Life Profession
This week I’m in Seattle WA for the annual Chapter meeting of the Anglican Dominicans, my chosen religious order. This is a special Chapter for me because I am making my Life Profession, vowing to live the rest of my life by the values and promises of this particular community.
The Anglican Dominicans are folks mostly from the Episcopal Church, who have chosen to study and embrace the charism of St. Dominic de Guzman and the Roman Catholic Dominican Order which he founded early in the 13th Century. Our Father Dominic envisioned and launched an Order of friar preachers committed to the proclamation of the Gospel for the blessing of the world.
As Anglican Dominicans we profess vows which reflect both religious history and our contemporary lives today as some of us are ordained and others not, some married and others not, but all immersed in active daily lives of work, school and church. The historic vows of the religious life are chastity, poverty and obedience. Our vows today are to live purely, in simplicity and with obedience. That is to say that we strive to to make holy and healthful relationships with those around us, we strive to move out of our usual consumeristic focus and selfish economics, and we follow the lead of those in the Anglican Dominican Order who have taken responsibility for our personal formation and ministry.
Why?
I most often hear the question, “Why?” Why do this? Why does this matter? The assumption is often that I must have felt I wasn’t enough as simply a Christian, a believer. Let me say that I believe we are all enough in our faith, totally and completely beloved of God in whatever place we find ourselves in life. Joining a Religious Order is not about attaining God’s love, we have that, or about competing with and out-distancing others, we have no need of that. But some people are called by the Spirit to pursue their religious vocation and spiritual formation in these communities of shared vows and values.
I’ve been blessed to have my Dominican siblings pray with and for me, guide me in study and to share visions of what a faithful life entails for us. My formation journey has been a four year journey to bring me to this week: I became an Inquirer in the Fall of 2019, was accepted as a Postulant in the Fall of 2020, was made a Novice in the Fall of 2021, and now by God’s grace after two years of my Novitiate studies and after the vote of the members I have made my life profession, taking vows to give myself fully to this community.
Do I need to be an Anglican Dominican to be a Christian? Of course not, and neither do you. Does being a Dominican make me a better Christian than someone else? Of course not, we aren’t intended to be in any form of competition in our faith. Does being a Dominican make me a better me? I believe it has and I believe it will. I’ve often explained to others that no one joins a religious order because they are so holy, but probably because they need the extra help in what holiness they want to attain. It’s like getting an academic tutor, not because of what you can do, but because of what you hope to do.
Recently on a Sunday morning I used the Gospel reading to draw a connection between a couple of parables told by Jesus and why I am a Dominican. In Matthew 13:44-46 Jesus tells two stories about pursuing, finding and gaining two treasures, an unexpected treasure and a long sought after treasure. In each story Jesus expresses the idea of doing whatever it takes to get the treasure (the kingdom of heaven), selling all one has and expending every energy to attain and keep what has been found. That’s been my experience with the Dominicans! I went looking for treasure and found it in the Dominican Order, and ever since I’ve done whatever I could to have and to hold onto that treasure.
The Charism
The charism of the Dominican Order is based in preaching, the proclaiming of the Gospel, and there are several ways it is has been expressed by Dominicans through the centuries. St. Dominic himself expressed it by encouraging his religious siblings to “Speak only of God or with God.” Dominicans use the the catchword “Veritas” to express our devotion to truth in all its forms. We have the tagline “To Praise, To Bless, To Preach” to remind ourselves of our connectedness with and responsibility to all people. St. Thomas Aquinas coined the phrase “To contemplate and to share the fruits of contemplation” to express the core of Dominican life and vocation: to listen for God and to share what we hear. Do you have to be a Dominican to do any of this? Of course not. Does living a Dominican life mean that I’m striving for these things? Yes, it does.
The four pillars of Dominican life are prayer, study, preaching and community. We pray daily and lean into the Daily Office for that practice. We study daily, leaning into scripture to encounter God, truth and our foundation for life. We preach and proclaim the Gospel in every way we can through words spoken and written, acts of service, the sacraments and in any opportunity which God opens for us. And we are in community, making every effort to serve, to remain in and to build our lives together.
What’s Next?
You know, life rolls on. I’m still just Todd, a husband, father, son and brother, a priest, a preacher and a nerd who plays too many hours of video games each week. I’ll now be able to wear the full habit of the Anglican Dominicans, and I’ll be supporting the Order as I am able with what meager gifts I have by God’s grace.
My life is further circumscribed by the vows taken in the presence of God and my siblings of faith; my baptismal promises and vows as a Priest are simply further supported by my vows as an Anglican Dominican. My hope and faith remain rooted in what God is doing and what the Divine will do in me, believing it to be far beyond what I myself may accomplish or conceive.
What’s next? Next is my life with the past and present Dominican siblings who surround me. From our Spiritual Father Dominic to our Brother Thomas, our Sister Catherine, Brother Martin and all those who have blessed us and are blessing us today, I ask: What may I learn? What may I imitate? How may I serve? What might I share? Whatever may come I am strengthened by the witness and love of my Anglican Dominican siblings and the faith and wisdom of all Dominicans who have come before me.
Here is the full Life Profession Mass from August 2, 2023, in Seattle, WA. My vows are at the 44:35 minute mark.
toddthomas.net 
August 4, 2023 at 9:27 pm
It was a privilege to be with you at your life vows. This is one of the best summaries of life as an Anglican Dominican I have seen. God grant you many happy years in your vocation.