LLAAYYDominican NEWSLETTER

July 2015

Obituary

Editorial

Interview withFlannan Hynes

Dominican FamilyDay

ECLDF

Preach the Good news

Belfast Chapter News

ICLDF

ObituaryFr Raymond O’Donovan OP: 1926 – 2015

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Fr Raymond (Richard) O’Donovan OP diedpeacefully at Suncroft Lodge Nursing Homeon the evening of Tuesday June 23rd 2015. Hewas born in Cork on 25th December 1926,received the Dominican habit on 14thSeptember 1944, and was ordained a priest on15th July 1951. Raymond wore the Dominicanhabit for seventy one years and never forgotwhat he asked for from the Provincial –‘Misericordiam Dei et Vestram’ (The Mercy ofGod and Yours). During his 64 years of priestlyministry he showed himself to be a man with adeep understanding of and empathy with theweaknesses and failures of human nature. Hiscompassionate attitude and forgivingdisposition coupled with his wise counsel andencouraging words brought comfort andreassurance to those who unburdenedthemselves to him and who sought out hislistening and non judgemental ear. During the years that he was a member of thestaff of Newbridge College his dedication tohis profession as a teacher, his commitment tobuilding up a first class library, his encourage-ment of and patience with the first andsecond year students as their rugby coach, hislove of and energy for the school operas, hismeticulous planning of school trips toEurope, his availability to and encouragementof new and young teachers and his respect forand kindness to the students whom he taughtearned for Raymond respect, gratitude,admiration and deep appreciation.He was totally committed to living out themotto of the Order in his daily life – ‘Laudare,Benedicere, Praedicare’. His fidelity to com-munity life and prayer, his love for andcelebration of the liturgy and his diligent andenthusiastic preparation of his homilies andlectures mirrored his belief that example isthe best teacher. When he was appointedpromoter of the Dominican Laity, Raymondbrought a new vision to the role of lay menand women in the life of the Order and the

C h u r c h ,particularly inthe spirit ofVatican II and the recent General Chapters.His courage and commitment to thisassignment, especially after a very serious caraccident in 1995, bore witness to his innerstrength, determination and faith. Men andwomen attached to our priories were enrichedand challenged by his honesty and his questfor discerning where and how the Holy Spiritwas leading the Dominican family into thethird millennium.Raymond was Novice Master for a few years.Those who were entrusted to his care at thebeginning of their Dominican journey foundhim to be a man of deep prayer with an openmind and heart and an understanding,encouraging and caring spirit that evokedtheir trust and confidence. He brought to thisdaunting task a wealth of wisdom, experienceand generosity which the novitiate communityrecognized and appreciated greatly.As a friend, Raymond was totally loyal,dependable, supportive, available, unselfishand loving. He was wonderful company, lovedto discuss and tease out issues while on longwalks when he would stop to marvel at thebeauty and mystery of wild plants and flowersand enjoyed a restful meal while sipping aglass of vino. He was one of the most widelyread and knowledgeable people I have everknown. The last few months were very difficult andtesting for Raymond. Being ill and sur-rendering his independence to the care ofothers and letting go was a real cross for him.Visiting him, praying with him, sitting insilence and holding his hand – just being there– having time to say ‘goodbye’ was such ablessing. I will miss him so much.

Au revoir.

Dear Readers,

Words caress; words encourage; words hurt and humiliate. How we speak to oneanother and to our young people has a lasting effect on us and on them for better orfor worse. Words are powerful tools of encouragement and creativity, building self-confidence and self-worth in those to whom they are spoken. Words are alsodestructive weapons capable of hurting deeply, undermining confidence and self-worth. These hurts can take longer to heal than physical injury. The power of wordswas recognised two thousand years ago when Paul advised the Ephesian community:

Do not use harmful words in talking. Use only helpful words, the kind that buildup and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those whohear you. (Eph 4:29)

When we use words positively we uplift not only the listener but ourselves also.Notice how when you say to someone “isn’t the weather lovely!” you almost alwaysget a pessimistic response, “Ah! But it said on the news that we’ll have raintomorrow.” When we compliment one another with a phrase like “I like your shirt,the colour suits you”, instead of a response such as “Thanks, I like it too!”, you aremore likely to hear “Oh! That! Sure I have it ages.” Where does this inability toreceive a compliment come from?

- Anne Marie LeeContributions may be emailed to > amfsweeneylee @hotmail.com < Or posted to: Anne Marie Lee, 48 Allen Park Road, Stillorgan, Co Dublin 22

E d i t o r i a lE d i t o r i a l

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Remembering 50 Yearsof Irish Dominican Ministry in South America

Fr Pat Lucey OP, Bishop Rodolfo Wirz of Maldonado and Fr Flannan Hynes OP

Flannan Hynes talksFlannan Hynes talkswith Pwith Paat Lucet Luceyy

Fr Pat: Fr Flannan, before I ask youabout your life as an Irish Dominicanmissionary, can I ask you, please, to tellme a little bit about yourself ?Fr Flannan: I was born in Dublin. Wewere five children in the family. Myfather died while I was 12 years of age.We were a Catholic family wherereligion was important but never forcedor oppressive.

Fr Pat: I suppose it was probablybecause you were at school inNewbridge College which is run by theDominicans that you were attracted tothe Order. At that time, did you haveany idea that you would spend most ofyour priestly life in South America?Fr Flannan: I spent my last three yearsof secondary education in NewbridgeCollege. I admired several of thepriests, whom I saw as happy dedicatedpriests. I had a special interest in the

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work of the Dominicans in Trinidad,and I joined the Order with the hopeof going there one day as a missionary.Fr Pat: But as it turned out, Trinidadwasn’t for you, but that didn’t meanyou were not bound for the missionfields. It was to be South America. So,tell me now about your work as amissionary. Presumably, you had tolearn Spanish if you were to work inArgentina.Fr Flannan: When the Irish Dominicansbegan the mission in Argentina I wasone of the first four selected to go. Ifailed to learn Irish at school, so I wasafraid that I would never masterSpanish. We got four months ofintensive study in a language school formissionaries and I never looked back.For the first years in Argentina weworked in a very poor part of thecountry in extremely difficultconditions. Those were the best yearsof my Dominican life.Fr Pat: When your good friend, FrDamian Byrne, became Master of theDominican Order didn’t he invite youto be part of his team and give you aspecial job in Latin America? What didthat involve?Fr Flannan: Much later on, theDominicans of Latin America proposedthree names to the Master of theOrder to be his assistant for the region.Fr Damian named me. I spent six yearsvisiting the 26 countries where theDominicans work in Latin America andthe Caribbean, returning to Rometwice each year to report on my workand recover for the next trip.Fr Pat: When you finished that youwent back to live and work in South

America again. That was a brave thingto do.Fr Flannan: Not at all! I was more thanhappy to do so. Since then I haveworked for seven years in Uruguayfollowed by eight years in Paraguay andnow I am back in Uruguay for the lastfive years.Fr Pat: Our image of South Americancountries is that they are very Catholic.Is that so? How are they different towhat it’s like being a Catholic inIreland?Fr Flannan: Apart from Uruguay, wheremost people are atheists, the rest ofthe countries have a long tradition ofbeing Catholic. This goes back to thework of the missionaries in the 16thcentury. What is lacking is formationin the faith. Many are leaving theCatholic Church and joiningevangelical groups. The negative side ofmodern life is slowly coming to LatinAmerica. One notable difference fromIreland is the way in which the peoplecelebrate liturgy. Despite their poverty,their celebrations are full of joy, withmusic and song. A Mass withoutcommunity singing is unheard of.Fr Pat: It was in 1965, fifty years ago,that you and three other IrishDominicans went to South America toopen a new mission. I know that youwill be sixty years ordained this yearand most of your priestly life was spentin Latin America. On behalf of thoseof us who minister in the home missionI congratulate you on your jubilee. Maythe Lord reward you for your years ofministry and may you continue in thework of spreading the Gospel in theLord’s vineyard. ■

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DominicanDominicanGoGovvernment,ernment,Spirituality andSpirituality andFFrreedomeedom

Extracts from Fr Liam Walsh’s address to the2015 Dominican Family Gathering on thetheme of ‘Government, Spirituality andFreedom’ coming up to the 800th Jubilee Yearof the Order in 2016.Fr Liam spoke about what he thoughtDominic meant by these themes, and theirinterconnection.

GoGovvernanceernance

The Friars recognise in Dominic ‘thethree types of leadership thatsociologists call charismatic, traditional,and legal (juridical)’. Dominic wascharismatic in his leadership: he was thevisionary and the driving force. But hehad the grace of not separating hischarismatic leadership from the otherforms of it. He was traditional: he calledon the great force of the monastic andcanonical tradition and let it determinemost of the details of the way of life

Dominican Family Day

followed by his companions. And thirdly,he was juridical: from the beginning hesought to give legal standing to the rulesby which his community would begoverned; he himself always respectedthose legalities. The community that hewas leading charismatically was governedby a set of laws and traditions that theythemselves had approved and which hadbeen confirmed by the Pope.

SpiritualitySpirituality

The spiritual movement from whichDominic and his followers weredrawing their inspiration in those yearsof the Middle Ages was centred onwhat was being called vita apostolica.This was a movement to renewChristian life in the Church by

returning to the original Church of theApostles as it is revealed in the NewTestament. People were finding acompact and very rich description ofthat Church in Acts 2:42-46:

“They devoted themselves to the Apostles’teaching and fellowship, to the breaking ofbread and to the prayers … All whobelieved were together and had all thingsin common; they would sell theirpossessions and goods and would distributethe proceeds to all, as any had need.”

This image provided the inspiration forall forms of renewal of the Christianlife. It was particularly treasured bythose who became monks and nuns. Itwas, of course, grounded on the wordsJesus himself had spoken:

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Fr Liam Walsh OP and Fr Gregory Carroll OP, Provincial

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“If you wish to be perfect, go, sell yourpossessions, and give the money to thepoor, and you will have treasure inheaven; then come, follow me.” (Mt 19:21)

And then there were the instructionsJesus gave to his disciples about goingout to preach.

FFrreedomeedom

The Gospel spirituality of Dominicanlife that we have been thinking about ismeant to make those who profess itfree. “The truth will set you free,” Jesussaid, and the truth he was talking aboutis the truth of the Gospel, truthbelieved and lived. Our Brother Brunomakes a lot of these words of Jesus inhis letter, and shows the relevance ofthem for Dominican spirituality.In our conversation with Dominic weare learning that the way study wasbeing incorporated into the rule of thecommunity of Toulouse was a headlinefor the way other changes were beingmade to rules in the interests ofpreaching. And he would explain thateven when the rules were not beingchanged, an instrument of governmentwas being employed that made therules, especially those ordained to give‘freedom from’, serve the interest ofthe ‘freedom to’ that was Preaching.This was the use of dispensation:people could be freed from theobligation to observe a rule in particularinstances, without the rule beingabolished. Rules were dispensed, not tomake life easier for individuals but tofree them up for the Preaching.■(This talk is accessible in full on the Dominican Family Website)

Extract from: Sr Elizabeth Cotter’s Response to Fr Liam’s talk

In responding to Fr Liam’spresentation, I would like first of all toacknowledge the contribution ofDominic to the development ofconsecrated life. When researching myown doctoral thesis on the GeneralChapter, I was fascinated by the depthand range of Dominic’s organisationalskills and vision. He understood that toeffectively live out one’s vision, acertain basic structure of governancemust be provided, and to live theconsecrated life, those structures mustenable the community to do thistogether. But for Dominic, as for allthe great founders, structure is in theservice of the vision and the mission. Itis not in itself the vision and mission.This is what brought Dominic and theearly followers beyond the boundary ofthe Diocese of Toulouse. Thus werealise that by Dominic’s time, missionin the context of consecrated life cameto be understood as sharing with othersbeyond the monastery or in the case ofDominic, the diocesan wall. Thestructures of governance had to becapable of dealing with developingrealities, otherwise the vision would bestunted and stifled.(This talk is accessible in full on the Dominican Family Website)

Response to Fr Liam’s Talk

Dr Elizabeth Cotter IBVM and Sr Mary Harmey OP

Gathering in the Aula Magna

Visiting from England at the Dominican Family Day: Janet Wiltshire, Secular Institute

Fr John Farrell OP, English ProvincialSr Pauline Burling OP, Stone Congregation

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Coffee Break

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Edited Version:At the beautiful monastery of thenuns of Beaufort (France-Bretagne)ECLDF came together for the secondtime to continue its work and to makeplans for the future and the ECLDFAssembly in 2017.The hospitality of the nuns was great.They had a former farm, a littleseparate from the monastery, where wecould stay and work. We could share allthe times of prayer with the nuns, andthey even invited us for a meeting withthe whole community. The 5 members of ECLDF werecompleted by the arrival of theEuropean member of ICLDF, KlausBornewasser, and also with Br RuiCarlos Lopes OP and Br Manolo

Puppini OP. Alas, ArnaudKientz, the communicationofficer of ECLDF, had toleave on the first morningdue to a bereavement in hisfamily. All our prayers arewith him and his family.The first thing we discussedwas communicationamongst ourselves and weagreed to have a so-calledskype-meeting at least onceevery two months.ECLDF is nowadays veryambitious. We want toimprove the communication

with IDYM, but especially with all theEuropean provinces/vicariates of LayDominicans, for instance by visitingprovincial meetings, writing morenewsletters, etc.In an earlier ECLDF (2011-2014) focusof our activity was on the theme offormation. Now we will have ‘mission’as a more central theme. Eva Zudorovabecame not only the new formationofficer, but also the officer of ourEuropean Lay Dominican mission. Forthat we have to think together abouthow we can reach people. The ECLDFhas to be renewed for that, so thatfacebook or other modern media canbe used. We want to stimulateEuropean Lay Dominicans to tell howthey live their vocation and mission.

European Council of Lay Dominican FraternitiesHeld at the Monastery of Dominican nuns of Beaufort: 3 April – 3 May 2015

Br Manolo Puppini OP, Eva Zudorova, Leny Beemer, Klaus Bornewasser, Br Rui Carlos Lopes OP and Aksel Misje

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For that we will need reporters fromthe different regions of Europegathering information and stories to bepublished on the ECLDF website. Wealso want to show our commitment tothe many problems in Europe: the warin Ukraine, the thousands of refugees,but also modern society wherein welive and see poverty and desolation,young people without a future, brokenfamilies, etc. Activities for justice andpeace will be an increasing challengefor Lay Dominicans.Language remains a difficulty. Europehas 26 provinces/vicariates with at least20 different languages. For the greaterpart from East to West and North toSouth, English is the main secondlanguage. That’s why ECLDF decidedto use only that language forcommunication, asking everyprovince/vicariate present at theBologna Assembly (2014) to findsomebody to translate the mostimportant information for theirprovincial/local Lay Dominicans.

MoneMoney May Matterstters

Also the financial situation of ECLDFneeds attention. To enable us to do ourjob, we need the yearly contributions ofall provinces/vicariates. Our treasurer,Aksel Misje, will write a special letteragain about this issue. We received agenerous gift from the Province ofSwitzerland which will help pay thecosts of the website renewal!After discussing all this we heardreports from Klaus Bornewasser aboutICLDF, from Br Rui about hisinternational experiences and of courseabout the Jubilee year of the Order.

We feel privileged to have been invitedto Rome for the 7th November thisyear to witness and share the openingcelebration of this Jubilee year, and wewill surely be there!

The NeThe Next xt AssembAssemblyly

An important issue for ECLDF is theorganisation of the next ECLDFAssembly. We decided to have thisAssembly not in 2018 but in 2017(because of the planning of ICLDF foran Assembly in 2018). So we havedecided, in coordination with the plansof ICLDF, to have the next ECLDFAssembly from 3rd to the 7th ofOctober, 2017. The location is not yetfinalised, but France (La Tourette) andThe Netherlands (Huissen) weresuggested as possibilities. Br Rui alsosuggested Portugal (Fatima). That alsomight be a good place. Our Dominicanlay brother, Gabriel Silva, and sister,Cristina Busto, from Portugal arealready gathering information.

Main Main ThemeTheme

Last, but not least we discussed atheme for the next assembly and wechose: PREACHERS OF HOPE.In this theme we can show our involve-ment with all the terrible situations inthe world: war, terror, refugees, despair.We demonstrate how the Light of Christis shining through all the crashes of ourlives. We want to communicate thistheme with as many Lay Dominicans inEurope as possible.So we are really ambitious, but at thesame time, we have to be modest. Ourresources at ECLDF are limited. Butnevertheless … ■

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“Go into the entire world and preachthe Good news to all creation”

Mark: 16:15Today we look around us and what dowe see? Church, state and society all ina state of flux – the world has gonemad. But has the world really gonemad? No! It was always like this. Thinkback to the time of Our Lord; was itnot the same then? Our Lord waspointing out the faults of the Jewishreligion of his time – the leaders abuseof their powers, their self-righteousness, etc. But he nevercondemned the religion. He cherishedits principles by his practice of prayer,love of neighbour, and his preaching oftruth. On all occasions these were hisconstant guides in his wish to do theFather’s will. But it all led to his death. We, the people of God, need to see thetruth that manifests itself all aroundus. It is easy to condemn the thingsthat are wrong in our society. We needto look at the world we live in and seethe things that are good. Open oureyes and see that there are many goodthings going on around us. I am sure ifyou look at your community you willsee people who are giving of their timein helping the weak, the sick, the poorand the underprivileged. Is there aservice of meals-on-wheels in yourcommunity? Are there home helpsgiving of their time to ease the lives ofthe sick? Take a look at the servicesthat are provided free of charge to helpour young grow into mature adults –the gaelic, the soccer, the athletics, thebasketball clubs and all the other

activities that are available. We knowthat people doing these things arelooking for no return. But what wouldstop a Lay Dominican Chapter runninga function to honour and support themany people in our communities whomake a difference – could this not be aform of preaching, understanding thesigns of our times. It is so easy to findfault, but more difficult to see what isgood.Those of us who grew up in the time ofthe Beatles, Bill Haley, the Showbandslived in rare old times – the Good ‘OldDays’, we thought. But looking backfrom 2015 we can see now just how wewere suffocated with the hypocrisy – Iam sad to say – of the Church; thereseemed to be no other sin but sex, andabuse did not enter into ourconsciousness, although it was going onall around us. It is easy now to condemn whathappened then. Yes, Church and stateare trying to close the door after thehorse is gone. But one reality that hasbeen shown is that anyone who wants toabuse others will get around any law orset of guide lines. Again, what can we, asLay Dominicans do to help – whatshould we be doing? We lay people asLay Dominicans are part of theDominican Family – priests, nuns,sisters, lay people – working together tofurther the holy preaching. One of themost pleasing memories I have aspresident of the Lay Dominicans wasthe work I could participate in, as partof the governing body of the DominicanFamily of Ireland and England, and I amglad to see the work is continuing, all of

Preach the Good News

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us, no matter what our status. We areworking to further the word of Godthrough practical help to all branches.We are all members of parishes andcommunities, should we not be pushingout to become involved in the running ofour parishes by showing our ability tohelp in the day-to-day running of ourparishes and insisting that we the layChildren of God have a role and a dutyand a say in our parishes. Not to rubberstamp what has been decided elsewhere,but to have a constructive part to play.Being involved in parish is importantwork for any chapter.A chapter may not feel that this is arole it wants to play but there areothers roles it could play in the life ofthe Church. Look at the importantduty we have since our Baptism to passon the faith to others. Could we LayDominicans help our members fulfilthis duty in a practical way. There is agreat need for education for all. Thereare members with great faith within allchapters who could and do inspire us.Wouldn’t it be great if we could give

them a wider audience to see theirfaith? Again, there is within eachchapter members who have a greatknowledge of the Catholic Church –setting up a Lectio Divina group couldhelp them pass on the knowledge. Somechapters may feel they have not theexpertise to do these things but I amsure that through their contacts withinthe order they could get someone togive a talk or series of talks on somematter of faith.

Think outside the box; do not beafraid – the Lord is with us. St Dominicthought outside the box in his time andwe are still following his charism 800years later. There is great hope for usand we should not be worrying. Weneed to be the hands feet and mouth ofChrist in 2015. This is the age of thelaity in the Church, but we have to pickup the challenge and work to be truedisciples of Christ through being trueLay Dominicans.

John O’Brien, – St Martin De Porres Chapter.

DroghedaChapter

St Madalene’s Lay Dominican Chapter,Drogheda, held their Retreat day with FrMatthew Martinez OP in St Catherine of

Siena Monastery, Drogheda. A wonderful day was shared.

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FFour Prour Profofessions in theessions in theBelfBelfast Chapterast Chapter

Four new Lay Dominicans wereprofessed at a ceremony in the Chapelof St Dominic’s Convent, Falls Road,Belfast, on May 21st, the joint feast oftwo Dominican blesseds: Columbia ofReiti and Hyacinth Mary Cormier.

The new lay members of the Order ofPreachers are Margaret McLean,Monica Dynan, Brendan Kelly, andJohn McBride, and they belong to theImmaculate Heart of Mary and StMalachy Chapter which is based in StBrigid’s Parish in south Belfast. Fr Martin Graham, parish priest ofChrist the Redeemer, Dunmurry,

From left, Mr John McBride, Ms Monica Dynan, Fr Martin Graham PP, Mr Martin O’Brien,Dr Gaven Kerr, Ms Margaret McLean and Sr Catherine Campbell OP

pictured in the Chapel of St Dominic’s Convent, Falls Road, Belfast after the ceremony. (Photo Mike Moran)

B E L F A S TCHAPTER NEWS

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presided at the ceremony – beingdelegated by the Irish Provincial –and celebrated the Mass of theImmaculate Heart. The ceremony was attended by DrGaven Kerr, the Northernrepresentative on the ProvincialCouncil, representing Ms PatriciaKelly, President of the LayDominicans of Ireland. Dr Kerr is the author of a new book –Aquinas’s Way to God – just publishedby Oxford University Press.

ManMany y ThanksThanks

Mr Martin O’Brien OP, president ofthe Immaculate Heart and St MalachyChapter described the professions as…

“a moment of great grace and great joyon the cusp of the great feast ofPentecost.”

He thanked Fr Graham for standingin for Fr John Walsh OP, who couldnot be present as he was giving amission in Tyrone and Derry, and healso expressed gratitude to SrCatherine Campbell OP, prioress ofSt Dominic’s Convent for the use oftheir beautiful chapel and forrefreshments afterwards. Mr O’Brien praised Margaret,Monica, Brendan and John …

“for your example, your dedicationduring your formation and youropenness to the gift of our Dominicancharism.”

He also paid tribute to Ms RóisínWatters, their chapter secretary, forall the work she had put into thearrangements for the professions. ■

Websites:friars: http://www.Dominicanfriars.ie Contemplative Nuns: www.DominicanNuns.ieApostolic Sisters: www.DominicanSisters.ie Dominican Laity: www.LayDominicans.ie

The designated person for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults in the Dominican Province is: FrVincent Travers OP, St Mary’s Priory, Tallaght Village, Dublin 24. Tel: 01 4048118

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Last year Klaus Bornewasser – memberof the International Council for LayDominican Fraternities (ICLDF) –visited the Czech Dominican Family.He celebrated the Dominican FamilyDay with them in Prague. In his speech he told the CzechDominican Family about the Orderworldwide, and especially about thevery different situations of the layDominicans in the continents ofAfrica, Asia-Pacific and Europe. But ofcourse, he also gave an overview of thehistory and the work of the 5 membersof the ICLDF: • their contacts with the Dominican

Youth Movement, • their reflections on justice and

peace,and of course

• the celebration of the Jubilee. Together with the councils from everycontinent, the ICLDF follows the LayDominicans very closely. It is veryinteresting but also a great richness tohear what the Lay Dominicans aredoing and what their role can be in theworld and in the church.And of course Klaus announced thenext International Congress of LayDominicans. This congress is organisedonce every ten years and the next onewill come soon! ■

InternationalCouncil of LayDominicanFraternities