Visit a time of renewal and revitalisation

Archbishop Emeritus Robert Rivas OP concludes his reflection on the April 27-29 visit of Fr Gerard Francisco Timoner III OP, Master of the Order of Preachers. Part 1 appeared in the May 18 issue.

On Monday, April 28, the visitation began with a concelebrated Mass at 9 a.m. with the parishioners at St Finbar’s Church. This was followed by a full morning session with the Master, his Assistant or Socious for Europe, Fr Thomas Brogl OP, and the nine brothers who comprise our Mission; the tenth, Fr Dwight Black OP, is on Sabbatical in Rome.

After the Master’s presentation, we were divided into two groups—one with the Master and one with the Assistant—to discuss three questions that dealt with our strengths and weaknesses as a Community, our challenges and how we are facing them and our hopes and resolutions for moving ahead. Our sharing was soul-searching, honest and very revealing in an ambience of openness and trust.

This was clearly a time of favour for our Mission. The thinking of the Master and his Assistant was clear, comprehensive, compassionate, and focused. They were here to strengthen bonds and encourage us in living our Dominican life and charism with authenticity and generosity in the service of the Church.

The visitation was undoubtedly a time of renewal and revitalisation for our two communities, Holy Cross in Arima (East) and St Finbar’s in Diego Martin (West). We are relatively young with three retired brothers. Two Brothers are from Ireland and the rest of us are from Trinidad.

The personality of the Master is captivating, open, understanding, kind and inspiring. ‘Master’ means teacher. He is there to serve the brethren and is the principle of unity for the Brothers and nuns of the Order. He embodies the charism of the Order, preaching for the salvation of souls with fidelity, wisdom, and a pure heart.

The morning session was followed by individual interviews with either the Master or his Assistant in the afternoon. Despite jet lag and loss of sleep, the Master managed well in staying awake.

These are precious moments in the life of a Dominican when, in our remotest places, the Master visits and each brother has a voice to speak to our leader and share our lives personally with him. This is democracy at its best. The youngest to the eldest has a voice and the Master listens and encourages.

On Tuesday, April 29, Feast of St Catherine of Siena, one of the guiding lights of the Order and a woman of the Church, all the Brothers, Sisters, Dominican laity, as well as families and friends of Dominicans, gathered at Rosary Monastery in St Ann’s for a Mass of Thanksgiving and a not so light lunch!

It was a time of expectation and hope. One significant branch of the Family was absent, the nuns of Rosary Monastery, but they were there in spirit. The Monastery is closed because of a lack of vocations.

What was uppermost in the minds of many was the future of the Monastery. Would the Master have the solution? It seems that the solution will not come from above but from the brethren, the foot soldiers on the ground!

I prayed that wisdom and the Holy Spirit would guide the Master and our Province of Ireland in the discernment process.

The Monastery is a precious gem, but we need to find concrete solutions for its future. This will require commitment, strategic planning, and a common vision for moving forward. For our Mission in Trinidad and Tobago, this is a time of new beginnings and hope for the future.

The committee that planned the event at Rosary Monastery is to be complimented. We had a wonderful liturgy and fraternal sharing afterwards. Deborah Tam, a lay Dominican, designed and made the chasuble worn by the Master at Mass. It displayed the steel pan, our national symbol, and Dominican iconography. It was one of the Mission’s gifts to the Master.

The Master mentioned in his homily how, during their days here, he and Fr Thomas were able to see how God was working through the Brothers, Sisters and the rest of the Dominican Family.

In his homily, the Master further said that as preachers of the Gospel, we need to listen with our hearts before we preach. We need to imitate the beloved disciple John, who had one ear attuned to the heartbeat of Jesus and yet his eyes were looking outward.

He likened this to Dominic speaking with God or listening to God and then speaking about God in preaching. This is so important since we can only speak about God or reveal something about God if we truly listen to Him.

Another Dominican, the illustrious Florentine painter, Fr Angelico, once said, “He who does Christ’s work must stay with Christ always.” The Dominican needs to be attuned to the heartbeat of Jesus.

Catherine’s mystical vision of Dominic coming from the chest of Jesus is also a reminder for us Dominicans that no one can reveal the Father unless he comes from the “chest” or heart of the Father, like Jesus.

The challenge for us Dominicans is to understand how to be in communion with God and yet to be open to the world; to contemplate and to give to others the fruits of our contemplation.

That evening the Master met with Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon. The Archbishop’s hospitality was also expressive of our warm, ‘Trini’, welcoming culture. It’s also what makes our local Church a welcoming community.

The Archbishop has the Order in his heart and wants to see it grow and produce fruit that will last. He is anxious about the future of Rosary Monastery and so are we.

He is forever grateful for the sacrifices and contributions of past Dominican missionaries who were exempted from Community life to develop parishes and lay the foundation for building the local Church.

This they did consistently for over 150 years beginning with the French Dominicans and followed by Dominicans from the Province of Ireland. Many are still remembered fondly and with deep appreciation by the people. They were the pioneers and champions of the faith.

Early on Wednesday morning, April 30, when we celebrated Pope St Pius V, a Dominican, the Master with his backpack and small suitcase to serve as carry-on luggage, set out in the community car for the airport.

Guess what! Jai, our community dog was wide awake and accompanied him to the vehicle, symbolic of Dominic’s hound with a flame in its mouth!

The charism of preaching for the salvation of souls is alive in our Dominican Mission in Trinidad and Tobago and the rest of the Caribbean.

The Master came; he saw and reignited the fire by putting fresh zeal and hope in the hearts of all our Brothers and, indeed, all our Dominican Family.

What an amazing experience it has been to meet Dominic in his successor and in knowing that the future is for those who dare to hope!