RBWords - Volume 22 - Number 2: February 2009
Something to Think About
Most of my beloved readers know that I will be moving to Austin, TX, this next Summer. Most of them know that I will be engaged in full time itinerant preaching. However, many of them do not know exactly what that means. So I thought I\'d better take advantage of this space to talk about itinerant preaching!
This ministry goes back to the very foundation of the Dominican Order. Our official name is the Order of Preachers (hence the “O.P.” after the name of a Dominican). When we were founded in the early 13th century by St. Dominic, the idea was that we would be mobile (itinerant) and not committed to staying in one place (like monks) all our lives. Dominican houses are grouped into territorial “provinces,” but a friar could be called upon to work anywhere. Another feature of the Order (besides the usual vows) is our commitment to study. St. Dominic divided his early group and sent them to various university centers. They were to beg for their food and support and hence another feature of the life is “mendicancy.” (This some of you know because of our annual “1216 Campaign.”)
Now we “fast forward” to our present time. Itinerant preaching on a full time basis is not the ministry of a majority of Dominican friars in this country or even around the world. We are present in many university settings as campus ministers and teachers and we are also in parishes and hospitals. These ministries require some “stability.” I will be traveling from a fixed base in Austin, but my work will depend on word of mouth or contacting possible opportunities. To do what? Parish missions and retreats will constitute the bulk of my ministry. A parish mission is like a “revival” or “renewal” event in a local parish (some call them “retreats”) and generally lasts from a weekend through Wednesday evening. I go into a parish and preach at all the weekend Masses and then conduct the mission on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. Sometimes I speak to particular groups in the parish such as school kids or the RCIA programs. Retreats take place at “retreat centers” and are usually group events such as priests or deacons or nuns or particular lay groups. These last from a weekend to (in the case of cloistered Dominican nuns) eight full days! At present I have on my calendar between July and December two retreats for Permanent Deacons and three retreats for priests. Parish missions usually occur in Advent or Lent.
Since this is not a “salaried” ministry like the others I have mentioned, I have to do some contacting and promotion to let folks know I\'m available. You can help by mentioning me to your pastor or retreat coordinator! (Send them to my website at . In the past, I was slated to go into this ministry twice and other requests from my Province intervened. Now it looks like it\'s going to happen. I\'ll need your prayers! IT\'S SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
It Has Been Said
“Jesus did not feed all the poor, only a few. He did not heal all the lepers, or give sight to all the blind, or drive out all the unclean spirits. Satan wanted him to do all this, but he didn\'t. That helps me. If I felt that I had to conquer all the ills of the world I\'d likely sit back and do nothing at all. But if my job is to feed one stranger, then the money I give to world relief will be dug down deeper from my pocket than it would if I felt I had to succeed in feeding the entire world.”
from THE IRRATIONAL SEASON by Madeleine L\'Engle