GENERAL INFORMATION

If you are considering a Lay Dominican vocation, you are welcome to come and observe our monthly meeting. We meet the 1st Saturday of every month in our Dominican Private Oratory where we have Dominican formation and activities, and engage in the 4 Pillars of the Dominican Lay Fraternity life, which are Prayer, Study, Apostolate and Community. It is also where we observe some of our daily obligations like the Holy Rosary and the Liturgy of the Hours.

One of our chapter’s apostolates is to promulgate the Fifth Marian dogma through the carrying of the Purity Medal. The medal is an expression of Dominic Medals alone and does not represent the endorsement of the Lay Fraternity of St. Dominic or the Order of Preachers as a whole.

We also pray the Rosary live online midday every weekday and offer a variety of other ways to join us in prayer. You can pray with us via livestream and find our complete prayer schedule here.

The four pillars of Dominican spirituality are Prayer, Study, Apostolate and Community.

• Prayer
  He or she contemplates Divine Truth (God) by daily recitation of the Rosary, praying the Divine Office morning and evening, frequent Mass attendance, monthly Confession, an annual retreat, spiritual reading, and frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament.
  
• Study
  A Lay Dominican studies the Word and other spiritual materials both individually and with his or her fellow members of the Chapter.
• Apostolate
  He or she shares the Divine Love (Caritas) that flows from his or her soul in the form of an apostolate that usually involves performing one or more of the Spiritual or Corporal Works of Mercy.
• Community
  A Lay Dominican shares this same Caritas in community with fellow Dominicans during monthly chapter meetings.

St. Dominic exhibited a fully sanctified human intellect: an intense intellectual curiosity, exalted by faith; a yearning for peace of heart, or repose in God; and the need for action. These are the three dimensions of Dominican spirituality: the life of the mind in study; the absorption of the mind in God by prayer and contemplation; and the outflow of charity from the soul into apostolic action

The true signs of Dominican life are inward ones of, active study of the Word of God, a thirst for Truth, a prayerful life, and a joyous giving of oneself in an apostolate.

Not all souls grow closer to God by taking an intellectual route. For example: Lay Franciscans grow in holiness without a lot of study; they focus upon detach­ment from worldly pleasures, so they practice voluntary poverty. Lay Carmelites pray constantly for the entire Church. Members of the laity who join Opus Dei, sanctify their work as a prayer to God.

One must try to align oneself with a spirituality that will help one’s soul grow in faith, hope, and charity, and, ultimately, reach eternal beatitude (blessed attitude) with God.­

Wondering about the Formation Process timeline for a Lay Dominican? Here is an overview:

Lay Dominican life is truly a vocation, and so the process of formation is undertaken over a number of years, in the context of a community and with the specific guidance of a formation director. A member’s formator, council, and brothers and sisters in the Order will all help that person discern whether God is calling them to this particular way of living their baptismal promises. As part of that discernment, Dominicans also undergo a formal study program. Here is how the process of formation usually progresses:

Inquiry: Come and see! You are welcome to come to meetings at any time without a commitment.

Postulancy: You will meet with a formation director and go through study modules in preparation for entering the Order. This period is usually 6 months.

Novitiate: You will be received into the Order as a member of the fraternity. Your studies with a formation director will bring you further into the Dominican Way of life as you discern whether to make promises in the Order. This period lasts about one year.

Temporary Profession: This stage is designed to help you discern a life vocation, through ongoing formation in your fraternity life and the practice of each of the Four Pillars. You promise to live the Dominican Rule for three years, after which time you can choose to leave, to make life promises, or ask for a one-year extension of your temporary promises.

Life Profession: You are fully received into the Order of Preachers for life. You promise to live the rule as an extension of your baptismal mission, and assume the privileges and responsibilities that this entails within the Order, which include sharing fully in the communal life of your fraternity through leadership and service.

…But what if I move?  We get it. School, work, family duties and other life changes may mean that you have to move away once you have begun formation. But never fear: your Dominican status goes with you! No matter where you are in the process, we can help connect you with another Lay Dominican fraternity, either within or outside of the province.  If you are still in formation, we will help transfer your preparation as well.

Please pray for guidance from God as to whether or not He is calling you to Dominican spirituality. The goal is to save your soul, so, if you pray, He will put you in the right place to accomplish that end. Remain docile to the Holy Spirit, and listen to God.