opwest | Reflections on First Vows, 1999

Br. Cyril Alvernaz, O.P.
		I can not begin to express the joy with which I made my Simple Vows Profession. This has been for me a very long path with many twists and turns. For too long I ran away from God's call, thinking myself unworthy, and ill equipped for the life of a vowed religious. I had resisted that which would bring me the joy and happiness I have spent 20 years looking for elsewhere. I was not unhappy in the world, but was incomplete. I worked for an investment banking firm, was very involved at St. Dominic's Church in San Francisco, and had an active social life. I was living the way our present culture tells us we should live in order to be happy, but was not. These vows and this life truly run counter to our present culture. It is a difficult life in that we give up our will in order to live according to God's will. This is not as difficult as it may at first sound. In following His call we find great freedom. The kind of freedom that allows us to live for others, to serve others, to pray for others and to carry out the Gospel message. In all this I know my weaknesses and limitations. I have always been drawn to the contemplative life but am far too social an individual to grow in the environment of a strict cloister. I also know that I could not function well or for very long as a Diocesan priest. I need the support of community as well as community prayer. In the Dominican Order I have found a balance of both the active and contemplative. We go out into the world and then come back and pray for the world.
Br. Bernhard Thomas Blankenhorn, O.P.
		I made vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty in the Order of Preachers for a very simple reason: it is the Lord's will. Once that will is discerned, it is futile to go against it. That would only lead to misery. But by following the Lord in the way he calls each of us, we find great joy, peace, and happiness. Yet this is not the happiness the world thinks of. Our popular culture often seems to equate happiness with pleasure. But experience contradicts this. I used to lead a rather worldly life, and learned the hard way that the only happiness that lasts is spiritual, not physical. And this comes from following Christ. Doing the Lord's will does bring incredible joy. Yet this way can often be quite painful, as we come recognize our weaknesses, confess our sins, plead for mercy, grow in humility, and learn an ever greater denial of self. But what can compare with life in Christ, growing towards perfect love? Gradually all that the world offers fades in comparison. Right after the moment that I made my vows, I said to myself: "Wow, I'm yours Lord, totally yours. This is incredible! But Lord, help me to keep the vows I just made." Nothing in the world could ever compare to an act of total trust in God, putting yourself in His hands completely, holding nothing back. So why the Dominicans? Because of a burning desire to preach and teach Jesus Christ, to lead others to Him. This is the reason for the Order's existence. St. Dominic founded it to bring souls to heaven. What greater gift could one offer to God or one's neighbor?
Br. Robert King, O.P.
		The vows of poverty, chastity and obedience are not something new. They strengthen the vows I made at my baptism. Every Christian is called to be poor in spirit, faithful and charitable in our relationships, and to obey God and lawful authorities. What we do as religious is to take these challenges to their extreme: to be poor in fact as well as in spirit, and so we own nothing in our own name; to be celibate in our chastity, since we look on God as our true Spouse and we remain faithful to him; to do nothing of our own will, since even our will is a gift from God, so we submit ourselves to his will even in small matters. I took vows because I want my entire life to be a declaration of God's goodness and his love and call for every person he created. It is his goodness and love that makes the sacrifices worthwhile. As I took my vows, I realized once more how very small I am in comparison with God's call for me. These vows are beyond my ability to fulfill: I'm too selfish, strong-willed and focused on my desires rather than on God's will or the needs of his people around me. Yet I also became aware of the abundance of our Father's grace and power, and of the presence of his Holy Spirit within me. In everything I do, it is he who enables me to love, serve and do his will. I trust that he will give me all I need to do his will, and that he will forgive me if I fail. After all, that is why he sent his Son to suffer and die for us: so we could receive his power to do good and his forgiveness when we fail. I pray he will use me to serve my friends, my family, and all those I meet, and to bring the joy and peace of sharing God's life to them.
Br. Thomas Clark, O.P.
		I am excited to have made my first ("simple") vows on the fourth of September. It is the way in which God has asked me to give my whole life to Him and to His service. By vowing individual poverty, celibate chastity, and holy obedience, a friar becomes unencumbered by the worries surrounding earthly life in order to more easily "see God in all things" – and in all people. Through the prayer, meditation, contemplation, study, ministry, and self-denial that our Dominican religious life allows and offers, the friar can attain to a special communion with God. Furthermore, he is filled with grace and the Holy Spirit, and thus inspired to invite (indeed, to plead with) all others to convert their hearts to God and to share in this holy communion. For thoroughly embedded in his heart is the knowledge and certainty that this communion with God, renewed and made real and present in an extraordinary way each day at the Sacred Banquet which is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, is true happiness. It is the quintessence of joy, peace, tranquility, calm and ebullience (simultaneously!) and love. It is fulfillment, and thus a foreshadowing of the future glory of heaven. The friar is more than willing to give away everything that he formerly may have held most dear – wealth, women, and will – in order to gain this pearl of unsurpassable value. And he longs with all his heart that everyone else in the world will share in his boundless joy – the joy of God that comes from possessing this pearl.
Br. Dominic M. DeCaria, O.P.
		On a basic level, like many of my brothers, I am drawn to the counter-cultural statement made by the vows. The vows we profess dare to stare the pop culture in the face and say that the answers are not found there. While those who have all they want seem to never have enough, those content with little seem to have all they need. While the world seems to believe that the source of joy is sex, the vows show that a full and happy life can be had without it. And while the world seems to believe that extreme independence of every individual is necessary, those in the religious life show that obedience is a better alternative. But the vows are more than a counter-cultural, alternative lifestyle. If this was all they were, that would not be enough. The vows point to the Lord our God and say, "He is the answer." Happiness is not in money, sex, or independence, but it is rather in the source and summit of our whole existence. The vows point directly to God, and they are a direct way to love and serve Him. When a brother professes his vows, the first thing he says is "I, brother (name), make profession and promise obedience to God, ...", and putting Him first is indeed the answer. Ultimately, my reasons go beyond an answer to the world, and, yes, even beyond the witness we give in our preaching (both vocal and non-vocal). I do this for God. It is from Him that I have my life, my very being, and it is to Him that I owe my gratitude and my life. It is God who has called me to this life, and I count it a tremendous blessing and pleasure to serve Him in this capacity. Thomas A Kempis put it well in the Imitation of Christ (bk. 3, ch. 10): "What shall I give you in return for these countless blessings? If only I could serve you all the days of my life! If only I were able to serve you worthily, even for one day! Truly, you are worthy of all service, all honor and eternal praise. You are my Lord, and I am your poor servant, who is bound to serve you with all my strength and without ever growing tired of praising you. This is what I want; this is what I desire, and whatever is lacking in me, please add it." To which I answer: Amen.

Reflections on the First Profession of Vows

Reflections on the First
Profession of Vows