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Our Lady of Pompeii (Our Lady of the Rosary/Our Lady of Victory)

From the Editor

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Saint Dominic,


Thank you to Mary Reinhardt (ALB) and Hazel May T. Jordan (MPL) who sent two beautiful reflections on their experience at the Dominican family gathering on August 11 with the Master of the Order! I wasn’t able to go myself, so I appreciated reading the impact the celebration had on them. 


This past weekend, I had the joy of attending my first provincial council meeting at the National Shrine of Saint Maximilian Kolbe at Marytown, in the Chicago area. The days we had together of conversation, prayer, and fraternity were intense and revitalizing, and I’m excited to share more with you in the coming months. Brother John Steilberg, our Provincial Promoter, has some important announcements for the province, so please make sure you read those. 


In your charity, pray for me as I prepare for my final profession on November 19 at Saint Mary Cathedral in Lansing, Michigan! With each passing day, I become more grateful to the Lord for calling me to this Dominican life.

— Mrs. Rebecca W. Martin, OP

editor@layopcentral.org


Please reach out to me any time with contributions, ideas, questions, comments, or corrections!

Dominican Calendar


October

4 — Holy Father Francis of Assisi (f)

9 — Bl. Raymond of Capua (om)

7 — Our Lady of the Rosary (f)

9 — St. Louis Bertrand (om)


November

3 — St. Martin de Porres (f)

6 — Bls. Bonaventure Garcia Paredes, Hyacinth Serrano López,

and companions (om)

7 — All Saints of the Order of Preachers (f)

8 — Anniversary of all deceased brothers and sisters

15 — St. Albert the Great (m)

28 — Sts. Ignatius Delgado, Vincent Liem, Dominic An-Kham, Andrew Dūng-Lạc, and companions (m)


December

22 — Anniversary of the Approval of the Order of Preachers


om - optional memorial

m - memorial

f - feast

s - solemnity

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Pilgrimage to Puerto Rico


February 16-20, 2023

Travel with Brother John Steilberg, OP, Father Jerry Stookey, OP, and Mrs. Gwendolyn Weinberg, OP, to experience the 500-year-old Dominican history of this Caribbean island, and welcome our Puerto Rican brothers and sisters into our province. Spouses and children welcome.


A flyer with more information may be found at the following link. Please print and share with your fraternity!

Puerto Rico Pilgrimage

From Brother John

Retreats

If you would like for me to preach a retreat for your fraternity this coming year, let me know as soon as possible. I can manage about 3 or so retreats until my term as your promoter comes to an end this May. My schedule is quite full, but is more open Advent and Lent. You may want to collaborate with fraternities nearby to see if others may want to join. There will be no cost from me for the retreat other than travel. Locations, dates, and registration are for you and your fraternity to manage, but know I can be of assistance with that as well.

Second Sundays

Also during our Provincial Council meeting this July, I asked the delegates to consider whether we should start again meetings on zoom for the entire province. The Executive Council has also approved, so we will begin meeting on the 2nd Sunday in October, December, February, April, and May. More details to follow. 

Dominican Family Conference

In May 2021, we had a one-day conference in St Louis, hosted at Aquinas Institute of Theology.​ We had about 25 laity present. We had 5 presentations on various OP topics. We did offer these via video conference.​ ​The program was most of the day on the third Friday of May, then some Saturday morning, followed by the friars’ ordination and reception.


By having it in St Louis, we can:​


  • Keep costs down (it's free to use Aquinas Institute)​
  • Combine our event with the friars’ ordination​
  • Use Aquinas Institute's excellent facilities for video conferencing ​


​Do we want to try and get together as a province? ​Is this the best way to do it?​

The current proposed dates are May 19-20, 2023. Please answer the following poll:
Yes, I am interested in coming May 19-20
Yes, I would be interested if the conference was in June
No, I am not able to come no matter the date

Provincial Announcements

Presidents — Promotional Materials

A trifold brochure and poster describing the Lay Dominican vocation, and holy cards of Saint Dominic and Saint Catherine are available on Sharepoint for you to print for your community’s vocational efforts. Presidents only, please follow this link. If you cannot sign in, please contact Joey Odell, 3opadmin@layopcentral.org.

Death Notices

When one of your community members passes away, please notify the Editor via the “Submit a death notice” form on our provincial website.


Following notification, an email will be sent out to everyone with the deceased’s information and a call to pray for the repose of his or her soul.

Committee Chairs

Please submit your updates to the Editor by November 1.

December Veritas

The winter issue of Veritas will focus on personal and group study recommendations. Please send short book reviews, no more than 250 words. Articles may now be submitted via the provincial website at this link.

Help Needed


Promoter of Preaching, Vocations Director, and Archivist are all needed for the province. Please read and pray with the descriptions at this link, and be open to the possibility that the Holy Spirit might need you to answer the call. To apply, fill out this application and email to president@layopcentral.org, vicepresident@layopcentral.org, and secretary@layopcentral.org.


Webmaster — The Webmaster will be a position on the Communications Committee reporting to the Editor, with the job of updating, maintaining, and improving the provincial website. The Webmaster will interface with the tech admin and other committees as needed. Wordpress or similar experience required. (Currently, there isn’t too much to do, but we need someone to run point on managing the website because Yours Truly can’t manage that too. — R.W.M.) If you are interested in this position, please email editor@layopcentral.org.

Visit of the Master

Here members of the Dominican Laity from around our province gathered around the Master of the Order, Father Gerard Timoner III, OP, and our provincial, Father Jimmy Marchionda, OP, at Saint Vincent Ferrer Parish in River Forest, IL. The gathering was to celebrate the solemn vows of our brother Matthew Paul Grote, OP, in the center of the picture. The Master was in our province visiting the friars during their assembly for the entire province of friars, held August 8-11 in Chicago. Many thanks to so many of the laity who came out to support the friars and to meet the Master. As you can see, we had a great turnout with many of our fraternities represented. 

Our Master of the Order, Father Gerard Timoner III, OP, gathered with some of our Dominican Laity on August 11. They are joined by Father Samuel Hakeem, OP, Vocations Director for our province of Saint Albert the Great.

Ms. Mary Reinhardt, OP (ALB)


For the first week of my professed life as a Lay Dominican, I met the Master! 


My Perpetual Profession was August 6, 2022. On August 11, members of my fraternity attended the Solemn Profession of Br. Matthew Paul Grote, OP, at St. Vincent Ferrer Parish in River Forest, IL. Ms. Marie Levy-Ryan, OP, Dr. Loretta Serna, OP, Ms. Karen Lubertazzo, OP, and I were privileged to attend the Mass at which Fr. Gerard Timoner III, OP, the Master of our Order, presided. 


We arrived long before the ceremonies began, so we watched practice for the Liturgy. As he walked past me during the rehearsal, Fr. Gerard reached out his hand to shake mine and greeted me like a long-lost family member. His homily also emphasized how living the evangelical counsels nurtures a family in our Lord. Signaling family unity again, the words of Br. Matthew’s solemn profession were nearly like those of my life profession statement. Before Mass ended, life professed friars and laity alike lined both sides of the center aisle, with each individual hugging and welcoming Br. Matthew into the family forever as he walked down one side of the pews and up the other.


After photos on the altar with the Master, a reception was held next door. There, Fr. Gerard reminded me that while baptisms are up in the Church, vocations are down. So, the Lay Dominicans of our family play a vital role in witnessing to the beauty of God’s Word to all life.

Ms. Hazel May T. Jordan, OP (MPL)


As one who was about to be received into candidacy at the time of the Solemn Profession (and now having been received!), I was in absolute awe of the unity of Dominicans — laity, sisters, and friars — in one place. It was such a gift to reunite with the friars I got to know and love through my college's campus ministry, and to let them know that I had joined my local fraternity.  

 

Everything about the Mass was directly speaking to me: the hymns, the readings, and especially Father Gerard’s homily. He had such a beautiful and powerful reflection on chastity, and everything he said had been recurring themes in my own prayer and reflections this year. His words truly gave me hope and encouragement, and I believe God was comforting me then.  

 

I was also able to meet and speak with Father Gerard afterwards at the reception. I am from the Philippines like him, and he and I immediately bonded over our shared culture! He was so interested in getting to know me and kept asking me questions; he truly embodies the joy and love of St. Dominic, and ultimately, Christ.  


I couldn’t stop smiling after I left the reception that afternoon. My heart was overflowing. The trip all the way from Minnesota was so worth it, and it confirmed for me that the Dominicans are truly the spiritual family for me. I never felt so loved and at home.

Dominicana

Preaching through the Arts

Ms. Mary Reinhardt, OP (ALB)


As Fra Angelico revealed, Dominican art is important for preaching. Consequently, seeking ways to preserve our art so future researchers can view it and seek answers to their questions is significant. Chris Allison, the director of the Sister Mary Nona McGreal Center for Dominican Historical Studies in Chicago, is passionately committed to preserving the art of American Dominicans. On August 2, 2022, Chris and Aaron Riesberg — the archivist at the McGreal Center — spoke about preservation efforts to members of the Dominican Institute for the Arts (DIA) gathered at the Siena Retreat Center in Racine, Wisconsin. 


They are developing a digital repository for U.S. Dominican art that future researchers will be able to use to find Dominican art sources on a copyright-controlled website at the McGreal Center. The digital preservation of three-dimensional art was explored at the meeting. Chris asked DIA members to capture good photographic images, audio, or video of artistic works and send those files to the McGreal Center. For more information on the DIA and preserving one’s art as a Dominican, contact Pat Daly, OPA.


The Dominican Institute of the Arts is a collaboration of Dominicans (including laity and friars) who preach God through the arts. DIA artists are painters, potters, poets, actors, authors, architects, filmmakers, photographers, florists, musicians, magicians, and more. The DIA gives the Fra Angelico Award annually to distinguished artists. Two friars from the Central Province have received the award: Brother Joseph Kilikevice, OP, in 2022 and Father James Marchionda, OP, in 2000.

Fraternity Updates

Holy Rosary

Minneapolis, MN (MPL)


Ms. Hazel Jordan, OP, and Mr. David Dann, OP, were received into the Order.


Mr. Andy Milam, OP, Mr. Taylor Fernholz, OP, and Mrs. Samantha Fernholz, OP, made their

temporary profession.


Mr. Vern Wolf, OP, and Mrs. Katharina Locke, OP, made their perpetual profession.

Queen of the Rosary

Milwaukee, WI (MIL)


Milwaukee’s Queen of the Rosary Fraternity received an announcement from the cloistered Dominican Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary in Summit, NJ, saying on August 28 our former member, Becky Derks, received the Dominican habit as a novice and the religious name Sister Maria Julia of the Eucharist, honoring Dominican Sister Blessed Julia Rodzińska (a Polish martyr known for her piety and charity, who died of typhus in 1945 in the Stutthof concentration camp, was beatified in 1999 by St. John Paul II, and given a September 6 feast day). The new Sister Maria Julia, OP, also shares with her namesake the art and spirit of being an educator of children.    

Saint Mary Magdalene

West Lafayette, IN


Celebrating Mark Bailey's reception into the Order.



Blessed Sacrament

Farmington Hills, MI (FAR)


Blessed Sacrament Fraternity held their annual summer picnic, and a fraternity pilgrimage to the Solanus Casey Center in Detroit.


Ed. Note — we are missing some names, so if you attended the picnic please let me know and I will include a correction in the next issue! R.W.M.

First row, left to right: Zachary McAllister, Ellen Licavoli, Patricia Shea, ?


2nd row, left to right: ?, Cheryl Beckman, Maria Dyer, Gwen Weinberger, David McDonald, Ed Shea, Jay Flaherty


Back row: Bill Loeber, Norma Housey, Ed Kolodziej, Tom Weber

Front row: Rocio Hopkins, Patricia Shea, Belen Guzman, Maria Dyer, Gregory Petzer, Bill Loeber


Back row: Vyvian Gorbea-Oppliger, Mary Kay McClory, Fr. David Preuss, OFM Cap, Ed Shea, Elizabeth Petzer

News & Links

Mrs. Rhonda Ortiz, OP (GRP) has designed a gorgeous line of Dominican journals — perfect for Christmas shopping or profession gifts!

From Flight Attendant to the Cloister — read the inspiring journey of a newly-professed Dominican nun.

Theology for Evangelists

Mr. Mark J. Hornbacher, OP (ANN) preaches through this informative and inspiring blog.

The cloistered Dominican Monastery of Mary the Queen, in Girard, Illinois, has been officially dedicated! The nuns will be moving in soon.

During his time as fraternity president of the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Fraternity in St. Louis, MO, Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, launched a publishing house called En Route Books & Media and an internet podcast station called WCAT Radio that have now produced 275 Catholic books and 75 unique radio programs with over 8,500 podcasts among them. Designed to help advance the Catholic journey, these resources make excellent preaching materials that assist in the work of evangelization, apologetics, and formation. 

Dominican news from all around the world may be found at the Order's international website, op.org. In just a quick scan, you'll discover the vibrant life of Lay Dominicans in Africa, a new painting of Saint Dominic given by Lay Dominicans to the friars of Belgium and the Netherlands, and much more. The website and the International Dominican Information newsletter are available in English, French, and Spanish.

Requiescat in Pace

Mr. Timothy Patrick O’Neill, O.P.

7/11/1952 – 1/11/2022


MPL — Our brother Tim passed away after many years of suffering from long-standing health issues.


Tim grew up a few blocks from Holy Rosary Church, and attended the grade school staffed by the Sinsinawa Dominican sisters. During the Vietnam War years, he served in the U.S. Navy.


Feeling called to be a part of the Dominican Family that was a major part of his formative years, Tim was received in 2009, completed his formation and made final promises on August 4, 2013.


His funeral Mass was held at Holy Rosary Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, with a number of Lay Dominicans in attendance.

Veritas Editorial Team


Mrs. Rebecca Martin, OP — Editor

Mrs. Mary E. Giltner, OP — Managing Editor

Ms. Renee Valenzuela, OP

Ms. Mary Reinhardt, OP

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