LAY DOMINICANS Central Province USA

Being a Preacher in the 21st Century

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 21:40:00 +0000

The electronic age has been upon us for quite some time. Some of us may fully embrace it; others shy away. There is no denying that preachers can reach people via electronic means. (For example, check out our Dominican preaching web site www.Word.op.org)

Do you tweet? (i.e. Have a twitter account) Consider following preachingtoday for some very good preaching quotations! Makes for some good reflection / mediation points.

Do you have a Facebook account? Consider putting a message where you preach the Gospel. You may want to also check out Adrian Dominican Sisters. They post a daily reflection /preaching on the day's reading.

We are called to embrace our charism of preaching--social networking can be one way we preach the Good News!

A PREACHER'S 10 COMMANDMENTS

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:30:00 +0000

In the Dominican Daily of 12/6/11 Fr. Basil Cole OP discussed what makes a bad homily. He then came up with an Examination of Conscience for a Preacher. Here it is with some adaptations in the form of 10 Commandments:

An Examination of Conscience for the Preacher:

1. Does my preaching material lack unity?

2. Is my homily coherent, that is, harmonious?

3. Am I being myself, that is, natural, when I preach or do I put on a persona?

4. Do I too often fill my homily with platitudes or trite sayings such as “God cares for you,” “Jesus loves you?”

5. Do I have a good introduction and a conclusion?

6. Do I simply repeat the gospel as if no one paid any attention?

7.Do I have too many conclusions and take off again each time?

6. Concerning variation of my voice: Do I keep it too high or too low?

7. Am I too fast or too slow?

8. Is my homily completely intense or do I ever modulate emotionally?

9. Do I make eye contact not only with the first few rows but all the rows in my audience?

10. Will my audience remember my main idea or did I leave them confused on what is my main point, my pearl?

Feast day of "All Saints of the Dominican Order

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:35:00 +0000

Happy feast day to all Dominicans today. This is the day of "All Saints of the Dominican Order!" What has this to do with forming preachers? Every preacher (Dominican or not) should know who they are and Whose they are, and also in who's company we journey.

Check out National Catholic Reporter online for a nice article about our feast day!

http://www.ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/day-all-saints-dominican-order

YOU CAN BE A PREACHER!

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 04:20:00 +0000

Hello, fellow members of the Order of Preachers. Yes, indeed, we are all 'PREACHERS'. Of course, how we do this differs from member to member. However, since 2007 we have been encouraging each Chapter to include a preaching of the Word at each meeting. This is your personal reflection on the readings presented in 3-5 minutes.

In order to facilitate this we have included a Formation Unit entitled 'Preaching' on the PROVINCIAL FORMATION page under the ONGOING FORMATION section. The unit answers the questions: Why is this encouraged; How is this to be done effectively? A template for a 'Preaching' and an example are provided. Each Chapter should study this because it will provide the preacher with an easy and effective path to worthwhile preaching. Try it, you'll like it! See the unit 'Preaching' and view the video, LAY DOMINICAN PREACHING, on the 'VIDEOS' page.

Also, you are encouraged to visit the page 'Forming Preachers' for discussions on preaching (especially by Laura Dejmek OP, our Promoter of Preaching). Very worthwhile!

Preaching resource

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 01:15:00 +0000

Received this recommendation from Fr. Jude Siciliano (Friars' Promoter of Preaching--Southern Province). I have ordered the book & will post my thoughts. Here is Jude's recommendation & comments:

The Grace and Task of Preaching, edited by Michael Monshau, OP (Dominican Publications, Dublin. 2006, paper, 368 pages., The collection is dedicated to our former Master Damian Byrne, OP. It has 18 essays by women and men Dominicans from the English-speaking world. (Authors include: Don Goergen, Vivian Boland, Catherine Hilkert, Barbara Green, Barbara Reid, Charlie Bouchard, Paul Murray, and more.) The essays cover; theology and spirituality of preaching; preaching and scripture; homiletic dynamic;Dominican preaching; preaching justice, etc. The essays are personally enriching.

Who do we say we are?

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 18:10:00 +0000

We are all familiar with that great Christological question posed in the synoptic Gospels “who do you say I am?” (Mark 8:29 and parallels), but I wonder how would we answer the question, who do we say we are? Certainly, I believe most of us would identify ourselves as Lay Dominicans, but do we identify ourselves as preachers? Certainly, we know that preaching is our charism, but do we—deep in the marrow of our bones—believe that we are first and foremost preachers?

We enjoy our study—both individual and in community. We (myself included) delight in our pictures and statues of Dominic, Catherine, Martin, and all our favorite Dominicans, but, I wonders, do we struggle seeing ourselves called to be a preacher in all that we say and all that we do?

Many of us are aware of the canonical limitations on laity preaching during Mass, but there are other liturgical opportunities for preaching for lay persons: liturgy of the hours, wake services, presentations to RCIA, children’s liturgies, parish missions, retreats, et cetera. However, “pulpit preaching” is only one type of preaching. It was interesting to note that the International Preaching Commission—comprised of all branches of The Order—was more concerned with the other avenues of preaching, rather than liturgical preaching. Our European Friars noted the poor Mass attendance shifts the major emphasis of where the majority of preaching opportunities are, namely outside the traditional realm of preaching, within the world, where all are called to preach the Gospel—lay and ordained.

So how can we form ourselves as preachers? Look for opportunities to speak about our faith. Are there opportunities at work where the news of the day is being discussed? Could we perhaps add a perspective steeped in the peace and justice of the Gospel? Can we speak up for those who are marginalized? Can we--always measured in kindness and gentleness--speak up when a “joke” is told at someone else’s expense?

Let us try and look at everything that we say and do as the actions of a preacher. Perhaps we could begin each day in prayer, asking God to bless us in our preaching in everything we say and do. It could begin with something as simple as the message on our answering machine or voice mail. Could this be an opportunity to proclaim God’s love and peace?

Who do we say that we are? Let us respond heartily, “we are preachers of the Gospel!”

~Laura Dejmek, OP
(Lay Dominican) Promoter of Preaching

Sharing and Shaping Our Vision

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 01:48:00 +0000

This page was originally requested as a way to share ideas and information on lay preaching. It has evolved to its present form which integrates a discussion of how we form ourselves as active preachers and lay people. You may start a new thread or join an existing one.. Our Chairman of Formation suggests you take a look at http://laicatuspraedicans.org/category/articles-in-english/ to see the possibilities.