Dominican Friars growing in number in Ireland {Ecumenical}

Other religious orders largely stopped wearing their traditional garb in recent years, as they tried to attract new followers in secularizing societies. But the friars deliberately went on wearing the robes and promoting the spiritual benefits of shared prayer and a communal lifestyle ..

“We made a conscious decision a few years ago to wear the habit because we had no vocations and we were in a bad way,” said Father Dunne,... “If we didn’t present ourselves in an authentic manner, who would join us? And that meant going back to the fundamentals.”

Those fundamentals — which include the signature white tunic and black capuce of the Dominican friars, fashioned almost 800 years ago — have helped lead to an improbable revival of the Dominican order of preachers. Even as other orders close houses and parish priests in Ireland are vanishing at a time of clerical sexual abuse scandals, the Dominican order is growing, and not just in Ireland.

The friars are something of a hybrid between monks and diocesan priests. They live together in a priory, sharing prayers and meals. But unlike monks, they work in the broader community in preaching and teaching roles in churches, universities and secondary schools. It is a way of life that Pope Francis himself has chosen, shunning the papal palace for a guesthouse to “live in community” with bishops and priests at the Vatican.

In the United States, the northeastern branch is expecting 18 novices to enter its theology school. In the smaller southern region the Dominicans are scrambling to finance an influx of novices — six this year

My impression is that the Southern province and the Midwestern province in the US have not shaken off the dread "Spirit of Vatican II" yet. But the Eastern Province, the Province of St. Joseph, is increasingly sound.

As the article said, we have increasing vocations. AND, what's wonderful to me, we just completed the first new priory in the world in DECADES! It's in Charlottesville, right next door the the University of Virginia and across the street from St. Thomas Aquinas Church, the university parish.

As a parish we have had something like a decade of solid leadership. What is interesting is watching the parish grow while we simultaneously have some attrition of CINOs.

Early in Lent a philosophy professor from the Dominican House of Studies in DC preached at five of the six Sunday Masses. It wasn't so much a sermon as a brief class: Umpty-ump arguments against artificial contraception from Natural Law. At some Masses a few people walked out.

I hate to see them go, but I keep thinking of Gideon's army and how God winnowed it down to a very few. I think that we are in for a time of increasing trial and testing. So to the extent that we can, we need to train in the basics, prayer, fasting, and alms-giving. And we need to be educated and firm in dogma and, more importantly, in our faith.

Certainly ALL the orders can play an important role both in dialing back on the loose heterodoxy of the past few decades and in promoting lives of holiness and faith for all Catholics. But I have hopes that the Order of Preachers will provide preachers, apologists, and leaders of renewal. These are interesting times.

Unfortunately in today’s world, blending in is no longer good, but we, as Christians, must stand out for our beliefs. The return to traditional (which was once similar to everyday garb) is needed. Our own minister, protestant, found that a clerical collar gets him entry where his ID as a minister does not; thus he keeps on handy when visiting hospitals and nursing homes. And he does NOT usually wear one.

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