Formation // 
Pre-Postulancy
Pre-Postulancy
Pre-Postulancy
First of all, let’s discuss what discernment means. Discernment according to the trusty dictionary is “to perceive by the sight or some other sense or by the intellect; see, recognize, or apprehend”. So what then does Vocations mean? The dictionary’s definition is as follows “an inclination, as if in response to a summons, to undertake a certain kind of work, especially a religious career; a calling.” So when we talk about a discerning a vocation, we are discussing a period of thinking, and recognition, or a summons or calling to a religious life.
So then what is a Dominican? Obvious answer is that a Dominican is a follower of St. Dominic, a member of the Order of Preachers which he founded in the early 13th century to combat the evils of the age by preaching God's truth. The motto of the Order is VERITAS (Truth), the Truth that never changes. The purpose of the Order is to praise God; to bless Our Lord in prayer, adoration, meditation and contemplation; and to preach His Truth ("Laudere, Benedicere, Praedicare" or " to praise, to bless, to preach).
In this case and in terms of discerning a Dominican vocation, it would seem to be to think if you are firstly called to some form of service to God’s church (Discernment), it would be to contemplate and then to think of what sort of charism you have (Dominican) and then type of religious life would you desire (Vocation) Just like any vocation you must consider what reasons am I considering it. Is it just to escape something? What do I want to achieve, or do? Can you see yourself fulfilling the roles that you are considering? For example, if you are thinking about the priesthood, can you see yourself celebrating mass, anointing the dying etc?
Just to give an idea of the possible vocations in the Dominican Order, I have made a simple table below. It outlines some of the similarities or differences. *note a lay tertiary only makes promises- and are not bound to it*
|
Lay Tertiary |
Co-operative Brother |
Priest Brother |
|
Makes Promises to live their lives according to the lay rule of St Dominic |
Makes Profession |
Makes Profession |
|
Can assist Priests in the administering of the Sacraments, through Altar serving, as sacristans, lectors etc |
Assists Priests in the administering of the Sacraments, through Altar serving, as sacristans, lectors etc |
Is Ordained, and can administer the Sacraments |
|
Attach themselves to a Dominican House or Church, but stays in their own home |
Lives in Community |
Lives in Community |
|
Should Attend Lay Tertiary Meetings |
Attends Communal Prayer and Mass |
Attends Communal Prayer and Mass |
|
Shares in the blessings of the Order |
Shares in the blessings of the Order |
Shares in the blessings of the Order |
|
Promises to live simply (Earns a living) |
Vow of Poverty |
Vow of Poverty |
|
Promises to be Chaste (Can Marry) |
Vow of Chastity |
Vow of Chastity |
|
Promises to be Obedient to the Church’s Teachings |
Vow of Obedience |
Vow of Obedience |
|
Promises to Pray the Divine Office |
Must Pray the Divine Office on behalf of the Church |
Must Pray the Divine Office on behalf of the Church |
|
Clothed in a Scapular upon Enrolment |
Clothed in Habit |
Clothed in Habit |
|
Dominican Life |
Diocesan |
|
Live in Community – This means doing everything with everyone, there isn’t a lot of time you can have by yourself |
Live Alone- You live alone, and social interaction depends on your ministry |
|
Take vows chastity |
Make a promise of celibacy |
|
Take vows of poverty- We don’t own anything, everything belongs to the order. If the prior wanted an item we have in our possession, we through Holy Obedience would have to relinquish that item. |
Is given a stipend and can own belongings- A diocesan priest, can save up money and buy things he wants, a car, a computer, a play station, and these are his belongings |
|
Take vows of obedience Must be obedient to the prior, provincial. |
Obedience is only to the bishop, with great deal of freedom in daily activities |
|
Wears a habit |
Wears a collar |
|
May be assigned to teaching at a school, university, or to a parish |
Is almost always assigned to a parish |
|
We are a teaching order |
|
|
We are the guardians and promoters of the rosary |
|
These are a few things which I personally think are pointer to a possible vocation
Devotion to a Dominican saint
Love of the Rosary
Great love of learning, reading, or teaching
Love of the priestly ministry
Love of the liturgy
Great love of St Thomas Aquinas work
A desire to serve god and others
Love of community and family life
A strong practice of the Catholic faith
A sound moral character
Desire for a deep relationship with God nurtured through prayer both private and liturgical.
Stability of character and perseverance in following the rule of St Dominic
A desire to deepen one understands of the Catholic faith and one's prayer life through learning and study.
A willing involvement in spreading the Word of God through apostolic work according to one's abilities.
A willingness to actively join with other Dominicans in prayer, work and fellowship as a member of a Dominican community.
*joke*
Love of good food :P
Looking cool with iphones, ipods and various other electronic gizmos and latest fads
*joke*
Each order has a charism, the aim is to find the order with a charism most in line with your own. As we’ve discussed earlier for the Dominicans its study, preaching or teaching, and blessing. So if you want to teach about Christ, study theology, as well as minister to the people, then this is the order for you!
We are semi-monastic, so we live together, but at the dawn of a new day we go out to our flocks, be it in the universities as chaplains, hospitals, parish’s or schools, and at the end of the day we come back to the community, for prayers and meals.
1) They are all very knowledgable
2) Each has their own speciality ( e.g history, or geography, or languages or theology)
3) Each has a large collection of books nad bookshelves in their room (indicative of the charism of study, always on the search for more knowledge)
4) each has a unique sense of humour, which is good, because we're always cracking jokes, or laughing about things
5) there is a good mix of older and younger friars. There is a mix of the youthful energetic outlooks and experience of life, combined with the older friars who have gained lots of insights and wisdom during their years of service and can impart this to us.
6) Ever friar is joyful and happy, which i think is indicative of a healthy relationship with God and each other, also that it shows the environment of the convent is supportive and more like a family.
Get a regular confessor and spiritual director, they don’t necessarily have to be the same priest, but having someone who you regularly confess to , or seek spiritual direction, enables them to give you advice as they know you better. Attending daily mass and taking part in some ministry at your local church, either in the choir, as an altar server, collector etc can also be good as to get used to a ministry of service.
Altar serving is an extension of the ministry of the altar, which is helping the priest celebrate the Mass. It can give you a taste of what serving the Lord liturgically is like. Since it is an extension of the ministry of the altar, the significance of this is if you feel at home whilst altar serving, then you may also feel comfortable serving a priestly function in a mass. This is not by all means saying if you do not feel comfortable altar serving, you are not suited for a priestly vocation; it may be a good indicator, or way of discerning if it is right for you. Altar serving also helps you to familiarise yourself further with the parts of the mass.
Singing is like praying twice as St Augustine said. So by joining your local parish choir, and singing in the liturgy, he hymns and mass setting, you are not just praying twice, but you are also helping the other in the parish pray as well. Singing in a choir also means you are working in a team, which can assist you with communication skills, and working in tandem with others to achieve a common goal. This can also help if you choose to explore the priesthood because you are familiar with music, parts of the mass etc. Also the divine office is normal chanted and sung,
Even do what many consider menial tasks either in the church or outside, as they are for the lord, they carry merit. Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, “He humbled himself and took on the form of a servant”. Later, the disciples would remember this. A priest or a brother is always at the service of the church, and Christ, we are called to serve God’s’ people, the sick, the hungry , the needy, so by helping at the local church or volunteering for many things people stay away from, we can learn humility just as the disciples, and prepare ourselves for a lifetime of service.
For myself, my vocation was born from that of joining the lay fraternity, which means becoming a lay Dominican. I believe it is beneficial to join a lay tertiary group, because it was from there and the promises I made as a lay Dominican
Praying the office daily, daily mass, daily rosary, some time dedicated to study, especially to reading the gospels, and time for mental prayer, as well as taking up altar serving at the church the lay Dominicans were attached to, I found my vocation.
While you do not have to go run out find a lay tertiary and join it, many of the things i picked up from the lay Dominicans I believe are important and almost central to discerning a vocation.
Praying the divine office- the divine office is the official public prayer of the church, and if , priesthood or brotherhood is your vocation, you will be praying it every day till the end of your life. So it is a good idea to pick up a breviary (which can be had for around $50 from catholic bookstores, or even cheaper on eBay) and start to pray it. Joining either a lay fraternity, or joining in at the priory, can help to expose you to how to pray the divine office using the breviary and familiarise yourself with the psalm tones
Daily Mass- we all know mass is very important; it is the re-presentation of the Lords sacrifice on Calvary. It is the time Christ was most alone, and for everything Christ has done for us, should we not be there for him, in that hour, just one hour a day? It is from the mass we not only receive the Word, but also his flesh and blood. The sacrament in itself gives us grace, and allows us to take time off during our busy lives to spend time in adoration and contemplation.
Daily Rosary- The Dominicans are the official promoters of the rosary, folklore has St Dominic receiving the rosary from Our Lady, Rosary beads form part of the habit, not to look good, but so that friars, may have the rosary on them at all times, so they may be able to pray the rosary anywhere and at anytime.
Reading – Reading Holy Scripture as well as theology and philosophy is greatly encouraged. It enables us to build up knowledge, so when we are preaching or teaching, we do not teach error, but also that we are able to answer people’s concerns and questions on our faith.
Mental Prayer- mental prayer and silent prayer are almost synonymous. Mental prayer is a form of meditation, in which a person can concentrate their mind, their thoughts. A relationship with god however isn’t just a one way street. At some point during the day, it would be a good idea to close your mind off from distractions, and listen, to try to hear god, to have god move or change something within you, even though you may not physically here something, perhaps the lord would have internally changed something, or imparted some guidance.
Adoration – spending time with the Blessed Sacrament. Being before Christ Jesus, imbues a sense of
This is my recommendation on discernment?
Another thing outside that to do, is to spend some time in one of our priories. Ask the vocations director if you can spend a weekend or a few dinners every so often there, to get a feel for communal life, prayer life, and Dominican life has to offer!
How do you get in? What steps are there – contact, accompaniment, forms etc? What would be some of the criteria the Order uses for discerning a vocation with a young man? Not just physical/intellectual etc, but Timothy Radcliffe is helpful in this regard.
Once a hopeful, has gone through a discernment process, and has spent a considerable time in prayer and thought as to his vocation, he may with the advice of his spiritual director, or the vocations director, apply to be admitted to the Order.
In applying: there are certain criteria that need to be met.
Catholic Criteria in regards to sacraments
Application Criteria
Guide to Personality Criteria
The application process itself is quite easy. First after signalling your intention to apply to the vocations director, and the director agrees, he will send you a few documents to fill out.
1. Questionnaire – just a general one to get a general idea of you
2. Provincial application form – your catholic background, your parents your education, employment etc
3. Personal bio of your life or faith journey.
4. Completed application form – with personal details ages etc
5. Certificate of Birth*
6. Baptismal Certificate*
7. Confirmation Certificate*
8. Medical Report – From your GP, includes things such as general fitness, hearing, eyesight etc.
9. Dental Report – About your dental health
10. Official Academic record i.e. Yr 12 Certificate or Academic Transcript.
11. References from four responsible persons (teachers, heads of Schools and colleges,
Employers, priests, religious, doctors, employers, etc.) people have known you well,
(Give me a ring if you are unsure). Please provide Vocation Director with names and
Addresses and email, your nominated referees will be sent a form on which to
Provide their reference; REFERENCES FROM PARISH PREIST
After you have submitted the completed forms and supporting documents, the admissions board will meet at their next convenient time, and deliberate on whether or not they believe you would be suited to Dominican religious life, and whether to admit you to the postulancy.