Order of Preachers

Mar 13 2023

The Value of Suffering

We Must Teach Young People the Value of Suffering: Q&A with Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P.

By Vladimir Mauricio-Perez for the Denver Catholic. Reprinted with permission and edited for brevity.

Fr. Peter Cameron, O.P., former editor- in-chief of Magnificat, serves as the Director of Formation for Hard as Nails Ministries, a nation-wide apostolate for young people. Fr. Cameron recently gave a talk titled “Evangelizing Youth Today” as part of the St. John Paul II Lecture Series in Denver.

Based on your experience, what would you say are some of the greatest needs of young people in the Church in the United States?

I would say one of the greatest needs facing young people in the United States is loneliness. Loneliness isn’t simply the result of being without people in our lives or being solitary. It’s possible to succumb to loneliness when we have people around us, when we have family. Part of the problem comes from the fact that young people don’t have someone to give them that gaze of love and appreciation, and similarly, they have no one that maybe listens to them.

Sometimes young people can be carrying very hefty burdens and even their best friends don’t know what they’re going through. These issues are never talked about and these young people feel completely isolated with this burden that they’re forced to carry along. I think that’s really the principal issue. In reading the document of the Synod on Young People, I noticed that that was one of the principal concerns listed, as well.

What aspect from the Synod on Young People do you think can be especially useful in evangelization?

One of the points is that nobody can evangelize a young person like another young person. As the document points out, when young people speak about their experience, it is something that can’t be discounted or debated. So, if evangelization starts with presenting arguments or theological judgments, it’s possible that people will not pay attention. But when someone speaks about their own sufferings, how they overcame them, how that led them to Jesus Christ, etc., this is something that nobody can gainsay.

And secondly, that it is important to implement new methods for listening to young people. It means being willing to suffer with them and not be intimidated by their problems.

I think there’s a tendency to give up too easily on young people because of their struggles. But I think the job of the modern-day evangelist is primarily to walk with the person and love them, bring them to the awareness that they’re amazing, that they’re valuable, not because of what they have or what they have accomplished, but simply because God has loved them into existence, that the person is a child of God and there’s nothing anyone can do to ever change that.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I give a lot of talks to priests and they are very often fatalistic about the possibility of evangelizing young people. And I think that they consider the lure of the world to be greater than anything that we or the Gospel can propose to them, and it’s simply not so. Once a young person is paid attention to and their dignity is shown to them and they’re cared for, something breaks open and you just see them radiate. It’s not difficult to do that with a young person. So, I hope that the talk will be an encouragement to anyone who listens to it to be certain that they can be that message of grace for youth, especially those who are suffering — that the love of Jesus Christ that we have is exactly what they’re waiting for, and that we’re courageous, authentic, and obedient enough to offer it to young people.

Jan 19 2023

The Dominican Sculptor of Fatima

On September 13, 1917, Our Lady appeared for the fifth time at the Cova da Iria (“Irene’s Cove”) in Portugal to three children tending sheep. It is a little known fact that a Dominican friar of our Province of St. Joseph enjoyed a unique encounter with one of these child visionaries. The visionary’s name was Sr. Lucia, and the priest was Fr. Thomas McGlynn, O.P. Before recounting how this encounter took place, a little background must be given.

Fr. McGlynn was a Dominican priest with a gift for sculpture that manifested itself in early childhood and lasted throughout his entire life. Many of his works can be found throughout our province, the country, and even in the Vatican. His legacy is especially remembered in a studio dedicated to his life and work at our own Providence College in Rhode Island. Though he produced many masterpieces, none of his works has a more remarkable history than the statue he crafted under the personal direction of Sr. Lucia herself: the first accurate representation of Our Lady of Fatima.

In the fall of 1946, Fr. McGlynn, fourteen years ordained and forty years of age, found himself teaching oratory at Providence College. During this time, according to his biographer and understudy, Fr. Ambrose McAlister, O.P., Fr. McGlynn continued to apply himself to sculpture. With the permission of his superiors, he rented an old barn in the Olneyville section of Providence to serve as a studio.

The original inspiration to sculpt an image of Our Lady of Fatima actually came from a commission. The story goes that six years earlier, at the first meeting of the Liturgical Society of the United States, McGlynn had come into contact with the Rigali Brothers from Daprato Studios in Chicago. The Rigalis, who were in the business of making plaster replications of original works, approached Fr. McGlynn to commission sculptures that could be copied and then sold with significant savings to churches. McGlynn could not accept their offer at the time; but now, six years later, living at Providence College with his own studio, he was in a different position. He approached the brothers about their earlier proposal, and a formal contract was signed. For the first time, McGlynn was in business as a professional sculptor.

It was agreed that he would produce three pieces for the Rigalis: one of the Blessed Virgin, one of the Sacred Heart, and one of St. Joseph. At the suggestion of two of his classmates, Fr. McGlynn decided that his Marian statue would be a representation of Our Lady of Fatima. He completed his first version of the statue, which the Rigalis approved, but then he began to express concern to his friends that it would not be accepted as an authentic representation of the children’s visions. Fatefully, a woman asked him, “Why don’t you go to Portugal to see Sister Lucy?“

With that idea planted in his mind, Fr. McGlynn called the Rigalis, who gave their approval and even offered to pay for the trip. Having received the permission of his superiors, McGlynn flew to Lisbon in February of 1947 with a letter of introduction from Cardinal Spellman to Cardinal Cerejeira, Bishop of Lisbon.

Cardinal Cerejeira welcomed McGlynn and in turn wrote him a letter of introduction to Bishop Don Jose de Silva, the ordinary of Leira-Fatima. It fell to Bishop de Silva to determine who would have permission to visit Sr. Lucia, who was living 200 miles north of Fatima in a convent at Vila Nova de Gaia. It was a permission rarely given, but Fr. McGlynn was granted his request, and, with the Irish Dominican Fr. Gerard Gardiner acting as interpreter, he finally met Sr. Lucia.

After careful examination of the statue, which McGlynn had brought with him, Sr. Lucia pronounced her verdict: the statue was inaccurate. Up to this point, McGlynn had thought only minor alterations would be necessary, but, confronted with the judgment of Sr. Lucia, he now faced a decision difficult for any artist: stay true to his own artistic intuition or start from scratch and take direction from another. To his credit and with another permission, he remained at the convent to produce an entirely new statue under the direction of Sr. Lucia. The result became the archetype for all subsequent representations of the image of Our Lady of Fatima. A few five foot copies of this original were made by Fr. McGylnn of which one now resides at the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer in New York City.

17592754725 535962ffb3 5k 1 614x1024 1 — A smaller version of Fr. McGlynn’s Fatima statue in the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer, NYC / Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P. / Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

The original would also serve as the model for the 20 foot statue Fr. McGlynn carved especially for the Basilica tower at Fatima.

fat finished 7.5 w 761x1024 1 — Fr. Thomas McGlynn, O.P., standing next to the larger statue of Our Lady of Fatima he carved for the Basilica.

McGlynn presented the opportunity to Catholics in the United States, who were devoted to Our Lady of Fatima, to raise the funds necessary to make the larger version of the five foot statue approved by Sr. Lucia for the niche above the main door to the Basilica as a perpetual symbol of American Catholic devotion to the Blessed Virgin at her newest great shrine. He was confident of American interest, generosity, and love for Mary. His statue now stands, centered, above the entrance to the basilica at Fatima, where it is seen by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims every year.

49890608897 37d32c90e8 k edited — The Fatima Statue by Fr Thomas McGlynn OP, photo by Fr. Lawrence Lew, OP / Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

Fr. McGlynn also wrote a book titled, “Vision of Fatima,” in which he recounts his encounter with and privileged access to the last surviving visionary, Sr. Lucia, and how she gave direction as he sculpted Our Lady of Fatima.

The book Vision of Fatima is more than an enjoyable travelogue. “In your writing,” Sr. Lucia had asked Fr. McGlynn, “please stress the spiritual meaning of things, in order to raise minds that today have become so materialistic to regions of the supernatural; so that they may understand the true meaning and purpose of the coming of Our Lady to earth, which is to bring souls to heaven, to draw them to God.”

Fr. McGlynn reminds us that Fatima, like Cana, is a place of miracles. He also points us to the penitential character of Mary’s message. Penance seeks justice and communion with Jesus crucified. The Rosary is a prayer whereby we grow in the virtues of Mary’s contemplative heart.

Fatima has long been an invitation to prayer and Fr. McGlynn’s gifts for sculpture and writing beautifully present this invitation of the Blessed Virgin. His book is again a gift to our life of prayer, honoring Our Lady of Fatima, who enjoins us to pray the Rosary and ask her Son to forgive our sins and lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of his mercy.

The remarkable thing about Fr. McGlynn’s encounter with Sr. Lucia is that every step of his journey was taken under religious obedience. When entering religious life we bring our talents and gifts with us, but we have to be ready to put them aside or use them only as God sees fit. Yet, when we entrust our lives to those whom God has placed in charge of us, our gifts and talents often have a greater impact than we could ever have imagined possible. This was certainly the case with Fr. McGlynn’s sculpture. What began with a superior’s permission became a work of art glorifying God and giving honor to his blessed mother.

Click here to order Fr. Thomas McGlynn’s book Vision of Fatima.

This post contains content adapted from Dominicana journal.

Main image (clockwise from top left): Fr. McGlynn working on a sculpture of St. Martin De Porres, Fr. McGlynn standing next to the completed marble carving of Our Lady of Faitma that now resides in the Basillica tower at Fatima, and finally Fatima visionary Sr. Lucia in Portugal (1947) standing next to the completed image of Our Lady of Fatima that was crafted under her direction by Fr. McGlynn. All images and sources in the text above are from Thomas McGlynn: Priest and Sculptor, written by Fr. Ambrose McAlister, O.P. and published by Providence College Press in 1981.

Dec 15 2022

The 15 Promises of the Rosary

The Holy Father, Pope Francis, recently urged the faithful that “today, in this time of pandemic, it is necessary to hold the Rosary in our hands, praying for us, for our loved ones and for all people.” The Rosary, as St. Dominic witnessed during his mission to the Albigensians, is also a powerful prayer for increasing the receptivity of souls to orthodox preaching.

The benefits of what Pope St. John Paul II called “an exquisitely contemplative prayer” were enumerated in a special way by a 15th century Dominican friar. According to the tradition, Alanus de Rupe received the following 15 promises to those who pray the Rosary devoutly from the Blessed Virgin Mary herself through a private revelation. We hope that they encourage you in meditating on the mysteries of Christ by praying the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

1. Those who faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary shall receive signal graces.

2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.

3. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell. It will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.

4. The recitation of the Rosary will cause virtue and good works to flourish. It will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God. It will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.

5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish.

6. Those who recite my Rosary devoutly, applying themselves to the consideration of its sacred mysteries, shall never be conquered by misfortune. In His justice, God will not chastise them; nor shall they perish by an unprovided death, i.e., be unprepared for heaven. Sinners shall convert. The just shall persevere in grace and become worthy of eternal life.

7. Those who have a true devotion to the Rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.

8. Those who faithfully recite the Rosary shall have, during their life and at their death, the light of God and the plenitude of His graces. At the moment of death, they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.

9. I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.

10. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in heaven.

11. By the recitation of the Rosary you shall obtain all that you ask of me.

12. Those who propagate the holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.

13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of their death.

14. All who recite the Rosary are my beloved children and the brothers and sisters of my only Son, Jesus Christ.

15. Devotion for my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.

Dec 15 2022

Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange on the Rosary

From The Mother of the Savior and Our Interior Life

The French Dominican Fr. Reginald Garrigou- Lagrange, O.P., was a leading 20th Century Thomist who directed the doctoral dissertation of the future Pope St. John Paul II. His thought and piety remain influential throughout the Dominican Order and the Church.

The Rosary is a Credo: not an abstract one, but one concretized in the life of Jesus Who came down to us from the Father and Who ascended to bring us back with Himself to the Father. It is the whole of Christian dogma in all its splendor and elevation, brought to us that we may fill our minds with it, that we may relish it and nourish our souls with it.

This makes the Rosary a true school of contemplation. Early theologians have compared the movement of the soul in contemplation to the spiral in which certain birds—the swallow, for example—move when they wish to attain to a great height. The joyful mysteries lead to the Passion, and the Passion to the door of heaven. The Rosary well understood is, therefore, a very elevated form of prayer which makes the whole of dogma accessible to all.

It takes us from the midst of our too human interests and joys and makes us think of those which center on the coming of the Savior. It takes us from our meaningless fears, from the sufferings we bear so badly, and reminds us of how much Jesus has suffered for love of us and teaches us to follow Him by bearing the cross which divine providence has sent us to purify us. It takes us finally from our earthly hopes and ambitions and makes us think of the true object of Christian hope—eternal life and the graces necessary to arrive there.

The Rosary is more than a prayer of petition. It is a prayer of adoration inspired by the thought of the Incarnate God, a prayer of reparation in memory of the Passion of Our Savior, a prayer of thanksgiving that the glorious mysteries continue to reproduce themselves in the uninterrupted entry of the elect into glory.

Dec 15 2022

The Best Prayer for Men

By Fr. Patrick Mary Briscoe, O.P.

A version of this article appeared in the online journal, Dominicana.

Growing up, I’d occasionally catch my father as he finished praying the Rosary early on Saturday mornings or notice he’d left his handsome set of beads lying out on a coffee table. I had the blessing of his example. Other men know their fathers have placed a Rosary in their locker at work (try and find a Catholic firefighter who doesn’t have either a Rosary or a saint’s medal) or even just keep one in their pocket, where from time to time they’ll pause and touch the beads. But for those men who haven’t “seen” or “heard,” how do we make sense of the Rosary as a manly devotion?

1. The Rosary is covert. A fierce point of intimidation of being a man of faith in our culture is the fear that we will amount to being hypocrites (and we know how much Jesus loved that…). In the face of our own weakness, we want to be authentic about who we are, what we’re capable of, and what we believe. Rather than broadcasting or projecting a false image of ourselves as mighty saints, men prefer to keep things on the down low. The problem is this principle of authenticity—which is truly noble—can be our undoing. When we’re not grounded in something solid, we’ll drift away. We’re not all called to some kind of grandiose witness, like martyrdom or preaching, but we do need to be faithful. The Rosary offers a structured program for building up the foundation of faith in our souls in secret, so that when the storms come our hearts will be strong enough to be true.

2. The Rosary arms us for spiritual warfare. The fact of the matter is that spiritual life is war. St. Paul puts it this way, “For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). To contend in the battle, we must put on the armor of Light (Rom. 13:12)! Dominican friars wear the Rosary on the left side, the side which bore the sword for knights of old. In the battle of the spiritual life, prayer is the only weapon, and it must be used. Frequently. Unceasingly. Devotion to the Rosary reclaimed the life of the 19th-century Italian lawyer Bartolo Longo (who had become entrapped in the world of the occult and often dreamt of taking his own life), and without a doubt, devotion to the Rosary will help us overcome the evils which plague us. The temptations and cycles of sin of the 21st century do not own us, for the Rosary narrates the greatest conquest of all time: the victory of life and light over sin and death.

3. The Rosary sanctifies our contemplative side. Like fixing things around the house, solving crises at work or otherwise designing and building, men love to muse over problems. I’ve heard it said before that during time set aside for prayer people should clear their minds, so that they can be totally focused on God. That seems unnatural to me. It’s been my experience that God wants us to set before Him the mess and mud of our lives, not hide it from Him. This is the very glory of Christianity—the Incarnational principle—that God would condescend to our world and sanctify it, lift it up to Him. The mysteries of the Rosary lead us to think and reflect on the stuff of our lives, while simultaneously giving us an opportunity to hand our struggles over to the Lord. When we reflect on the mysteries of the Rosary, we join our lives to Christ’s. By praying the Rosary, God pierces the hardened shell of our hearts and opens up a place for Him. He will speak to us, to the problems of our own lives, through the Rosary.

4. Jesus says so. Ever since second-grade religion class, Jesus is usually the right answer. Without getting all theological, we can simply say: men should pray the Rosary because He told us to. From the Cross Jesus tells St. John, “Behold your Mother!” (Jn. 19:27). That command to “behold” is not St. John’s alone—it’s ours, too. To behold, to take in, to bask in, to be attentive to, to delight in: this is the command. Through Mary’s intercession at the Cross and in the Rosary, Jesus arranges that the treasury of graces associated with His Immaculate Mother may be opened to us and poured out on us. But we’re left to seek her, to behold her.