Letter from the Executive Director
Photo by George Goss
Dear Friends in Christ,
As we journey through the Advent season, we find ourselves in the company of the Blessed Virgin Mary, preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Our Lady accompanies us in each moment of our lives and she who accompanied her son throughout his earthly life leads us closer to him as we contemplate the mysteries of his life in the Rosary and throughout the liturgical year.
This year the Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Joseph celebrated the Month of the Rosary by hosting the first national Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage on September 30, 2023 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC. It was a great joy to welcome pilgrims from across the country to honor Our Lady and seek her intercession. The sound of thousands of voices praying the Rosary together was a powerful experience and the preaching of Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P., Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P., and Fr. James Brent, O.P., helped us to appreciate how Mary leads us to her son through the Rosary.
At the end of the Rosary, we pray that “by meditating upon these mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise.” On August 15, 2023, twelve young men imitated Mary’s “yes” to God, by offering their lives to God through professing first vows in the Dominican Order. To give one’s life to God for the salvation of souls is indeed a joyful mystery, and one that came for these men, as it does for all friars, after deeply contemplating the mystery of the Annunciation aided by the daily community recitation of the Rosary throughout their novitiate year.
We give thanks to God for these men’s vocations, for we know that this joyful response to God’s call is a work of grace. I pray that you may also experience great joy in following God’s will in your own vocation and in knowing that your support for our Dominican formation programs makes it possible for these men to follow God in theirs and to be formed as faithful preachers of the Rosary.
Thank you for partnering with us in our Dominican mission. May the Lord bless you abundantly during this Advent, Christmas, and in the new year to come.
In Christ, Our Lady, and St. Dominic,
Fr. John Paul Kern, O.P.
Executive Director
Dominican Friars Foundation
Until December 31, your most generous offering in support of our young friars in training will be matched dollar-for-dollar by an anonymous benefactor, up to $350,000!
The Dominican Foundation of Dominican Friars Province of St. Joseph, Inc. is a NY State tax-exempt corporation under section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, with
Tax ID # 26-3273636.