NYC Lay Dominicans-Rose Hawthorne/St.Catherine of Siena

08/08/2026

The Dominican Province of St. Joseph wishes you a very happy and grace-filled Solemnity of St. Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers!

Who can tell us what the object of love was for Saint Dominic in those nights of penance and prayer passed in tears at the foot of the altar?

It was God, preferred above all, loved more than all, with undivided heart, yet with no exclusions—for this love embraced, elevated, and intensified all legitimate affections.

In the fire of charity, these affections became an ardent and consuming thirst for the salvation of souls.
—Fr. Réginald Marie Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P.

Holy Father Dominic, pray for us!

08/04/2026

Holiness stopped feeling like a mountain the moment he stopped looking up at it.

For a long time, sanctity can seem like something reserved for others—the mystics, the martyrs, the ones set apart. We imagine it demands a kind of heroism we could never manage, a joyless climbing toward a summit always out of reach. So we admire the saints from a distance and quietly assume the door is closed to us.

But St. Dominic discovered the opposite. Holiness is not a burden laid on top of an already heavy life; it is the lightening of that life. To be a saint is simply to let God have you completely—and in that surrender comes a happiness the world cannot give. The longing he felt was not anxiety but invitation. Once he saw how near God was, the whole thing turned to joy.

That same door stands open for you. Sainthood is not a distant prize but your truest calling, and heaven is closer than you think.

"I feel I simply must be a Saint."

08/03/2026

Please join us in praying the Novena to St. Dominic via Zoom

We will meet at 8:30 PM each evening, starting Friday, July 31, 2026 and ending Saturday, August 8, 2026.

Zoom Meeting Info:

Join the Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89990740751?pwd=Jb8YotmG0mfbUrxYuPEEZbc9akKgT9.1

Meeting ID: 899 9074 0751
Passcode: 711966

One tap mobile
+16469313860,,89990740751 #,,,,*711966 # US
+16468769923,,89990740751 #,,,,*711966 # US (New York)

For further information, contact Jennifer Castellano at [email protected]

Here is the format we will follow each evening:

Novena to St. Dominic (PD, p. 74)
Dominican Rosary, followed by the Prayer to St. Joseph (PD, p. 67)
Prayers for the Deceased: Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, and De Profundis: (PSALM 130) (PD, p. 75)
Litany of St. Dominic (PD, p. 73)

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07/30/2026

Same Cross, Different Heart

Some trials become heavier because we fight them only with our own strength.

Venerable Louis of Granada reminds us:

“The trials of this life cease to oppress us when we seek them and receive them for the love of God.”

Trials do not always stop hurting. But when they come, and when they are received in union with the Passion of Christ, suffering can acquire a new meaning and stop crushing the heart with despair.

Catholic spirituality teaches that Christians are not called to seek pain for its own sake, but to offer suffering in union with the Cross, so that it becomes a participation in Christ’s saving work and bears fruit through perseverance and love.

The cross may remain heavy, but the heart changes when it carries it with God.

Before the trial breaks your peace, offer it to God.

Lord, teach us to receive our crosses with faith, patience, hope, and love.

07/30/2026

“Service belongs to Martha, contemplation to Mary, and penance to Lazarus.”
St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Today we celebrate the feast of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, the beloved friends of Jesus from Bethany. In 2021, Pope Francis expanded this memorial to honor all three siblings together, highlighting the beautiful witness they give to the Christian life.

As St. Bernard beautifully reminds us, each sibling reflects a different path of discipleship. Martha shows us faithful service. Mary teaches us to sit at the feet of Christ in prayer and contemplation. Lazarus reminds us of conversion, new life, and the power of Christ to call us out of the tomb. Together, they reveal that following Jesus isn’t just about doing one thing well. It’s about serving Him, listening to Him, and allowing Him to transform us.

May our homes become like Bethany, places where Christ is always welcomed and where friendship with Him is at the center of everything we do.

06/24/2026

Today the Church celebrates the Nativity of St. John the Baptist — the voice crying out in the wilderness, preparing the way for Jesus Christ.

Jesus Himself said, “Among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.” Matthew 11:11

John’s whole life pointed away from himself and toward Christ: “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

May we have the courage to do the same.

St. John the Baptist, pray for us.

06/13/2026

❤️ June 13 – Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Today we honor the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a heart filled with perfect love for God, deep compassion for humanity, and complete obedience to His will. This feast reminds us to imitate Mary's purity, humility, and unwavering faith, entrusting our lives to her maternal care and asking her to lead us closer to Jesus Christ.

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

06/12/2026

Three Important Lessons from the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The Sacred Heart of Jesus—pierced, crowned with thorns, and burning with love—is far more than a devotional image. It reveals the depth of God's love and teaches us how to live as His disciples.

1. Authentic Love Demands Sacrifice

The Sacred Heart is shown exposed and wounded, reminding us that genuine love involves risk. To truly love means being willing to endure hurt, rejection, or misunderstanding for the good of others. Christ shows us that sacrificial love is not weakness but the highest expression of love.

2. True Strength is Found in Humility

Jesus invites us: *“Learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart”* (Matthew 11:29). The Sacred Heart teaches that real strength is not found in power, control, or pride, but in humility, patience, and selfless service. Gentle hearts often possess the greatest courage.

3. God's Love Can Transform Suffering

Surrounded by thorns and crowned by the Cross, the Sacred Heart still burns with an unquenchable flame of love. It reminds us that suffering does not have the final word. When united with Christ, our trials can become channels of grace, mercy, and compassion for ourselves and for others.

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus teach us to love more deeply, serve more humbly, and trust more completely in His divine mercy. ❤️🙏

06/04/2026

From June 3-11, pray the Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as we prepare for the consecration of the United States of America to the Sacred Heart. 🙏

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy!

Read more: https://www.usccb.org/consecration-united-states-sacred-heart-jesus

06/02/2026

Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Justin Martyr (c. 100-165), patron of apologists and philosophers (June 1). St. Justin Martyr, pray for us.

Born and raised in Nablus (near biblical Shechem) in Samaria, Justin became convinced that Christ’s coming brought about the fulfillment of countless oracles from the prophets of ancient Israel:

"There existed, long before our time, certain men more ancient than all those who are esteemed philosophers, both righteous and beloved by God, who spoke by the Divine Spirit, and foretold events which would take place, and which are now taking place. They are called prophets…. Their writings are still extant, and he who has read them is very much helped in his knowledge of the beginning and end of things. . . And those events which have happened, and those which are happening, compel you to assent to the utterances made by them” (Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, ch. 7).

Justin identifies many specific instances of Jesus fulfilling OT prophecy, including:

Bethlehem as the place of His birth (Micah 5:2);

He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14);

His entry into Jerusalem on the foal of an ass (Zechariah 9:9);

Many particular details of His life, ministry, suffering, death and resurrection (Psalms 22, 69; Isaiah 53, Daniel 7);

The destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in AD 70 (Daniel 9).

Likewise, Justin teaches the Eucharist is the fulfillment of prophecy (Malachi 1:11), and is among the earliest voices to profess the Real Presence of the flesh and blood of Jesus in the Eucharist.

"And this food is called among us Εὐχαριστία [the Eucharist] ... For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh” (First Apology, 66).

St. Justin Martyr, pray for us to share and defend the Faith — and to live it — like you.