Te Deum laudamus! We Have a Master of the Order!
Over the weekend, the friars gathered at the General Chapter of the Order of Preachers elected a new Master of the Order - Father Gerard Francisco Timoner, III, O.P. of the Dominican Province of the Philippines.
Over the weekend, the friars gathered at the General Chapter of the Order of Preachers elected a new Master of the Order - Father Gerard Francisco Timoner, III, O.P. of the Dominican Province of the Philippines. Father Gerard is the 87th successor to Our Holy Father Dominic and is the first Asian to serve as Master of the Order. In his remarks following his election, he humbly stated his first inclination was to decline, but he was encouraged by former Master Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., and others, to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit .
He went on to say:
The Catholic Church today, it seems, needs a Francis and a Dominic. There is a need for a new evangelization, and we are all called to do precisely that.
Saint Dominic formed an order of preachers. It is not what we do. It is who we are. Mission is not what we do. It is who we are. And if that is clear, everything will just follow. We are preachers even when we are not preaching. We are preachers even if in our old age, we can no longer speak. We are preachers even if we are not ordained. We are preachers even if we are sick. We are preachers even if we are doing serious research alone in our rooms. We are preachers when we are helping the less privileged. We are preachers. That is our identity.
Father Gerard Francisco Timoner, III, O.P. is the 87th successor to Our Holy Father Dominic.
Dominican government is shaped by the communion and universality of Dominican religious life. According to the mind of Our Holy Father Dominic, each member of the Dominican family is to have a participation in the life and government of the community and the Order. As a result, the government of the Order of Preachers is noted for an organic and balanced participation of all its members for pursuing the special end of the Order. But this participation is not strictly democratic - it is communitarian in a special way. We do not simply seek a majority in making decisions - we seek consensus and unanimity under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
And so, every nine years, Dominicans from around the world gather for the General Chapter of the Dominican Order to settle important matters, including electing the new Master of the Order, who then serves the Order of Preachers as its head for the next nine years. May God bless and protect Father Gerard as he assumes his new role and may God continue to guide our Dominican brothers during the remainder of the General Chapter.
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New Priests Forever!
On the day of their vows, and for our clerical brothers, their ordination, we continue our day of work and prayer, but with an eye on the clock as we pray and consider…”Ah, the Mass is beginning…right about now the liturgy of the Word will end…now, they are a priest…” And our hearts fill once again with joy and gratitude to God…
Father Thomas Aquinas Pickett, O.P. before his first Mass of Thanksgiving.
On Saturday, June 23rd, we had the great blessing of sharing in the First Mass of Thanksgiving celebrated by newly ordained Father Thomas Aquinas Pickett, O.P. of the Western Dominican Province. The homilist was Father Anselm Ramelow, O.P. and there were many friends and family in attendance. The Mass, a votive mass in honor of Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, began at 1:30 p.m. and was followed by blessings given by Father Thomas Aquinas and a reception in our parlor, with a cake specially made for the occasion by our novitiate sisters.
This was the first Mass of Thanksgiving offered in our chapel by our newly ordained brothers. The following day, Sunday June 24th, we were truly blessed to have newly ordained Father Henry Stephan, O.P. of the Eastern Dominican Province celebrate Mass and give us his blessing.
Then, Thursday, June 28th, we were joined by newly ordained Father Brad Elliot, O.P. of the Western Dominican Province, who offered a Mass of Thanksgiving and gave us each a blessing. We eagerly look forward to the rest of our newly ordained brothers offering Masses of Thanksgiving throughout the next couple months, as their schedules permit.
The Order of Preachers is unique among religious orders in that the different Dominican members – friars, nuns, apostolic sisters, and laity – are bound together by mission and fraternal communion. Our mission is the salvation of souls; one means is our preaching, which is not simply teaching the precepts of the faith. It is a preaching of reconciliation with God and one another, a partaking in the ministry of the word and sacrament, which is a priestly office. As nuns, through our life of praise, prayer and penance, we are called to exemplify this reconciliation and support the active preaching and sacramental ministry of our friars and the rest of the Dominican family.
On the day of their vows, and for our clerical brothers, their ordination, we continue our day of work and prayer, but with an eye on the clock as we pray and consider…”Ah, the Mass is beginning…right about now the liturgy of the Word will end…now, they are a priest…” And our hearts fill once again with joy and gratitude to God, and we commune with our Lady and savor the taste of what she must have experienced in her relationships with the apostles and the ever-growing Church.
We are given a great gift to be able to communicate our thoughts and feelings into words. But there are some things that run so deeply, so profoundly, that even words fail and so they must be said with silence, the speech of God. Te Deum laudámus!
Paschal Joy Shared, Paschal Joy Multiplied
We learned in grade school that if you have three apples and you give one to your friend, you are left with two apples – you’re possession of created goods has decreased. Yet, with spiritual goods, this is not true! In fact, with God, the more you share, the more you have and if you try to keep spiritual goods for yourself, what little you have slips through your fingers.
We learned in grade school that if you have three apples and you give one to your friend, you are left with two apples – your possession of created goods has decreased. Yet, with spiritual goods, this is not true! In fact, with God, the more you share, the more you have and if you try to keep spiritual goods for yourself, what little you have slips through your fingers.
We are doubly blessed, then, by our friends and family, with visits and generosity especially joyous. Recently, one of our Dominican friars, Father Lukasz Misko, O.P., brought a group of students from the St. Catherine of Siena Newman Center at University of Utah by for a visit as part of a pilgrimage tour they were taking over spring break. We had a wonderful visit, sharing stories and laughs, and learning more about each other. We were inspired by their zeal and love for Jesus and the Catholic faith.
Then last week, our joy multiplied once more when a group of Dominican sisters from the Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist came to visit one of our novitiate sisters; they all knew each other before she discerned her vocation to cloistered life. The rest of the novitiate stopped by to say hello; one of the Ann Arbor sisters in the group, Sister Maria Silva, O.P., contributed to a new book by the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist entitled, “And Mary’s Yes Continues”. This is a beautiful book about religious vocations today and includes many vocation stories of SMME sisters. If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about consecrated life, don’t miss this book.
What a beautiful life, Dominican life, with our large and diverse Dominican family! Yet we remain united in the Spirit, by our love of God and our zeal for the salvation of souls, under Mary and our Holy Father Dominic.
Alleluia! He is risen!