A regular question posed to me is: 'what are the people who seek to join the Order looking for?' An interesting question indeed! Of course, it is unhelpful to generalise, but for me there are clear and distinct trends emerging in answer to this question.
It is important to state, in the first instance, that the generation who are now potential enquirers and postulants are very much of a post-Vatican II culture. This culture is one with new convictions and new desires. The following is a provisional analysis of the desires and convictions expressed by those I come in contact with. It is by no means a full and exhaustive analysis.
1. The desire for identity and community. It is evident to me that enquirers need to know about the strong identity of the Order, who is in it, and that they themselves want a clear identity to share with the Order. So, they are drawn by the identity of the habit we wear, by the fact that we pray communally and that there is a regular and visible religious life being led. The Dominican tradition of study remains a strong identifiable reason why people present themselves for acceptance into the Order. In this context, they like the semi monastic qualities of our life and do not feel the need to shake off monastic customs in order to be apostolic religious.
2. The desire for clarity. Those seeking to know more of the Order and become serious candidates want to connect with they consider to be the wisdom of the Catholic tradition, which they believe an older generation has betrayed. They identify this tradition in very visible forms, such as devotional practice. There is a liking for clear authority and a dislike for liberal attitudes. My sense is that they have a deep desire for the authentic and ultimate truth which is found in Jesus Christ.
3. The desire for connection. Enquirers want to be connected to an immediate and identifiable group. Naturally, they want and desire to help others - but in a direct way through generous service to people rather than through campaigning groups. It appears to me that they are hungry for authenticity and for personal and meaningful experiences of religious life.
Like all young people, they challenge the culture that raised them, which in the case of the Church means the post Vatican II culture. If the baby boomers of our generation are the renewal people, then those who are seriously contemplating life in the Dominican way are post-renewal people. It seems to me that the post Vatican II renewal aimed to strip away, to ask questions and to challenge structures; by contrast, this post-renewal generation wants clear identity and immediate connection.
1 comment:
I'm an Irish Columban, ordained in 1967 and based in the Philippines. I find your analysis clear and helpful. I belong to a generation of whom many could be called 'Vatican II old fogeys', stuck in the attitudes of the 60s and 70s. This, when prevalent, can be dis-Spiriting. The 'Signs of the Times' are in the now.
I sometimes get discouraged by what I see at home in Ireland in terms of faith. But there are very articulate post-Vatican II Catholics such as Breda O'Brien and Ronan Mullen, for example, who are unapologetic about their faith and express it clearly and charitably as persons living in the world, in other words, as Catholics living the lay vocation as envisioned by Vatican II, not as 'quasi clerics'. These people give me hope.
Here in the Philippines, which is not quite the same as Ireland, I have noticed that women religious who live the traditional religious life, ie, live simply and in community, have communal and personal prayer, have a clear vision of who they are, wear habits and 'get on with the job', are attracting many young women.
When I was a youngster growing up in Dublin my father occasionally took me to Dominic Street for Mass and I remember being attracted by the Dominican habit. I never seriously considered becoming a Dominican but I've no doubt that God was gently leading me to the priesthood through that attraction as well as in other ways.
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