Serving the Powerhouse of the Order of Preachers
By Br. Jerome Masters, O.P.
If you travel about 100 miles northeast of New York City, you might stumble across the Dominican Monastery of Our Lady of Grace in North Guilford, Connecticut. These Dominican nuns have been praying there since 1947. What many people don’t know is that the nuns of the Dominican Order are a vital part of the success of preaching for the salvation of souls.
There is an 800-year history of Dominican friars serving the nuns as chaplains. It is not common knowledge (unfortunately) that St. Dominic, when founding the Dominican Order, established the nuns first at the Monastery of Prouille in France. He converted nine heretic women and gave them a rule of life. St. Dominic entrusted to their care his brother Bl. Mannes as their chaplain, saying, “Our very dear brother, Brother Mannes, who has spared no pains to bring you to this high state, will take what steps seem to him necessary to secure its continuance, your holy and religious life.”
Today, Fr. Brian Mulcahy, O.P., serves the Dominican nuns in North Guilford as their residential chaplain. Ordained in 1990, Fr. Brian has served the Province of St. Joseph in several capacities, including parochial vicar and pastor at different parishes, working at the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, hospital chaplain, university chaplain at Youngstown State University, and provincial of the province. This assignment differs from the other assignments though.
“My task as chaplain is to serve the needs of the nuns. To celebrate, when I’m needed, their conventual Mass, and to preach for them,” Fr. Brian said. “I am here to help them to live their life that is centered upon the solemn celebration of the liturgy.” Fr. Brian’s celebration of the liturgy has changed since coming to the monastery. “There are always faithful from outside who come to the nuns’ Mass, but it is the nuns’ Mass.” This is evident if you visit the monastery. Fr. Brian faces the sisters when saying Mass. His homily can be beneficial to the faithful who come but is aimed more at the nuns. Since he is not at a parish, the celebration of the liturgy matches the pace of the nuns’ life, thus a longer and more contemplative Mass.
When asked about how preaching differs from the environment of a parish or among the brethren Fr. Brian said, “Study is a very big part of their life as well. That sets Dominican nuns apart from other contemplative communities.” This life of study the nuns share with the brethren enables Fr. Brian to preach about things that he might not be able to preach about effectively at a parish. He also said, “Our Lord is very fond of these women. He loves them very much, so he often gives me things to say to them.”
One might be shocked to learn that Fr. Brian does not serve as the nuns’ regular confessor. “We have other friars and priests who come and do that.” This mainly serves as a boundary for him so that he is kept from knowing too much about the internal life of the community. As a chaplain, he helps keep the separation between the internal workings of the community and external things. The prioress of the community alongside her council run the inner workings of the community.
“You can’t really appreciate the Order of Preachers without coming to an appreciation of the role the nuns play in the life of our Order,” Fr. Brian said. “The nuns are the powerhouse of the Order who pray for the friars to preach well for the salvation of souls. They participate in the preaching of the Order through their life of contemplation and forgoing earthly goods to love our Lord.”
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Photo Credit: Aaron Joseph, Archdiocese of Hartford
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