THE WAY OF THE DOMINICAN PREACHER: GO AND DO LIKEWISE!
St. Louis, Missouri, October 10-14, 2016
In October 2016, as a celebration of the 800th Jubilee of the Order of Preachers (“Dominicans”), 61 invited participants from 22 countries participated in a Dominican Jubilee Colloquium on Preaching in Saint Louis, Missouri—a global event hosted by Aquinas Institute of Theology of the Province of St. Albert the Great, USA, the Institut für Pastoralhomiletik of the Province of Teutonia (Germany), and the Institute of Preaching of the Province of the Philippines. The goals of the colloquium were to celebrate the Jubilee as a global Order of Preachers and to take a step toward building an international network of relationships to promote preaching in the Roman Catholic Church. Keynote presentations by Fr. Bruno Cadoré, O.P., Sr. Sarah Böhmer, O.P., and Mary N. Erika Bolaños, O.P. were open to the public at St. Louis University’s Center for Global Citizenship.
THREE KEYNOTE ADDRESSES
“Dominican Preaching Today: a Renewed Mission of Evangelization”
In the first keynote address Fr. Bruno Cadoré, O.P., Master of the Order, reminded listeners that being sent in compassion like the Samaritan or St. Catherine of Siena is essential to our preaching. In the words of Luke’s Gospel: “Go and do likewise.” Fr. Bruno said: “Dominican preaching is not an activity that can be described in terms of its ‘function’. Rather, it is the life of a community that is presented to its members as a veritable ‘school of the evangelical and apostolic life’.” He went on to discuss three characteristics of such a community of preaching—as a community of encounter, at the service of the conversation about God, in search of the kingdom. → read more (pdf)
“Tame the Dragon: Dominican Sisters Preaching”
In the second keynote address, Sr. Sara Böhmer, O.P., General Prioress of the Dominican Sisters of Bethany (Waldniel, Germany)—a former Dominican Sisters International representative and a theologian and economist—spoke of a legend in which Martha tames a dragon which had been terrorizing a small city: “This was her way, her very feminine way of preaching. I think that she is the one who preferably should be the patron of the Dominican sisters!”
Sr. Sara framed the preaching mission of Dominican apostolic sisters in terms of three challenges of income, study, and self-confidence as Dominicans. “We are not the friars, and we should not want to be. We are Dominican sisters. We have our specific charisms, our proper missions, our proper possibilities of preaching and proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God. It would lead to a certain impoverishment of the Order if we would give this up. … Together, we form the image of Christ. But we do this in diversity, because this diversity is richness, a gift to the Order and to the Church.” → read more (pdf)
“The Preaching Mission of a Dominican Lay Woman: A Personal Profession of Faith-Life”
In the third keynote address, lay Dominican Mary N. Erika Bolaños, O.P.—professor of theology at the University of Santo Tomas, Manila—gave a ringing personal testimony of the life, spirituality, challenges, and mission of the Dominican Laity in the Philippines as they are prepared and sent as lay catechists and evangelists to oftentimes remote islands and villages on behalf of the Gospel.
“The Dominican Laity is called to embrace the richness of vocation, to transform the world in which they live, and to participate in the world through the charisms—gifts of the spirit—they are given.” “The witness of a Christian life is the first and irreplaceable form of preaching. It is the imitation of Christ as expressed in a solid prayer life, simplicity of lifestyle, respect for human dignity, and a compassionate participation in the works of justice and charity.”
WORKSHOPS
Participant Workshops Presented During the Dominican Jubilee Colloquium on Preaching.
- “The Preaching Mission of the Vietnamese Dominican Family in Viet Nam and Thailand”
(Fr. Ha Nguyen Manh, O.P., Sr. Ngoc Thi Kim Do, O.P., and Ms. Maria Hoang Kim Dung) - “Preaching through the Arts”
(Damian J. Macura, O.P., Slovak Republic) - “Dominic Sent Out Novices: Evangelization and Initial Formation”
(Vincent Dávila, O.P., and Samuel Hakeem, O.P., Dominican Central Province, St. Louis, Missouri) - “Preaching and Movies”
(Dominic DeLay, O.P., Mud Puddle Films, Los Angeles, California) - “Biblical Basis for Women’s Preaching”
(Barbara Reid, O.P., Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, Illinois) - “Small Christian Communities: Forming Everyday Preachers”
(Terry Rickard, O.P., RENEW International, Plainfield, New Jersey) - “Voices from the Pulpit: Priestly Preaching as Perceived by Parishioners”
(Clarence Marquez, O.P., Institute of Preaching, Quezon City, Philippines) - “Vocation Coaching as a Dominican Way of Preaching”
(Kerstin-Marie Berretz, O.P., Oberhausen, Germany) - “Preaching on the Social Networks”
(Eric Salobir, O.P., General Promoter of Social Communications) - “Dominican Nuns: In the Heart of the Holy Preaching”
(Judith Miryam Boneski, O.P., Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary, Summit, New Jersey) - “Preaching in a Multi-Religious Context”
(Darren Dias, O.P., Dominican Institute of Toronto) - “The Laity in Latin America: Moving from Just Hearing the Preaching to Preaching”
(Dr. Roberto Estevez, Argentina; Fray Juan Cástulo Anguerry Preciados, O.P., Perú, Mila Díaz Solano, O.P., Jerusalem)