Day of Reflection: A mosaic of unity: July 18, 2025

Day of Reflection. “What makes a true religion – what defines its very essence – is RELATIONSHIP: person to person. Jesus and me. Jesus and you. You and me. Real bonds and attitudes. Encounter, listening, accompaniment, mutual help, respect, LOVE,” said Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś during the Eucharist that opened our day of recollection. Without relationship, there is no Church. And no evangelization.

Table of Contents

Reflection: What Makes a True Religion

„What makes a true religion – what defines its very essence – is RELATIONSHIP: person to person. Jesus and me. Jesus and you. You and me. Real bonds and attitudes. Encounter, listening, accompaniment, mutual help, respect, LOVE,” said Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś during the Eucharist that opened our day of recollection.

Without relationship, there is no Church. And no evangelization.

Stories from All Over the World

One of the brothers shared that his journey here took 26 hours – and Argentina, his home country, is not even the furthest. Another landed in the wrong city. A few are still waiting for their luggage, which was lost somewhere between layovers.

Each one has his own story.
They speak many languages.
Some look young, their faces full of passion. Others – shaped by decades of religious life – bear the quiet authority of experience.

Br. Bruno Cadoré, former Master of the Order, said this is his eighth General Chapter. A few others admitted with a smile that this is their first – and so far, they understand almost nothing.

Some recognize one another immediately and greet each other warmly. Others – still uncertain, a bit lost – are learning to find the rhythm of this place and this community.

Unity over Division

But in this mosaic of differences and stories, the most important thing is not what divides them – but what unites them.

They didn’t come to Krakow out of boredom or lack of other responsibilities.
They’re not here to relax – there are certainly sunnier and more comfortable places for that.
They weren’t drawn by tourist curiosity, nor by the legend of the city once shepherded by Karol Wojtyła, the future pope.
Not even the excellent food – though the author of these notes pauses here to express sincere gratitude to the kitchen staff, who so devotedly care for the brothers during the Chapter.

They came because once, they heard the voice of St. Dominic and entered the Order.
And today, in the same spirit, they respond to the call of his successor.
They have come to participate in building the Order that has been handed over to them.
They have come to meet, to listen, to discern together what the Spirit is saying to the Order today.

More Than a Procedure

The Chapter is not just a procedure.
It is a community constantly being born.
A feast of brotherhood. A triumph of relationship over ego.
A story being written both in the silence of prayer and the hum of conversation.
A song about a God who draws near to humanity and invites us into a closeness so deep it becomes mission.

A closeness that cannot stop at the threshold of a cell, or at the border of a country or continent – but one that demands witness: to everyone, everywhere, in every way.

They’ve come from all over the world to meet those united by the same vocation:

— To preach the Word
— To live in brotherhood
— To walk a shared path
— To enter into relationship: with Jesus, with their brothers, and with every person they encounter.

Communication Office of the General Chapter of Provincial Priors
Krakow, July 18, 2025
Photographs by: @dominikanie.pl

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