Dominican friars and laity march onwards in Ireland in a changing world

“It is in the world, and not beyond the world, that the laity embody the compassion, power, and faithful presence of Christ,” Archbishop Dermot Farrell of Dublin told those gathered in Ireland for the opening of the Congress of European Lay Dominican Fraternities.

Gathering under the theme, “Witnesses to the Truth: Prophets of Hope in a Changing World – Fraternity, Synodality, Preaching”, the Assembly at St Patrick’s College Maynooth brought together representatives of Dominican laity from across Europe for prayer, reflection, and shared discernment.

In his homily for the opening Mass, the Archbishop of Dublin stressed that missionary activity is “never simply a repetition of the past”.  

Those called to continue to mission are called to find new ways of bringing his life, joy, consolation and hope to new generations, he said.  

The lay faithful, Archbishop Farrell said, have the vocation and mission of proclaiming the gospel and are prepared for this work by their baptism, confirmation and the Eucharist, and by the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

“Mission is not just physically going out to others; it is much more about reaching out, according to the Spirit of Christ, to the other in their otherness,” the Archbishop told them.

Drawing on the story of the Canaanite woman, he said, “Living faith always involves a relationship, not just with God, but also with God’s people. Living in the world, you know and share the world’s problems first-hand. You know and share its hopes, and its expectations. But you are also ‘signs of contradiction’ in the world.”  

This, he said, shapes the Dominican community to walk with people in their darkness, and bring a word of hope to those who are hurting and suffering, or forced to carry heavy crosses.

Separately, Sunday 16 August will see a re-enactment of the “March of the Black Friars”, a 1926 pilgrimage that marked the 700th anniversary of the arrival of the Dominican Order in Waterford in 1226, the first friars to serve in the city. Dominicans in Ireland have been celebrating the 800th anniversary of their arrival throughout the year.  

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