What is a Lay Dominican?
Everyday Life
We’re part of a religious order, but we’re ordinary lay people — so what does Lay Dominican life look like? It begins with the four pillars:
Prayer
How to pray like a Dominican
The Lay Dominican day begins with Morning Prayer (Lauds) and ends with Evening Prayer (Vespers) of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office). Compline is also encouraged in the Dominican tradition.
In addition, we have certain daily devotions: the Rosary, the De Profundis and other prayers for the dead, and Mass if possible. Throughout the year, we mark major Dominican saints with the tradition of fasting on the vigils and feasting on the feasts!
Each individual pursues his or her own prayer life, particularly through meditation, but these shared devotions keep us faithful even if we struggle to pray. Our preaching flows from our prayer, and we return to prayer after our preaching, in a constant pursuit of relationship with God.
Study
Always in search of truth
Study is essential for a good preacher. For Dominicans, study is not just learning for its own sake, but a form of prayer — we come to know Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, through our constant search for and discovery of created and revealed truth. Our study can take many forms and levels, but whether we are reading a book on virtue or watching an expert video on biology, we approach our study with intention and put it at the service of our preaching.
The five years of Lay Dominican formation include a plan of study to equip and form the individual in his or her vocation. In addition, we pursue study together as a community at each meeting, and the professed Lay Dominican is called to a life of ongoing formation through personal study.
Community
The Lay Dominican does not pursue his or her vocation alone, but as a member of a Fraternity. The Fraternity is where we discern and where we are formed, where we are challenged to grow in virtue, and where we find the strength and companionship to pursue the apostolate. The Lay Dominican is also expected to be ready and willing to serve in a position of governance within the Fraternity.
Apostolate
The Holy Preaching
As the Order of Preachers, our whole vocation centers on the proclamation of the Gospel, what we call “The Holy Preaching.” This phrase evokes more than just a dry reiteration of the truths of the faith, but rather a sharing of our own relationship with Christ which has been formed in prayer, strengthened by study, and developed within the community. The preacher returns from his or her apostolate to prayer, seeking to be renewed and to offer back to God the fruits of the Holy Preaching.
Called to Preach
While preaching from the pulpit and in the context of Mass is properly reserved to the priest, we as Lay Dominicans are called to bring the Holy Preaching into the world. First and foremost, we preach within our own families, in our workplaces, and among our friends. We are also challenged to discern our own individual apostolate, which might take the form of teaching, writing, speaking, catechizing, acts of charity, spiritual and corporal works of mercy, etc. Together, each Fraternity also pursues a shared apostolate.
Subscribe to the Veritas Newsletter
Veritas is the quarterly publication of the Central Province Lay Dominicans. Subscribe to learn more about our vocation, activities, and apostolates.
View previous editions of the Veritas newsletter here.
Discern Your Vocation
Are you called to become a Lay Dominican? As you listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, we invite you to learn more about this vocation.