Vocation Discernment
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Vocation Office
Western Dominican Province
5890 Birch Court
Oakland, CA 94618-1626
(510)-596-1821
Our Vocations require a great deal of support, from the first moment they begin their novitiate until the last moments of their retirement. Please do conside visiting our donation page and helping form and sustain the priests and brothers who will serve you in the future, serve you now and have served you in the past.
Saints and Blesseds
The Order of Friars Preachers,
The Dominican Order,
has a beautiful history of learning, service and holiness manifested in its saints and blesseds of every age since its foundation by St. Dominic de Guzman. Do enjoy the periodic postings of such stories as are available from various sources, especially our own archives.
Religious Retirement
Our elderly and infirm friars receive the best care we have available to us, as in any family. We rely heavily on the donations of others for our own existence and thus when one of our own becomes incapable of further ministry due to age or infirmity, those same donations help us support the sometimes necessary special care required by such members of our communities.
We prefer to care for our elderly and infirm in our own houses so that the life of a religious community can be a part of a friars life as long as possible. This is also the most economical in many ways. We strive to use donations wisely. But sometimes a care facility is essential. As we, as a Province, do not benefit from the national collection for retired religious, we ask that you assist us in caring for these friars who have prayed, taught, served and ministered for so many years amomg the people of the Western United States and beyond.
Please, in your kindness, consider assisting us in this work of brotherly love.
Many thanks in advance.
Catholicism
It's just the right thing
Fr. Mark Douglas McPhee, OP
Mark died on July 7th, 1994, a few months before his 70th birthday. He carried many crosses in this life, ranging from years of poor health to extreme emotional sensitivity. Yet each one of these crosses seemed to draw him closer to God and the Blessed Mother.
His first great trial came when he was a student brother and learned that he might have leprosy. It was many weeks before he knew he didn't have that dread disease, but during that terrifying time of waiting he reconciled himself to God's will and began talking about a possible ministry as a Dominican in a leper colony.
In spite of his suffering, Mark was a man of joy and laughter throughout his life. Few who met him were unaffected by the great joy and love that seemed to flow from him. He easily infected people with laughter, and he had a great sense of the incongruous. He never laughed at the expense of others, but only at himself.
Many years ago he was diagnosed as having Multiple Sclerosis, a terrible disease, which drew Mark closer to God and the people he served. He would warn a congregation at Mass that, at any time, he might start crying or laughing. He asked them to be patient, for the episode would pass and Mass would continue. As a result of his honesty and vulnerability, there was an outpouring of love for and trust in this prayerful priest. He didn't limit himself just to the Catholic community but was interested in the entire community. He spontaneously reached out in friendship to the local Protestant clergy, and they responded in kind.
With declining health, Mark became somewhat isolated in his beloved Northwest and something of a stranger to many Dominicans, but he had many, many friends who were very special in his life.
In recent years, his devotion to the Blessed Mother deepened even more. He was very concerned about the Church, the priesthood, and the laity. Praying for Mary's intercession, he worked harder for God's kingdom, yet often spoke of how weary he was and how he longed to go home - to heaven. He believed that Christian life is incomplete without death, and he longed to become the complete Christian. God heard his prayer on July 7, 1994.
- Fr. John C. Flannery, O.P.
Donate in honor of Fr. Mark McPhee, OP
|
Date of Birth |
Date of Profession |
Date of Ordination |
Date of Death |
|
September 19, 1924 |
August 15, 1953 |
June 13, 1958 |
July 7, 1994 |
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