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Dear Friend, Dear Colleague,

May the peace and grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be I hope this finds you well as
with you and those you love. With gratitude for your
faithful friendship and generous support, I send you we are nearing Thanksgiving.
prayerful blessings for the upcoming civil holiday of During this holiday, we thank
Thanksgiving. This day was set aside and marked by God for all of His countless
our nation’s founding fathers for its citizens to pause to blessings in our lives.
give thanks and praise to God, for the countless
blessings He daily, faithfully gives. How fitting that this day falls on the Thank you to all those who
‘eve,’ of the liturgical season of Advent, which the Church gives us to participated, both in person
prepare for the coming, the glorious Birth of Our Savior, the Son of God
from whom all blessings flow, and who gives His very self to us in the and via teleconference, in our
Eucharist, which in Greek means: Thanksgiving. May our country realize November 4thand 5th
again its need for God and trust in Him. Board meeting in New York.
Let us rejoice and together give thanks for God's many blessings the past
This meeting was held at the
year, acknowledging His Presence in our lives in myriad forms, giving us recommendation of those who
the strength, courage and faith to rise to our respective tasks in our daily attended the annual meeting
living out of our personal call to holiness. The Friars give thanks in a in Washington this past
particular way for your sacrificial contributions and unfailing friendship to March. There is much work
us and our Mission. Truly, you and your support are the tangible that goes on in the
manifestation of God’s blessing to us. Your friendship and collaboration committees throughout the
are central to us in being able to carry out and expand our Mission in year, in addition of course to
service to the Church.
the work of the staff of the
I want to thank in a special way and pay tribute to our Directors of the Foundation, and it is helpful to
Board of the come together to discuss
Dominican progress and to plan ahead.
Foundation. We One of the highlights of the
had a very fruitful meeting is always the
meeting Nov. 4-5 gathering the night before in
in NY with the
participation of 19 which we have Mass and a
of our dedicated meal together, held this time
Directors. I am at the Dominican parish of St.
profoundly Joseph’s in Greenwich Village.
grateful for their Afterwards, one of the young,
generosity and newly ordained Friars, Fr.
ongoing Bruno Shah, O.P. shared with
commitment to
the work of the us his very moving vocation
Foundation in story and a talk on the virtue
collaborative of Faith.
support of the Mission of the Province. And I express this gratitude as well
on behalf of each of the Friars of the Province. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I
would like to personally thank,
At the heart of the life of the Province, of course, are vocations, with which in a special way, each of my
God has so abundantly blessed us in recent years. It bears frequent
repeating: there are a record-setting 21 Novices now well into their fellow Directors on the
Novitiate year, with more than two dozen Student Brothers in advanced Dominican Foundation Board,
stages of formation. Your gifts allow us to offer these men the best for your ongoing efforts and
formation possible, in the Dominican tradition, providing a promising fruitful collaboration - in ways
future for the Province and decades of pastoral care for the People of God. big and small - of your ‘time,
Thank you for your prayers for their perseverance. talent and treasure’ in support
Earlier this month, seven of our brothers made their Solemn Profession,
of the mission of the Province.
having reached You give of yourself
the "finish line," sacrificially in this way
as Prior Provincial because of your desire to
Father Brian ‘give back,’ in gratitude for the
Mulcahy, O.P. many ways in which you and
said in his homily your loved ones have been
during the Mass. blessed. There are countless
Their "vocation
takes on a ways that you could do this
permanent and but you have chosen the
irrevocable form, Dominican Foundation
as it were, by their because of your strong
Solemn Catholic faith and your belief
Profession as in the mission of preaching
Friars Preachers, Jesus Christ entrusted in a
as sons of St.
Dominic, in a line special way to the Order of
of Dominican men and women that stretches back 800 years, and a line that Preachers through the
stretches forward into eternity," he declared. That is the goal for all the Dominican Charism. I am very
wonderful Dominicans in formation. You can watch a video of the liturgy grateful for your witness and
and read the Provincial's entire homily, by clicking here. commitment because it
inspires and helps me to be
To be sure, not only the young enter our Order. This month also saw the able to do the same, to ‘give
Solemn Profession of a man who—already a religious—had entered our
back’. I can not thank you

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Solemn Profession of a man who—already a religious—had entered our
Novitiate just shy of 41 having been ordained a priest for 12 years and a back’. I can not thank you
member of the Congregation of St. Basil for 16 years! "This act of religious enough for all that you do.
profession, of religious consecration, of self-oblation, is but his heart's
only fitting response to the greatness, the immensity of the love he has Have a delightful
come to know in Christ Jesus his Lord," said Fr. Mulcahy in his homily on Thanksgiving and let us keep
that extraordinary occasion. each other, and the Friars, in
Of course, from the Novitiate to Solemn Profession is a journey of many
prayer.
stages and years of prayer, study and preparation. One key step for
Brothers on the way towards ordination that I'd like to call your attention Many Blessings to you and
to is the critical Ministry of Reader. This milestone was reached by six of your family!
our Brothers earlier this fall. Thank you for accompanying our Student
Brothers all along their way. Sincerely in Christ,
I hope you all had a chance to see Father Benedict Croell, O.P., Vocations
Director of the Province of St. Joseph, and Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, O.P., a
Friar of the Province who is a molecular biologist and professor at
Providence College, discuss our vocations boom on EWTN Live! You can Ray Clark
do so now, here. President
Please also be sure to watch our new vocations video which we have just
completed. This video will be housed on the website and used in
promoting vocations.
In gratitude for their vocations to the Dominican Order, five former Walsh
University students will return to their Alma Mater for a special prayer of
Thanksgiving. Fr. Chris Saliga, O.P. who is Walsh’s first full-time Chaplain,
is credited with “helping students to see how fulfilling a religious vocation
can be.”
Please support the
The month of November, of course, is also the month of Holy Souls that is DOMINICAN
marked by a FOUNDATION
solemn of the Dominican Friars,
remembrance of
all the dead and Province of St. Joseph.
the celebration of The purpose of the Dominican
the Communion Foundation is to raise resources
of Saints. Each
year, on the eve to support the mission and
of All Saints' Day, strategic plan of the Dominican
an All Saints Vigil Friars, Province of St. Joseph.
draws hundreds Please consider contributing to
of worshippers to
the Dominican the Dominican Foundation today.
House of Studies. Because of the generosity of our
Here is a friends, with the help of God's
slideshow of this
years' vigil. I grace, we’ve been able to do so
encourage you to watch and read the reflections of two Friars—Fr. much. But this can only continue
Matthew Rzeczkowski, O.P. and Fr. Pius Pietrzyk, O.P.—on the Dominican if our supporters continue to
Order's "solicitude for its dead," Friars, Sisters and benefactors alike. step out in faith and generously
The many prayers for those who have gone before serve a three-fold contribute. Thank you and may
purpose: gratitude for their contributions; a reminder of our mortality; and God Bless you!
a way of reconciliation with those with whom our relationships were
troubled in some ways. I also call your attention to my own reflections on
the subject, in which I urge all of you to follow the Dominican tradition of The Dominican Foundation is a
keeping “death close at hand," which is a most fruitful exercise as you will 501C-3 tax-exempt not-for-profit
discover. organization. All donations are
tax-deductible to the extent
It has been said that Dominicans are 'experts in humanity' and this is well
illustrated as concerns both the afterlife as well as the thick of life. The permitted by law.
latter is in evidence in the Friars' many talks and presentations throughout
the year. Consider the synopsis of the talk by Fr. Nicholas Lombardo, O.P.
(which was scheduled for a conference at the University of Notre Dame
that examined "virtue's contribution to human flourishing") examining"the
phenomenology and structure of boredom." This Friars' words are a
welcome antidote to the notion that the Church is out of touch with real
life!
Last month, the first of this academic year's Thomistic Study Circles at the
Dominican House of Studies (DHS) in Washington, D.C. featured a panel
of distinguished speakers reflecting on St. Thomas Aquinas’
understanding of the human soul. In his introduction to the proceedings, 141 East 65th St.
Fr. Thomas Joseph White, O.P. New York, NY 10065
Phone: (212) 535-3664
Fax: (775) 542-5511
Email: df@opfriars.org

—a Professor of Theology at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate

Conception at the DHS—explained that "knowledge of the soul affects
issues as diverse as: the nature of human beings, ethical dignity for the
unborn human being, respect for persons in a persistent vegetative state,
the immortality of the self and life after death, mysteries of purgatory,
heaven and hell, the human nature of Christ, the distinct graces of the
Virgin Mary, the life of grace in ordinary Christians," and more.
Please note the recognition of our own Providence College in Providence,
R.I, by the distinguished journal First Things, as one of the nation's top
Catholic schools in terms of both academic strength and Catholic identity.
There is so much more. Marking the mid-term election in the beginning of

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There is so much more. Marking the mid-term election in the beginning of
the month, Fr. Francis Belanger, O.P., the Promoter of Social Justice for the
Province of St. Joseph, shrewdly points out—referencing Pope Benedict
XVI's encyclical Caritas in Veritate—that "the Church in political matters
is neither merely liberal nor merely conservative, but simply Catholic." For
reflections on Catholic social teaching and its relevance for economic
policy, I highly recommend "The True Wealth of Nations:
Catholic Social Thought and Economic Life," a new book that features a
contribution by Fr. Albino Barrera, O.P., a Professor of Economics and
Theology at Providence College. When it comes to Church social teaching
in action, don't miss Fr. Belanger's tribute to Nobel Peace Prize-winner Fr.
Dominic Pire, O.P., the Belgian Friar, on the centenary of his birth.
The Dominican tradition of excellence in intellectual formation is in the
service of human good and the high stakes of ordinary, day-to-day life with
all its challenges and distractions. In this interview, Fr. John Corbett, O.P.,
who leads the campus ministry on behalf of the Province at Dartmouth
College, reflects on the nature of true happiness as hinging on living a life
of virtue as defined by the Aristotelian-Thomistic tradition. "Eventually,
immorality will make you unhappy," he asserts.
Last month, Aquinas House, the Catholic Student Center at Dartmouth
College staffed by our Dominican Friars, also sponsored this talk by Fr.
John Vidmar, O.P. on the Christian imagination of J.R.R. Tolkien. Angels and
demons were also the subject of a wonderful article by Fr. Dominic Legge,
O.P. on the Knights of Columbus website “Headline Bistro”.
In this space I cannot possibly do full justice to all the riches found on the
Province website—be sure to visit it often. Better yet, also sign up to
receive email notification each time we post a new item. Simply submit your
email address when prompted upon first visiting the site.
I leave you, again, with all the Friars' prayers of thanksgiving for your
bountiful generosity. A Happy Thanksgiving and blessed start to Advent
for you and your loved ones!
Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Dominic Izzo, O.P.

Director

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