Dominican Brothers: Conversi, Lay, and Cooperator Friars by the noted Dominican author and historian, Fr. Augustine Thompson, O.P., captures the rich and elaborative history of the vocation and ministry of Dominican brothers since the very foundation of the Dominican Order in 1216. Through exhaustive and ground-breaking research, Fr. Thompson has uncovered a legion of little known facts and about the history, vitality, permanence, and presence of the vocation and ministry of the Dominican brother (including saints, blesseds, and martyrs) in promoting Dominican fraternal life and the mission of the Order in service to the Church universal. Thompson's work is not limited to a dry historical review of the past; rather, he brings the richness of the past into the present day so that it will promote vocations to the Dominican brotherhood, whose life and ministry are indispensable in the process of renewing and sustaining the fraternal life and ministry of the Order and the Church: preaching and the salvation of souls. This prophetic document also needs to be studied by other religious orders and read in tandem with the Vatican Document, "Identity and Mission of the Religious Brother in the Church," issued by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies for Apostolic Life.

The purpose of this book is to gather in a single narrative the rather disparate stories of Dominican friars in Southern Africa over the past four centuries. Dominicans from Portugal and Portuguese India were present in South-East Africa from 1577 to 1835. Patrick Raymond Griffith, an Irish Dominican, became the first resident bishop in South Africa in 1837. A Dominican mission was established in 1917 with the arrival of a group of English friars. A second group arrived from the Netherlands in 1932. The aim is to provide a social history of the Dominicans in Southern Africa, that is, a history that deals specifically with the social and cultural factors of historical development. The Dominicans ministered in a political, social and cultural context which impacted on their apostolic activities and, in turn, was affected by them. The book's terminus ad quem is 1990, when the National Party opened a process of political negotiation, thus ending more than forty years of apartheid rule.

"Before Pedro Martainez pitched the Red Sox to a World Series championship, before he was named to the All-Star team eight times, before he won the Cy Young Award three times, he was a kid from a place called Manoguayabo in the Dominican Republic. Pedro loved baseball more than anything, and his older brother Ramaon was the best pitcher he'd ever seen. He dreamed of the day he and his brother could play together in the major leagues. This is the story of how that dream came true"--Dust jacket flap.

They are called “Hounds of the Lord,” and “Stoics on spiritual steroids.” For 800 years they have barked out Christ’s gospel message, saving countless souls and showing us how to think, do, and love for the glory of God. Inspired by the stories of their saints, we join the Dominicans in celebrating the Jubilee of their first 800 years. In these pages, we draw inspiration and spiritual strength from the lives, lessons, and legacies of their intellectual giants and enrapt mystics, the men and women who scrubbed floors, and those who cared for the dying. You’ll discover countless fascinating and pious stories, prophetic dreams and visions, apparitions of Christ and Our Lady, appearances of the devil in disguise, miraculous healings, episodes of bi-location, stigmata, incorruption after death, and more. From St. Thomas Aquinas to St. Martin de Porres, in story after story you’ll see how God favored these holy men and women in so many surprising and supernatural ways. Even 800 years later, these Hounds of the Lord are still out there today, roaming the world, seeking out souls to retrieve for Christ. Open this book, and you’ll be given a taste of that glorious and joyful spirit that animates the Dominican Order — a spirit they have so long and so willingly shared with the rest of the world. Let their example serve as inspiration, and let loose the hounds of the Lord within you.

Few Catholics today know much about Saint Dominic, who died eight hundred years ago in 1221. Unlike Francis of Assisi, Teresa of Ávila, or Ignatius of Loyola, Dominic did not leave a deposit of writings to be examined and built upon. Yet this medieval Spaniard still has much to teach us today, and we see this in the way of life he left to the Church. Dominic offers a rich approach to Christian living, not just for members of the Order of Preachers, the religious order he founded, but for all Catholics. His dedication to prayer, penance, and the Word of God, and his love of neighbor, form the deep foundation of his project of being conformed to God. By following in Dominic’s footsteps, we too can discover how to live with a heart that is undivided, seeking God first in all things. “The twenty-first century remains in need of the witness and ministry of Saint Dominic, the thirteenth-century priest who consecrated his life to the sharing of saving truth. Fortunately, Fathers Briscoe and Janczyk have produced a highly readable and inspiring book that enables the men and women of our own time to discover the graces that Dominic continues to bring to us as an instrument of God, the author of grace. In Saint Dominic, the contemplative preacher of grace, we can all find a spiritual father who will teach us to know and love the Lord Jesus, who is himself Saving Truth.” — Father Sebastian White, OP, editor-in-chief, Magnificat “This beautiful book allows us to get to know Saint Dominic better, who was so close to God and so full of compassion for all the sufferings of his time. He is a shining example of what we are called to do today: seek God with all our heart to pour out the balm of his merciful love on all the plagues of our world.” — Father Jacques Philippe, best-selling author and retreat master ABOUT THE AUTHORS Father Patrick Mary Briscoe, OP, and Father Jacob Bertrand Janczyk, OP, are cohosts of the lively Dominican friars’ podcast Godsplaining. Father Patrick serves as deputy senior editor of Aleteia.org and associate chaplain at Providence College. Father Jacob Bertrand is the director of vocations of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph.

New York Times bestseller: An “exquisitely wrought memoir” about how “love can flourish even in the harshest climates”—for readers of The Liar’s Club and Running with Scissors (People). This poignant, darkly funny account of two siblings—one white, one Black—growing up in the Christian fundamentalist communities of Indiana and the Dominican Republic is “one of the best memoirs in years” (Anne Lamott, author of Bird by Bird). Julia and her adopted brother, David, are 16 years old. Julia is white. David is black. It is the mid–1980s and their family has just moved to rural Indiana, a landscape of cottonwood trees, trailer parks, and an all–encompassing racism. At home are a distant mother—more involved with her church’s missionaries than her own children—and a violent father. In this riveting and heartrending memoir, Julia Scheeres takes us from the Midwest to a place beyond imagining. Surrounded by natural beauty, Escuela Caribe—a religious reform school in the Dominican Republic—is characterized by a disciplinary regime that extracts repentance from its students by any means necessary. Julia and David strive to make it through these ordeals and their tale is relayed here with startling immediacy, extreme candor, and wry humor. Over a decade after its first publication, Jesus Land remains deeply resonant with readers. This New York Times bestselling memoir is a gripping tale of rage and redemption, hope and humor, morality and malice—and most of all, the truth: that being a good person takes more than just going to church.

Eight centuries have passed since the Dominicans first arrived in England. This book tells their fascinating story. It discusses their role in the medieval British Church; their fate after the Reformation; their eventual re-establishment in Britain; their expansion into the Caribbean and South Africa; and their adaptation after Vatican II.