In this last part of a video series Fr. Dominic Legge, O.P. discusses Mary Magdalene in the works of Fra Angelico.

In this video series Fr. Dominic Legge, O.P. discusses Mary Magdalene and the Da Vinci Code.

In this video series Fr. Dominic Legge, O.P. continues to explain why Mary Magdalene was chosen as a patroness of the Dominican Order.

In this video series Fr. Dominic Legge, O.P. explains why Mary Magdalene was chosen as a patroness of the Dominican Order.

Bl. John Paul II, General Audience - September 18, 1991

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field" (Mt 13:44). Analogously, there is the merchant in search of fine pearls: "When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it" (Mt 13:45). This…  » More

Br. Innocent Smith, O.P., a student brother of the Province of St. Joseph, recently recorded a track of Irish dance music on the wooden flute for a CD fundraiser project for his alma mater, St. Gregory's Academy, a boarding school in Northeastern Pennsylvannia. You can listen to a preview of the track with the player at the top of the post. The CD brings together alumni of the Academy who sing and play traditional folk music of Ireland, Scotland, and America. The CD title, "Soulbutter & Hogwash", is taken from a description of music in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: "Music is a good thing; and after all that soul-butter and hogwash I never see it freshen up things so, and sound so honest and bully."

To purchase the CD, visit this site. All of the proceeds go to support St. Gregory's Academy. To read a reflection on the importance of folk music by Br. Innocent, see the latest issue of Dominicana.

On July 9th, the Memorial of St. John of Gorcum, about 30 men and women made an eight-mile pilgrimage through the streets of Manhattan, singing and praying along the way. This pilgrimage is part of a growing tradition in the Province of St. Joseph. Organized and implemented by the Dominican student brothers, these pilgrimages seek to foster devotion and fraternal charity amongst the pilgrims and to provide public witness to the faith.

The Manhattan pilgrimage included seven churches: beginning at the Church of Notre Dame near Columbia University, the pilgrimage proceeded to Saint Jean Baptiste, St. Vincent Ferrer, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Church of Our Savior, and ended at St. Joseph's Church in Greenwich Village for holy Mass and a cookout. The pilgrims prayed the Liturgy of the Hours throughout the day, and received special blessings from the pastors and priests of the parishes. The route chosen took the pilgrims through Central Park, where Cleopatra's Needle provided shade during one of the liturgical hours of the Divine Office.

The pilgrims formed a diverse cross-section of the Church. Six Dominican friars and two Franciscan Friars of the Renewal took part, along with twenty-some lay pilgrims ranging from families pushing strollers to men discerning religious life to a Columbia University professor.

The making of pilgrimages is a tradition as old as religious civilization itself. A long-established act of piety or discernment even in the pagan world, the pilgrimage became a major expression of Christian devotion in the Middle Ages, although one of the first written accounts of a Christian pilgrimage dates from the fourth century A.D.

As the renewal of our Church continues, the Dominican friars hope to continue this tradition of regional pilgrimages to foster the devotion of the People of God and increase the visibility of the Church in our local communities.

-Br. Raphael Forbing, O.P.