TheTrumpet
Winter 2014
Dominican Foundation • Dominican Friars • Province of Saint Joseph
Friars For Life:
A FOCUS Missionary’s Perspective
Photo Credit: Tom McCarthy, Jr., Catholic Review
March for Life: Dominican friars and students converged on the capital like
—
these Johns Hopkins undergraduates marching alongside one of their campus
chaplains, the bearded Fr. Dominic Bump, O.P. (pictured center left).
By Pat Dunford
I
would have found them without
their banner. Storming forward
in black and white, and with as
much purpose in their stride as they
would carry in a challenge against
the Summa. An uninformed British
teenager once made the conjecture
that one of our New York Dominican
chaplains must be a Jedi based on
his habit. If I’d had the chance to
respond, I would have told him that
they’re in possession of a much
greater force, far more dangerous to
the enemy. They are the preaching
knights of the Catholic faith, and are
armed with an arsenal of scholarly
wisdom and a rich history of saints.
dominicanfriars.org
I have had the privilege of serving
with Fr. Allan White, O.P., and Fr.
Austin Litke, O.P., at New York
University over the past year-anda-half as a FOCUS missionary, and
at no other time in my pilgrimage of
faith have I been so grateful for the
gift of religious life to the Church.
Dominicans have a firm knowledge
of the world and sound theology that
has proven invaluable in the campus
ministries they serve. Their welcome
sense of humor only enhances the
effectiveness of their approach.
It’s clear the O.P. designation is far
more than a tacked-on title to set the
Dominicans apart. It’s rare to walk into
facebook.com/dominican.friars
Father Allan’s office at the Catholic
Center at NYU as he prepares the
day’s homily and see less than four
literary sources bearing names longer
than this article to supplement the
Scriptures. Or to enter Father Austin’s
workspace during his impromptu
mandolin performances and overlook
his notes on what clever “Downton
Abbey” reference he’ll make on
Sunday. This is no cold intellectualism
or scholarship for its own sake;
these men serve as an incarnational
proclamation of the necessary
complementarity of the Christian life
of virtue and formation of the intellect.
(Cont’d on page 5)
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