Solemn Profession of Sr Niamh Muireann Galvin OP

Today, May 31st, the feast of the Visitation, was a very special day for all Irish Dominicans and particularly for our Dominican nuns at Siena Monastery, Drogheda, County Louth. Today the nuns celebrated the solemn profession of one of their sisters, Sister Niamh Muireann OP (pictured above). By making solemn profession, Sr Niamh gives her life to God and the contemplative community of nuns in Drogheda until death.

The Mass, including the rite of profession, was a very moving celebration and a reminder to all of us who were there, and all others of the call of the Lord to us in our lives.

This is the formula of profession that Sr Niamh made today in the hands of the prioress of the monastery Sr Mairead Mullen OP: I, sister Niamh Muireann.....promise obedience to God, and to blessed Mary and to blessed Dominic, and to Fr Carlos Aspiroz Costa, Master of the Order of Friars Preachers and to you Sr Mairead Mullen, prioress of this monastery of Saint Catherine of Siena, Drogheda and to your successors, according to the rule of blessed Augustine and the Constitutions of the Nuns of the Order of Preachers, that I will be obedient to you and your successors, until death.

Irish Dominican Vocations wishes Sr Niamh every blessing on this day of her solemn profession. For more information on the Dominican nuns at Siena Convent, Drogheda see their website: http://www.dominicannuns.ie/

Dominicans to celebrate 'Year for Priests'

The Irish Dominican friars will celebrate the 'Year for Priests' on Monday, June 14th, 2010 in Saint Mary's Priory, Tallaght, Dublin 24. We are delighted to have two very fine speakers to lead us on that day. They are Bishop Anthony Fisher OP, bishop of Parramatta, NSW, Australia and Fr Paul Murray OP of the Irish Province, based in Rome. The event is being organised by the provincial council of formation of the Irish Dominican province, a body that advises the Prior Provincial on all matters pertaining to formation of our brothers. Further details on this event will be posted soon.

The Dominican Vocation: Dominican Volunteers International

Dominican Volunteers International is a Project of the Dominican Family that was launched in the year 2000 during the Assembly of the Dominican Family in Manila, with the objective of linking persons and communities from different parts of the world for the purpose of collaborating in the preaching mission. DVI sends qualified lay volunteers who have a relationship with Dominican communities to those who are already working among people who are poor and excluded.

The objective of DVI is to animate and strengthen the joint participation of nuns, friars, laity and sisters in the mission of preaching the Gospel according to the charism of St. Dominic on the frontiers of society.

Since its inception ten years ago, there have been volunteers from Ireland who have served in the West Indies and in South America. The Irish co-ordinating team of Dominican Volunteers International consists of a friar, sister, contemplative nun and a lay Dominican. For more information on DVI Ireland, you can contact fr. Gregory Carroll OP, Saint Saviour's, Upper Dorset Street, Dublin 1 gregcop@eircom.net and you can also view the international website for the volunteers which is http://www.dviop.org/

The Dominican Vocation: Lay Dominicans

I had occasion over the weekend to attend some of the deliberations of the Annual Conference of the Lay Dominicans in Ireland in Emmaus Retreat Centre in Swords, Co. Dublin. The Lay Dominicans form part of the Dominican Family in Ireland and throughout the world - and their vocation as lay men and women following the path of Saint Dominic in their daily lives is a strong witness of being Dominican in the world. In Ireland, chapters (groups) of Lay Dominicans can be found in Dublin, Cork, Tralee, Limerick, Galway, Sligo, Belfast, Newry, Drogheda, Waterford, Athy and Youghal. Lay Dominicans are engaged in prayer groups, meet to reflect and pray regularly in their local chapters and are involved in all sorts of apostolic activity from hospital and prison visitation to working with drug addicts and helping those with learning disabilities. It is heartening to hear that there are plans underway to attract new young members to the Lay Dominicans attached to some of our priories.

The Lay Dominicans in Ireland are part of a network of other Lay Dominican fraternities throughout Europe. This group has a very helpful website which is: http://www.ecldf.net/ For further information on the Lay Dominicans in Ireland, you can easily make contact with the local Dominican priories and convents throughout the country or alternatively you can contact the President of the Lay Dominicans in Ireland, Geraldine Flanagan at gerflanop@gmail.com

I really enjoyed being with our Lay Dominicans over the weekend and I thank them for their kind invitation to attend. I hope that the continued collaboration between all the various entities of the Dominican family in Ireland will continue to bear fruit in the mission of preaching.