Having trouble? View this email as a webpage.

March 2025

Reflections of the Director

Put a Few Leaves in the Table,

Company is Coming!

By Nancy Mason Bordley

Director, Office of Dominican Charism

As kids, we knew when company was coming for supper. Along with the wonderful aroma of fresh food cooking, my parents would ask my siblings and me to help extend the table by adding a few leaves. We would also go to the basement to haul up some extra chairs. “Who’s coming over?” we would ask enthusiastically and then argue over who would sit next to our guests. It was a familiar ritual in my family. No matter how many guests we had, we made sure there was always room at our table and always enough chairs. Somehow, everyone had a seat.

As new life forms are emerging within the Dominican Family, we are challenged to think about extending our Dominican Welcome Table. We need to create strategies that address spiritual, numerical, and institutional development. The phrase “enlarging the table” reflects the need for a growing inclusive, diverse, and vibrant community that invites people of all walks of life to participate in the mission of preaching the Gospel. We need to create opportunities for new folks to join us and share their stories, hopes, and dreams. 

Along with the Dominican Friars, Sisters, Nuns, Laity, and Associates, many Dominicans embody the Charism intentionally. Some choose to reside in small faith communities, leading a life of prayer and study while preaching the Gospel and sharing their truth. Others preach the Word of God through their actions and examples, by raising families and working in their chosen professions. They live the Dominican virtues of study, prayer, and action in their families and professional communities. Most of them, whether in faith communities, families, or professions, often serve in parish ministry. 

In this Issue

News

- Update from the Dominican Republic

Living the

Dominican Charism

- In Their Own Words

Still others are seeking deeper relationships and opportunities to find a beloved community with whom to grow and share their gifts.

But what will lay Dominican life look like in the future?

We in the Office of Dominican Charism are in the midst of some important and exciting conversations with other non-vowed Dominican communities across the country. Those who have come to the table for discussion have experienced a poignant, universal call to something new and exciting. And while we can’t yet forecast what this emerging form of Dominican life will look like, we are beginning to imagine how it might take shape. These collaborative meetings have been both enlightening and affirming. We find that, though different, we are all united by our common values and the preservation and joy of our Dominican Charism of preaching. The Spirit is working in this “New Communion” as we, united in trust, forge new paths. 

The Dominican Charism will be alive and well into the future! Those of us who are lay members of the family have pledged to carry on the legacy of our vowed sisters and brothers by 

1. witnessing to truth in a fragmented world, 
2. strengthening community and collaboration, 
3. responding to contemporary needs, 
4. committing ourselves to prayer and study, and 
5. preaching with our lives, through example, in whatever manner we are called.

Enlarging the table of the Dominican Family means creating spaces where more people can encounter the Gospel and participate in the Order’s mission. By prioritizing intentional invitation, robust formation, inclusive collaboration, and innovative outreach, the Dominican Family will grow in numbers, diversity, and spiritual vitality. This growth will ensure that we Dominicans will continue to be active in the modern world as itinerant preachers of the Gospel, inspiring and transforming lives with St. Dominic’s vision.

News from the Dominican Family

The new statue of St. Dominic.

Ten years ago, when I returned to the Dominican Republic to begin a new ministry, I was surprised not to see a statue of St. Dominic. The country is named after him. The city is also named after him. Universities, schools, and institutions of different sorts have his name. But there was no statue of the great preacher saint. 

I decided to do something about it. I invited the Prior of the Dominican Friars and a group of people to help with the project. We selected a well-known artist to build a seven-foot bronze statue of St. Dominic, to be placed near the entrance of the Iglesia del Convento Dominico in the old Colonial City. We hope to unveil it this year on the Feast of St. Dominic.

Living the Dominican Charism ...

The Office of Dominican Charism envisions “a future with groups/networks of purpose-driven women and men who are spiritual seekers alive with the fire of being Dominican in service to the world.”  

Recently, we had the opportunity to ask some of our Sisters to reflect on two questions:

• What does the Dominican Charism mean to you?

• How do you envision the Dominican Charism being lived out in the future?

We feature these reflections for your enjoyment and contemplation.

As Dominicans, we are called to shine a light on the Gospel and on God’s love for all people and all of creation – much like the dog in Blessed Jane’s dream who traveled the world carrying a lit torch. I see the Dominican Charism as a minister of the truth, rooted in study and awareness of the signs of the times, as well as a sign of joy – the hallmark of all Dominicans.

I believe that the Dominican Charism is much in need in today’s world. Like Dominic, we are called to dispel heresies with simple love, truth, and joy. The heresy I’m especially concerned about right now is the trend toward Christian Nationalism in the United States, which seeks to enforce specific Christian laws and principles on the rest of the world – contrary to the freedom and service mentality that both Jesus and St. Dominic modeled. As Dominicans, we need to preach with our lives by embodying the love, service, humility, and forgiveness that Jesus calls us to.  

The Dominican Charism is attractive to so many people because it calls out the best in us and invites us to be part of a community of followers of Jesus and Dominic who “shine like stars in the sky” in a sometimes dark and troubled world. It has attracted many students of Dominican high schools and colleges, as well as other seekers, and this will help us to carry out our mission in the world.

But I am also confident that the Dominican Charism has a great future through vowed Sisters. The Dominican Sisters Conference is calling the U.S.-based congregations into a period of discernment toward forming a Union of Dominican Sisters. This would strengthen the ability of younger Sisters to serve in mission wherever they see the need – and would attract young Catholic women to make a vowed commitment to the Dominican family. Through them, more people will become aware of the vision of Jesus and St. Dominic and will likely respond in whatever form or vocation God calls them to. I believe that we will have a robust Dominican presence in the world – Sisters, Associates, Co-workers, Friars, nuns, other seekers – who will be witnesses to God’s love in their own lives, families, and workplaces. In short, I am very optimistic about the presence and influence of the Dominican Charism in our world in the years to come. 

– Barbara Kelley, OP

Charism!!! One does not usually find this word in the common or even uncommon vocabulary of most people. However, it is a “word” that grounds the life of all religious sisters, priests, brothers, and associates.

Its meaning comes from the Greek word charis used in the New Testament for favor or freely given gift from God. 

Charisms, or spiritual gifts, are given through the grace of the Holy Spirit to enable followers of Jesus to become powerful channels of God's love and presence in the world.

I am a transfer Sister from the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston. Their charism is that of Reconciliation. As we lived our lives as Sisters of St. Joseph, this spiritual gift was the primary stance out of which we shaped our lives. It was the channel that guided us when working with and encountering the many and diverse people with whom we ministered. 

After some years, I transferred to the Adrian Dominican Sisters, who like all Dominicans hold the charism of Truth. I spent three years in the transfer process reflecting and contemplating on what this charism meant and how in accepting and living it, my life would again be molded. 

The world today is crying out for truth. It is a greater need than ever before. However, truth is not something that comes easily. 

Immersing and grounding ourselves in the Scriptures and pondering the life of Jesus are the tools Dominic asked of those who followed him. This is where he looked, and we must look. Using the pillars of prayer, study, community, and service, we are invited to come to a deeper understanding of what ‘truth’ really means. 

No one except The Divine possesses all truth; but rooted in the foundation of our charism, we find the strength and commitment to live the mission of Jesus, to speak/live/and preach Truth.

We know this is a difficult path and it can put us into uncomfortable situations. However, as Dominicans, it is this very charism, freely given gift, that God’s love and presence in the world can be channeled through us to others.

As is written in your newly published Foundational Document, “Associates are invited to recognize their unique gifts and offer them in service of the common good, through the multitude of diverse contexts according to their states in life, their gifts, and circumstances.” This is the call. This is the hope for the future.

In seeking truth, we grow closer to Jesus, and the closer we grow, the more the grace of the Spirit will infect us and those we meet.

By putting in the work to develop our charism, we allow God’s channels to burst into the world in unique and powerful ways.

– Marilyn Barnett, OP

I was present at the 1978 General Chapter at which the concept of Association was introduced, bolstered by the concerns expressed by Nadine Foley, OP, who constantly prompted us with the question, “What about the lay people?” At the time, and for some time, it was an embryonic idea, not equally received by different Chapters. It took time to find its definition, footing, mostly by what it was not. It was not derivative of the vowed life; it was not a legal component of the Adrian Dominican Congregation; it was not simply “friends of the Sisters,” though many started that way. Associates joined Mission Groups and shared responsibilities, while absenting themselves from discussions relating to government. Sojourner groups emerged as a source of community and study.

With the inexorable diminution of vowed members, Associate Life and Mission, irrespective of vowed members, required a particular path, which would include Co-workers, legacy and sponsored institutions, alumni, donors, and seekers.

Associates will be about the incarnation of the charism of St. Dominic, which, on its own, is emblematic of a full Christian life. It is incumbent upon them to foster, invite, and accompany other Associates, so that their “footprints bring good news, proclaim peace, and bring glad tidings” (Isaiah 52:7).

The charism of St. Dominic is more than any single institute and, as Gamaliel said of the early Christians, “I advise you: Leave these men (sic) alone. Let them go! For if their purpose or endeavor is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.” 

In an age when many have difficulty finding vibrant parish life, Association offers an authentic option for seekers committed to the Gospel. The path is present and not-yet, just as is true of God’s Reign.  

– Mary Ann Dixon, OP

Dominican Charism means for me a call to live out the vision, the grace, and the way of life our Holy Father Dominic imagined and passed on to us as our inheritance. As was Dominic, we are to be caught by the Spirit to seek the voice of God and witness to the presence of God in all we encounter. As a Dominican, I am called to be a person of hope, of light, of joy. In my contemplative and communal prayer, God reveals to me how I am to live this in the concrete circumstances of my life. We know from our scriptures, particularly the Gospels, that relationship with God is our priority. Deepening that relationship enables me to be a witness to others. It also enables me to see God in others and to affirm God’s presence and love in them.

The charism Dominic lived was a response to the needs of his time. Dominic listened with his heart; he came to know the other. He was a non-violent man of compassion, respecting the dignity of each person. Our turbulent, restless world of today needs these gifts of our Dominican heritage. It is in this world where the holy comes to light, the place where we encounter and listen to – contemplate – God. The charism Dominic handed over is to be used for God’s people, to bring them the promise of a meaningful life. Preaching calls for presence. We must be among the people to know what needs to be said and done.

I envision the Dominican charism in the future in a variety of ways, with combinations of women, men, married, single, lay, religious. There will be collaborative ministries. There will be vowed groups who will come together in new configurations. There will be relationships of laity and religious who connect through shared history and/or ministries. There will be groups bonded by age or length in religious life who may form living or virtual communities. There may be people who are inspired by the charism and wish to live, temporarily, in community with Dominicans or other similar seekers. As the theologian Karl Rahner speaks of “Anonymous Christians,” I am certain there must be “Anonymous Dominicans” – women and men who have the charism within them, who live it out, and who might be in need of an invitation to recognize it.

Creativity is never absent among Dominicans. I believe the living out of the Dominican charism will continually be born anew.

– Katie McGrail, OP