A witness is “One who is present, bears testimony, furnishes evidence or proof… The essential qualifications of a witness are knowledge of the fact at issue and truthfulness: he must be an eye-witness and trustworthy.”
~from the Catholic Encylopedia
They follow the example of Saint Dominic, Saint Catherine of Siena and our forbears who illumined the life of the Order and the Church, and strengthened by their fraternal communion, bear witness above all to their own faith, listen to the needs of their contemporaries, and serve the truth.
~ Rule, §5
- “He is Risen”
We chose the name Dominican Witness for this site because the term so aptly describes our roles in the marketplace.
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We are present to the poor and broken, to our family and friends, to our co-workers and colleagues.
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We bear testimony for Christ and his Church.
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We study not for the sake of study but so that we may furnish evidence and proof of God’s word and give a personal account of his on-going creation and salvation story.
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We work to acquire knowledge of many disciplines in order that we may shed light on the problems and issues at hand today. Some say that Dominicans preach with the Gospel in one hand and a newspaper in the other.
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We bear witness to the truthfullness of the Gospel and the Magesterium.
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We live as best we can, ever mindful that we are living witnesses for the love of God. It is our love for Christ and each other that gives our preaching credibility.St. Francis, a contemporary of St. Dominic, once said, “The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today”
This section will feature first-person stories and articles about how we live our faith and express our Dominican vocation. The articles do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this chapter nor the official position of the Dominican order. They do, however, reflect the diversity of our members.
This section will also offer blogs from the chapter prior and other members.
We encourage honest and frank contributions. Most of us freely admit we have weaknesses and character flaws and still struggle as we grow in Christ. Frankly, some of the stories from those that fall and rise again are the more interesting.
Theses are some their stories. If you have a story, or a contemplation, even a brief thought you would like to share, please send it to editor@dominicanwitness.com.
MY VOCATION STORY AS A THIRD ORDER DOMINICAN
Saint Catherine of Siena has accompanied me on my faith journey over the past decade. During a visit to Avignon, France in 1999, I quickly purchased an icon of St. Catherine in the papal palace gift shop on my way to the departing bus, ostensibly for my wife’s aunt, also named Catherine. When we returned to the hotel, I noticed that the icon was very dark: Catherine is depicted wearing a crown of thorns, and the stigmata is evident on her hands, as she mediates on a crucifix, with the dark shadowy figure of death behind her, and a human skull to her side. In this icon, Catherine is protected by a single beam of light emanating from heaven. I decided not to offer it to my wife’s aunt because it was too dark.
For no clear reason, I instead placed the icon in my home office, next to my computer. Over the next few years, when I took a break from my work, I would examine the icon in an attempt to discern its meaning. I slowly began to see something wonderful: what started out as a dark and troubling image of death gradually turned itself into a message of grace and redemption. I eventually came to realize that the skull and dark shadowy figures represent life without Christ, with mortal death as the end-point. At the same time, Catherine’s mediations on the suffering and resurrection of Christ offered a path out of our mortal death: an invitation to follow Christ, whom she calls Sweet Truth.
That epiphany led me to read Catherine’s Dialogues during the following lent, and I have gradually been able to deepen my understanding of the complex meaning of that icon. I have since read some fourteen books about Catherine, and sought to know God in the way that she knows God. Catherine was a Third Order Dominican, so I naturally wanted to learn more about the order, and decided in 2010 to join.
When I was received into the Order, I took her name as one of my names-in-religion, to honor Catherine for the powerful messages contained in that icon, and in profound thanksgiving for her help in guiding me to follow Sweet Truth more completely.
Paul Ignatius Catherine, T.O.P.