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The Newsletter of the Dominican Friars FoundationBLACKFRIARSINSIDE THIS ISSUEAuthor J.D. VanceBecomes Catholic atDominican ParishAquinas 101: The Wisdom ofSt. Thomas, Free and OnlineFriars edit World’s Most-ReadCatholic WebsiteFr. Bill Garrott, O.P., leads a FOCUS mission nearAnchorage, Alaska. Br. Titus Sanchez, O.P. (farright), entered the Dominican novitiate followingthe mission. Photo courtesy of Zach Fiedler andFOCUS. Used with permissionVolume VI, Issue IV
God wants us to put greatertrust in Him and to knowthat He remains in the vesselof our soul, especially whenit is troubled by storms.Miracle at FanjeauxAbout 1206 St. Dominic was challengedto a public debate by the Albigensiansconcerning doctrinal truth. To test whichbeliefs contained divine truth, Dominicand a representative of the Albigensianseach threw their writings into a fire. Theheretic’s dissertation was consumed bythe flames, but Dominic’s writings weremiraculously saved and expelled fromthe fire three times. As the fame of themiracle spread, Dominic was seen as achampion of truth.St. Dominic’s Church, Washington, DCPhoto by Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P.
Letter from the DirectorDear Friends,When the storms of life arise, it’sunderstandablethatparentsbecomedistressed about their children and peoplebecome troubled about their health or thatof others. Equally unsurprising are financialworries, worries about relationships, worriesabout our Church, our country, and ourworld. Yet Jesus tells us, “Do not worry aboutyour life, what you will eat or what you willwear. Is not life more than food, and the bodymore than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25). Godwants us to put greater trust in Him and toknow that He remains in the vessel of oursoul, especially when it is troubled by storms.I remember being worried about myfirst day of work on Wall Street. A relativehad just given me an Armani suit, so I wasn’tconcerned about my clothing as I walked intothe firm. Ironically, a colleague pulled measide and warned me not to dress better thanthe boss! I never heeded that advice untilyears later when I traded in all my suits forthe same humble garb worn by our founder,St. Dominic.In October I traveled with two otherfriars and a group of pilgrims in the footstepsof St. Dominic. It was a privilege to bring yourintentions with me and to offer Mass for youChapel at Rocamadour, Franceat these holy sites. We began in the beautifulsmall town of Caleruega, Spain, where St.Dominic was baptized. We continued with avisit to the home of Pierre Seilhan, the manwho graciously donated his house to St.Dominic in 1215 for it to become the very firsthome of the Dominican Friars. Here, I had adeep sense of gratitude for the pivotal roleyou play in the renewal of the Church. Wejourneyed to Fanjeaux, where St. Dominicfounded the first Dominican convent of nunsand on to Notre Dame de Prouhile whereOur Lady appeared to him in a vision in 1208.Our final stop was at the stunningcliffside Marian pilgrimage site of Rocamadourwhere St. Dominic came to pray. There is abell at the top of the chapel that rings outwhen a ship has trouble at sea. The chapelis filled with models of ships that weremiraculously rescued. It was here thatI entrusted each of you to Our Lady’sintercession and to all the Dominican saintswho, trusting in Mary and her divine Son,arrived safely at the heavenly harbor.Father Gabriel Gillen, O.P.Executive DirectorDominican Friars FoundationBlack Madonna at Rocamadour, France, with modelof miraculously saved shipBlackFriars - Volume VI, Issue IV3
AUTHOR J.D. VANCE BECOMESCATHOLIC AT DOMINICANPARISH OF ST. GERTRUDEBy Fr. Henry Stephan, O.P.in my own community and broader Americansociety. One of the things I realized, personally,is that I was a relatively broken person. That’sprobably true of most people if they are beinghonest with themselves, but it was certainlytrue of me. That recognition was powerful andit led me ultimately to the conclusion that thetask of fixing myself wasn’t really somethingI was up to the challenge of. I had to rely onsomebody else: specifically, Christ.Has your relationship with Jesus Christdeepened after starting to receive thesacraments and being part of the Church?It has certainly deepened. I’ve been Catholicnow for a few months and the act ofparticipating in the sacraments, praying,attending Mass, and thinking about the faithand my role within it have brought me closerto God.Do you think becoming Catholic will shapeyour life and work in the future?Author J.D. Vance entered the CatholicChurch at the Dominican parish of St.Gertrude in Cincinnati this August. HillbillyElegy, Vance’s bestselling memoir aboutgrowing up poor in rural Ohio, is beingmade into a motion picture by director RonHoward. Fr. Henry Stephan, O.P., parochialvicar at St. Gertrude’s, sat down with Vanceto discuss his conversion.Looking back at Hillbilly Elegy, do you thinkit contains traces of your search for God thatplayed out in your eventual arrival in theCatholic Church?By the time I wrote Hillbilly Elegy, I wasconvinced there was a real spiritual problemBlackFriars - Volume VI, Issue IVI certainly hope being Catholic will shape allparts of my life, including what I write andwhat I say, but especially the way that I treatpeople and engage with my family. I reallydon’t know what’s next. I have a job workingin DC that I really like; my family is healthy;my wife is expecting our second baby in justa few months; and so for now my goal is tofocus on first being a good Christian, andsecond being a good husband and father, andthird doing my job well. Eventually we’ll seewhere that all leads.Photo: J.D. Vance, right, prepares to receive Baptism,Confirmation, and first Holy Communion fromFr. Henry Stephan, O.P. Photo by Rod Dreher; usedwith permission.
AQUINAS 101: THE WISDOM OFST. THOMAS, FREE AND ONLINEAn interview with Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P.Friars at the Thomistic Institute, anapostolate of the Dominican House of Studiesin Washington DC, have launched a freeonline course designed to introduce collegestudents to the thought of the Angelic Doctor.Within three months, Aquinas 101 has anenrollment of nearly 20,000 and continuesto release videos guiding students throughSt. Thomas’s Summa Theologiae. BlackFriarsspoke with Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P., of theThomistic Institute about this new venture.How did the friars come up with the idea forAquinas 101?We had been having conversations abouthow best to be of service to the Church andto the university. We were of one mind thatSt. Thomas Aquinas is an especially wise guideand, for the casual viewer, an excellent entryinto the Catholic intellectual tradition. It’sproper to our own charism to explain andfollow St. Thomas and to present him as agood way to know the Lord and love Him well.Why are Dominicans especially suited toteaching the thought of St. Thomas?he himself is transformed by the renewal ofhis mind. The genius of Dominican preachingis that others are afforded an entry into thatrelationship. What is being communicated [bySt. Thomas Aquinas] are the very mysteriesthemselves. The Dominican Friars are wellsuited to communicate the mysteries bywhich we ourselves have been transformed inthe context of prayer, study, liturgy, and thecommon life.How does this fit into the larger mission ofthe Thomistic Institute?The goal of the Thomistic Institute is theevangelization of secular academia. As a lotof academic settings become more and moreembattled, and it becomes more and moredifficult to discuss perennial truths, we wantto carve out a space in which it is possible toencounter the Catholic intellectual tradition.It’s a service to the students first—for thesalvation of their souls.To enroll in the course,visit Aquinas101.org.The whole Dominican life is tailored to put aman face to face with the living God, so thatBlackFriars - Volume VI, Issue IV“We want to carveout a space inwhich it is possibleto encounter theCatholic intellectualtradition. It’s aservice to thestudents first— 5for the salvationof their souls.”
DOMINICAN FRIARS EDITWORLD’S MOST-READCATHOLIC WEBSITEBy BlackFriars staffFr. Aquinas Guilbeau, O.P., and Fr. PatrickBriscoe, O.P, bring their theological expertise toAleteia.org, a Catholic news, lifestyle, andspirituality site that reaches 20 million readersworldwide each month.“Fr. Patrick and I contribute to Aleteia’swonderful collaboration the 800-year intellectualand spiritual tradition of the Dominican Order. Aspreachers, we know that the truth is inherentlypastoral, and Aleteia offers us the opportunityto prove this in a unique way,” says Fr. Guilbeau,who is the senior editor of the English edition.Launched in 2013, the site is published ineight languages and aims to provide a “Christianvision of the world” that is “free from ideologicalinfluences.”“We work very hard to say only the goodthings men need to hear, to quote the Scriptures,to build people up by sharing a good word aboutthe Church, and to not be weighed down byinside Catholic baseball that can overtake ourproclamation of the Gospel. We have the greateststory to tell,” says Fr. Briscoe, who is deputysenior editor of the English edition.“We have the greateststory to tell.”Aleteia’s focus on the proclamation of theGospel has yielded fruit. According to Fr. Briscoe,several readers of the Arabic language versionwere baptized last year, and some even took“aleteia,” which means “truth” as their baptismalname.“When you’re looking around theworld and asking, ‘how do we reach people,’you realize that everyone is looking at theirphone. It’s the new means for preaching,”Fr. Briscoe says.Photo: Fr. Patrick Briscoe, O.P. (fourth from left),attends Aleteia’s global editorial meeting in Romewith editors from the major language editions.If you are 70 ½ years of age, you can get a taxbreak—even without itemizing.Simply make a charitable gift from your IRA via a Qualified Charitable Distribution(QCD), also known as a “Charitable IRA Rollover.” This can qualify as a RequiredMinimum Distribution, lets you lower your income tax for this year, and allows youto help the Dominican Friars to renew the culture! To benefit from this opportunityyou must make your gift by year-end, so act fast!Learn more about how you can redirect IRA income to enjoy valuable tax savingsthis year, while joining the Dominican Friars in our renewal mission!BlackFriars - Volume VI, Issue IVCONTACTDIANA KILARJIAN, DIRECTOR OF GIFT PLANNINGDiana.Kilarjian@DominicanFriars.org or (646) 350-0108.
LETTER FROMTHE PRIOR PROVINCIALDear Friends,Did you ever think of December as “Mary’sMonth?” We usually reserve that distinction forMay, which sounds like Mary, contains “Mother’sDay” and is flush with the new life of Spring.December has a strong claim to our BlessedMother as well. Here’s why:We will be celebrating the ImmaculateConception on December 9 (this year) and OurLady of Guadalupe on the 12th. Advent’s fourthSunday, the final days of Advent and ChristmasDay invite us to reflect and rejoice on how thevirgin from Nazareth gave us the very best gift ofall in the Savior of the world. On the last Sundayof the year we celebrate our Blessed Mother’splace in the Holy Family. Finally, we begin thenew year on the Solemnity of Mary, the Motherof God. And then there is the figure of Mary in ourcrèche at home and in those we see outdoors. Ihope you will agree that Mary has two months,May and December!I like Caryll Houselander’s reflections onthe Mary of Advent as helping us to understandwhy we honor her in December. In The Reedof God she writes:“Our Lady said yes for the human race. Eachone of us must echo that yes for our own lives .What we shall be asked to give is our flesh andblood, our daily life – our thoughts, our serviceto one another, our affections and loves ourThis brass statuette surmounts the lectern in theDominican House of Studies, Washington DC. OurLady is shown as the Seat of Wisdom, pregnantand in a posture of prayer.waking, working and sleeping . In order thatour lives may bear Christ into the world.”May our Blessed Mother’s intercessionstrengthen and sustain you as you prepare forChrist’s coming and for His presence in the Yearof our Lord, 2020.Come, Lord Jesus!Very Rev. Kenneth R. Letoile, O.P.Prior ProvincialOver 200 men consecratedthemselves to St. Josephat the Dominican parishof St. Mary in New Haven,Connecticut, where theywere gathered for theKnights of ColumbusCollege CouncilsConference.BlackFriars - Volume VI, Issue IVPhoto by George Hosek,courtesy of the Knightsof Columbus.
ONE FAMILY, THREEDOMINICAN VOCATIONSBy BlackFriars staffFr. Paul Clarke, O.P., was ordained to thepriesthood this May by Bishop RobertBarron. His two older sisters are members ofthe Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia, betterknown as the Nashville Dominicans. Togetherwith another family, the Clarkes are thefounders of Cluny Media, “a publishing housededicated to preserving and promoting theCatholic literary and intellectual traditions.”How did your sisters’ vocations influenceyour own path to religious life?Growing up I didn’t see a lot of religious, andcertainly not young religious, so it was a bitof a shock when I was a sophomore in highschool and my oldest sister came home fromcollege and announced that she was enteringthe Nashville Dominicans. The next year mysecond sister entered the same community.What I saw in my sisters’ lives and inthe Dominican friars I met through them was,paradoxically, that all these men and womenwho had given up so much had a tremendousjoy and freedom that I couldn’t quite explain.How did your Dominican formation prepareyou for the priesthood?Dominicans are known for our emphasis onthe intellectual life. Our immersion in studyis meant to conform us to Jesus Christ, who isthe Truth. We take as our model and teacherExecutive DirectorDirector/COODirector of Gift PlanningMarketing DirectorEditorFather Gabriel Gillen, O.P.John LacorazzaDiana KilarjianBarry ClarkMatthew KirbyFrom left: Sr. John Peter Clarke, O.P.,Fr. Paul Clarke, O.P., and Sr. Beatrice Clarke, O.P.our elder brother St. Thomas Aquinas. Histeachings open up a whole vision of reality,from the highest things—the Trinity, themystery of creation and salvation—to the lastthings and the moral life.Study transfigures our vision of what itmeans to be a human being called to the life ofgrace and to eternity. Over the course of timeit begins to shape us into men who are ableto articulate that same vision to other people.To become preachers of grace, as St. Dominicwanted his followers to be, we spend time atthe cross of the desk.“What I saw in my sisters’lives and in the Dominicanfriars I met through them was,paradoxically, that all thesemen and women who had givenup so much had a tremendousjoy and freedom that I couldn’tquite explain.”Tune into Sirius XM129 every Friday at 1:00pmET for the Dominican-hosted Word to Life radiobroadcast (now also available as a podcast).www.dominicanfriars.orgDominican Friars Foundation141 East 65th StreetNew York, NY 10065Phone: (212) ia.vhx.tvSoundcloud: Dominican Friars Foundation
Hillbilly Elegy, Vance’s bestselling memoir about growing up poor in rural Ohio, is being made into a motion picture by director Ron Howard. Fr. Henry Stephan, O.P., parochial vicar at St. Gertrude’s, sat down with Vance to discuss his conversion. Looking back at Hillbilly Elegy, do
