States, are working to spread the gospel in preaching and service.
Vocations
Our province has been experiencing a growth in vocations to the order. They study with friars from the Province of Saint Martin de Porres in a studentate community in Saint Louis, Missouri. This building, just a little over ten years ago was purchased and renovated with a new addition to accommodate a growing student community.
It has been reported many times that in the United States those who practice their faith are on the decline. There are those who would consider themselves a “none” that is a person without a preference for any one religious denomination.
But in my limited experience, the reason for this is often a limited understanding of the faith. There has not been as much emphasis as there could be on helping people to develop a personal relationship with Jesus and connections to the people of God that is the Catholic Church.
Would you consider a gift to help?
I did not get the chance to create a fundraiser for my birthday. But as we approach the end of the fiscal year, I am hoping many of you would consider a gift. It greatly helps us to continue our preaching and ministry. Thanks so much for your kindness. Let us pray for each other. To go to the Facebook page to donate, follow this link.
My website is a place for Dominican preaching, reflections and other resources for spiritual growth. The easiest way to donate is to go to the website for the Dominican Province of Saint Albert the Great. Please be sure to include my name with your donation (DePorres Durham, OP). To donate through Facebook (you can see the fundraiser, but to donate you need to be a member of Facebook), go to https://www.facebook.com/donate/2806497262992689/. To donate through Go Fund Me go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/dominican-province-of-saint-albert-the-great
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Dominican Province of St Albert the Great
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