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Page 4 History of the Dominican Order

LAY DOMINICANS ARE MEMBERS OF A LAY DOMINICANS STRIVE TO LIVE THE WORLDWIDE FAMILY CHARISM OF THE ORDER

The Dominican Family was founded by St. Prayer: a faithful regimen of daily prayer: daily Dominic de Guzman, a Spanish priest born Mass, the in the morning, in Caleruega in 1170. In 1203 he organized in the evening and before bed, personal his traveling and founded the meditation, particularly of the Scriptures, Dominican “Order of Preachers” (the meaning and the are essential elements of of the OP that you see after a Dominican’s Dominican Spirituality. In addition, a yearly name). Dominicans all over the world continue retreat, preferably in community, is considered to draw upon the charisms of St. Dominic essential for remaining centered and and are formed throughout their entire lives committed to the Christian and Dominican according to the priorities and fundamentals vocation. of the Dominican way of life. There are four principal branches of the Order, all true Study: a vigorous seeking after truth, especially members of it: in Scripture, Church documents, and writings of the saints and theologians, lead the The : the brothers and priests who Dominican to greater truth. The principal part profess solemn vows of poverty, , of the meetings of the is the organized and obedience and who may be involved in a study program in which all participate and for variety of ministries. All serve the primary role which all prepare. and ministry of the Order: preaching. Like the other branches, the men dedicate their lives Works: a willing and cheerful fulfillment of to prayer, study, and community life in order to apostolic work such as ministry to the poor, carry out the priorities of the Order, preaching the marginalized, the unfortunate, the sick; and care of the poor. preaching as the opportunity arises and in accord with the station in life of the lay The Laity: men and women from all walks of and Dominican, the example of a joyful and life who commit themselves through formal moral life, readiness to enter into dialogue with profession to the Dominican way of life the unbelievers or faith-troubled, eagerness integrated into their established life styles, to witness to the Good News. sharing in the charism and priorities of the Order. Community: an empathetic eagerness to enter into the relationship of brothers and The : women who live intense lives of sisters in our father Dominic, to gather for prayer in monasteries, profess solemn vows, support, encouragement, and appreciation of and participate in the mission of the Order one another, to study and pray together, and from their cloisters. to accept the obligations of belonging to a cohesive group. The Sisters: women who profess the simple vows and live active apostolic lives along LAY FRATERNITIES AND THIRD ORDERS IN with the prayer and community life that is the THE CHURCH hallmark of Dominicans. When we speak about Lay Fraternities and Binding all of these branches together is the Third Orders in the , we common love for the Church and the Order, generally mean lay members of religious commitment to the mission of preaching, and orders. The Dominicans, , devotion to prayer (especially the Liturgical , Norbertines, , and prayers of the Hours and the Mass). of Charity are all examples of Page 5 orders in the Church who have lay branches, members help others through their prayers. although each order may have a different way of referring to its lay members. (For example, After the Fraternities of St. Dominic got off in the Dominican Order, we are called lay the ground, it drew many new members. Fraternity members, or tertiaries. In the Its fraternity in Siena especially flourished. , lay cooperators are Among the list of members of that fraternity called coworkers. It should also be noted that was she who would become St. Catherine of some orders receive professions from those Siena. Wherever the Dominican Order spread in their lay branch, as with the Dominicans, throughout the world, the fraternity chapters while others simply invite laity to participate spread with it. fully in the living of the order’s charism without making professions.) Further Information about Dominican History

Lay men and women in the Fraternities of St. The original purpose behind the Fraternities Dominic do not necessarily live in community of St. Dominic was the preaching of penance. with each other but practice many of the However, over time the Fraternities began same spiritual disciplines of the religious of to stress the importance for lay Catholics of that order. Any Catholic in good standing may having strong, solid formation in their faith. join these associations. The Fraternities became, and continues to be, a group that strives to know their faith and to The Beginnings of the Fraternities of St. be well-formed and competent in sharing that Dominic faith with others. Persuasive communication of Catholic truth to the secular world is perhaps In the early days of the Dominican Order, the most pressing mission of the Fraternities neither St. Dominic nor the early Preachers of St. Dominic. desired to have under their jurisdiction-and consequently under their responsibility-either We should mention too that, at its conception, religious or lay associations. During his life, the Fraternities served the Church in a military then, St. Dominic never wrote a rule for the capacity, defending her from opposition. Fraternities. Instead, it happened that a large Now, certainly, Dominicans do not body of laity who were living a life of piety serve militarily but instead defend the Church found themselves attracted to St. Dominic and from error through preaching and teaching the his initiative; they grouped themselves around truth about Catholicism. the rising Order of Preachers and constituted on their own a “third order.” St. is the patroness of the Fraternities of St. Dominic. Following her In 1285, the need for more firmly uniting these example, Dominican tertiaries have always lay people to the Order of Preachers and its shown special devotion to the Church. Also direction led the seventh , in imitation of their patroness, who wrote Munio de Zamora (at the suggestion of Pope profound mystical works and emphasized Honorius IV) to devise a rule known as “The the truth of Catholic teaching in all of her Third Order of Penance of St. Dominic.” Pope letters, Fraternity members labor to know well Honorius IV granted this new fraternity official their faith and to articulate it to others with Church recognition on Jan. 28, 1286. persuasion.

In the rule written by Munio de Zamora, Several saints and blessed in the Church some basic points are: 1) the government have been in the Fraternities, including St. of the Dominican Fraternities is immediately Catherine of Siena, St. , Bl. Pier subject to ecclesiastical authority; 2) in the Giorgio Frassati, and St. Louis de Montfort. spirit of St. Dominic, those in the Fraternities should be truly zealous for the Catholic faith; 3) Fraternity members visit sick members of the community and help them; 4) Fraternity