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Lay Dominicans in Fishtown Are you being called
to deepen your faith through prayer, study, community, and apostolate? Members of
the Lay Fraternities of St. Dominic are lay men and women who are fully incorporated members of the Order of Preachers and
live out their Dominican vocation in the world. Lay Dominicans, who in the past have been called Third Order or Dominican
Tertiaries, have existed almost as long as the Dominican Order itself. The first Lay Dominicans were founded in 1285 with
their own rule. Lay Dominicans "are accordingly distinguished both by their own spirituality
and by their service to God and neighbor in the Church. As members of the Order, they participate in its apostolic mission
through prayer, study, and preaching according to the state proper to the laity" (The Rule of the Lay Fraternity
#4). Lay Dominicans come from every background, joining the Dominican charism to their state
of life in the world. In this unique Dominican way, they live out their special vocation "to seek the kingdom of God
by engaging in temporal affairs and directing them according to God's will" (Vatican Council II, Lumen Gentium #31).
PRAYER
 We bless and praise Our Lord in private and community practices of PRAYER, adoration, meditation,
and contemplation of Him who is "the way, the truth, and the life." The foundation of a Dominican's
prayer life is the Eucharistic celebration of the Mass, daily if possible. In addition, our prayers
are united with the Universal Church in the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office), which sanctifies
the entire day. The practice of Lectio Divina nourishes our Dominican life
of faith, hope, and charity. Specific to our Dominican tradition is contemplation of the life of Christ in the daily recitation
of the Rosary. Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary ("ad Jesum per Miriam"),
we are brought deeper into understanding God's Love for us that fills our hearts, minds, and souls with awesome wonder.
STUDY
 STUDY is a lifelong avocation for the Lay Dominican: Scripture, Church teachings,
lives of the Saints, writings of Church Doctors, encyclicals of Holy Fathers, documents of the Church, and theological and
spiritual treatises are complemented with historical and socio-economical writings that better prepare us to "Go out
to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation" (Mk 15:16).
COMMUNITY
Lay Dominicans come together to share their common vocation in the Order within a local chapter COMMUNITY.
Joining together for Mass, prayers, and socializing helps strengthen the unity of the chapter and affords the lay member opportunities
to grow in love, patience, and understanding of not only our Dominican brothers and sisters, but also those men and women
with whom we meet every day.
APOSTOLATE
 "The Spirit of Truth will be my witness; and you too will be witnesses."
(Jn 15:26)
APOSTOLATE is the work we do for Christ and the salvation of
souls. This work may encompass many things, but for a Dominican, it always involves preaching. Like St. Dominic, we choose
to undertake preaching the Gospel to the poorly catechized, to the uncatechized, to unbelievers, and to those who are hostile
to the Gospel.
The apostolic life of a Dominican is where the call to preach is set in motion, and the benefits of
one's prayer, study, and community life are infused into one's preaching. We become living Beatitudes
to all those in need and promote good stewardship for God's creation.
Duc in altum!
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The Apostolic Priorities of the Dominican Order • Catechesis
in a de-Christianized world
• Evangelization in diverse cultures
• Promotion of Justice and Peace
•
Communication through the mass media
The Charism of the Dominican Order Preaching of the Gospels for the salvation of souls and the attainment of personal holiness.
In Fishtown
 Fishtown Chapter Members with His Eminence Justin Cardinal Rigali and Father Groarke The local Lay Dominican chapter meets at Holy Name in Fishtown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the fourth
Sunday of every month. Our chapter is the St. Catherine of Siena Chapter, Philadelphia, incorporated within the St. Joseph Province (Eastern US) of the Order of Preachers. We gather at 10:00 am in community to celebrate Morning Prayer
(Lauds), the Rosary, and Adoration. Then we join the Holy Name parish community for Mass. After Mass, we enjoy coffee and
sweets while discussing chapter and Order business, news, and events. Next, we study by means of lectures and reading materials
and join in group discussion to continuously form ourselves as Lay Dominicans. Finally, we conclude with the Divine Mercy
chaplet. Between chapter meetings, we live our lives according to the Rule and often do special
studying and preparation for our communal study at chapter. Our chapter apostolate
is to help the Blessed Margaret of Costello Home for Crisis Pregnancies in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, with prayers and donations. In addition to that, each member has his or her own individual apostolate
that fits with a busy life as laity in the world, such as blogging, writing letters to the editor for local papers, joining
with other ecclesial groups in charitable activities, sharing the Faith ad hoc when the opportunity presents itself, visiting
the bereaved, teaching, and more.
Would You Like to Find Out More?
To learn more about being a Lay Dominican, explore our provincial website at http://3op.org. To get in touch with our local community, contact our chapter president:
 Mr. Robert Ellis, O.P.
610 Pacific Ave
North Cape May, NJ 08204
(609) 886-7081 Or come join us for a meeting.
Just ring the doorbell at the door to the left of the church doors. Holy Name Church
701
Gaul Street
Philadelphia, PA 19125 Meetings are held on the fourth Sunday of
the month...
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