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Macau: First Promises of some members of the Dominican Lay Fraternity “The Torch of Macau”

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The Dominican Family, composed of clerical and cooperator brothers, nuns, sister, members of secular institutes, and fraternities of priests and lay members, as defined by the Constitution of the Order, share a common vocation, each serving the mission of the Order in its own distinctive ways.

Here in Macau, there are Dominican Fathers and Sisters and for the last three years, there is a lay Fraternity of Saint Dominic, “The torch of Macau”. As for the fathers, some are dedicated to their permanent tasks as formators of the Dominican Students, their brothers; several of them are teaching at the University of Saint Joseph. Some are following superior studies at the University, and others are fully involved in different offices of the Province, etc. Aside from that, some of our fathers are doing their ministry at the service of the Diocese of Macau. The sisters do more or less the same, fully involved in their own apostolates.

Our lay Confraternity, “The Torch of Macau”, founded in 2016, is presently composed of thirteen members, practically all of them from the Philippines. 

As lay people and working, they have their different tasks to attend to, and different schedules to carry out. Therefore, it is not easy to have their activities and meetings as a group in formation needs to. However, as part of their formation, they meet together twice a month with their spiritual councilors Father Jose Luis de Miguel Fernandez and one of the sisters, to pray, to become more familiar with one another and with the Dominican saints and most prominent representatives of the Lay Dominicans in the history of the Order. And above all, to receive an initial formation on the spirit of the Dominican Family, and an initial formation regarding the Word of God. From time to time, other members of the community are invited to give a talk or a retreat to our Lay members of the Dominican Family.

On the occasion of welcoming the five aspirants to join the Confraternity as novices, and simultaneously, for the celebration of the feast of St. Catherine of Siena, OP (April 29), patroness of the Dominican Laity, we took advantage of the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, to celebrate this Joyous event. At the same time, the other batch of four Novices made their first promises with the presence of the other four who professed two years ago.

It was indeed a blessed, meaningful day for them, and a very fraternal and joyous day for us. As the members of fraternity, the novices will come to experience together with the professed ones and if it is what they look and long for, they will be making their first promise in one year. However, for the ones who just made their first promise, they have decided and they are willingly dedicated themselves to live according the profession of the evangelical way of life, adopted by the Order to their secular status and by this they are drawn together by a special gift of God in the apostolic spirit of Saint Dominic, “to announce the Good News to this present World, and to seek their own salvation and that of others”.

We thank God for all the blessings that He has bestowed on our Sister; for being chosen to form a Lay Fraternity of Saint Dominic; for the gift of the Dominican vocation; for the loving kindness and mercy which He has bestowed on them, to be His witnesses, and to bring His Good News to others by what they preach and by what they are. Dear Sisters, welcome to the Dominican Family!

Original text: Bro. Andre Pereira, OP. (Student)

Edited by: Fr. José Luís de Miguel Fernández, OP.