Lay Fraternities
Among the disciples of Christ, those men and women who live in the world are, by their baptism and confirmation, made sharers in the prophetic, priestly and royal offices of our Lord Jesus Christ. They have as their vocation to radiate the presence of Christ in the midst of the peoples so that the divine message of salvation be known and accepted everywhere by the whole of mankind. (Vatican Council II, Apostolicam Actuositatem, 3). Some among them are moved by the Holy Spirit to live according to the spirit and charism of Saint Dominic, and are incorporated into the Order by special commitment according to statutes of their own. They form communities and, together with other groups in the Order, make up one family. Hence they are marked out by the particular style of their spiritual life and of their service to God and to their neighbour in the Church. As members of the Order, they share its apostolic mission, by study, prayer and preaching in keeping with their state as members of the laity.
Following the example of Saint Dominic, Saint Catherine of Siena and others of our forebears who were shining examples of the life of the Order and the Church, they draw strength from fraternal communion, above all to bear witness to the faith which is theirs, to be sensitive to the needs of people in the present, and to serve truth. They pay careful attention to the principal objectives of the church’s present-day apostolate, and feel a special compulsion to show real compassion for every form of distress, to defend freedom and to promote justice and peace. Inspired by the Order’s charism, they remember always that apostolic work springs from the fullness of contemplation.
(The Rule of the Lay Fraternities of Saint Dominic (Fundamental Constitution))
For more information, visit http://frat.op.org/ and http://3op.org/.
Priestly Fraternities
Priests, set apart in the heart of the people of God, but not separated from the world, are by virtue of their special vocation and ordination fully consecrated to the work of salvation through the fulfillment of the priestly ministry as “witnesses and stewards of a life other than the life here on earth” (Presbyterium Ordinis, 3).
Hence there is a special reason why they are not to become conformed to this worlda but to use all their faculties in a constant effort to acquire evangelical perfection, so that they may always be more configured to Christ in their minds and become living instruments of his eternal priesthood, with a view to building up his Church in the world.
Those, however, who, urged by supernatural grace, enroll in the Order of Saint Dominic, profess a rule of perfection suited to their state. In this way they become members of special communities called “the Priestly Fraternities of Saint Dominic” and add a new reason for pursuing greater perfection before God and the world.
Along with the special grace of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, which helps these priests to perform the acts of the sacred ministry worthily, they receive new spiritual helps from the profession which makes them members of the Dominican Family and sharers in the grace and mission of the Order to the sure advantage of the local and universal Church.
However, while the Order provides them with these spiritual aids and directs them to their own sanctification, it leaves them free for the complete service of the local Church, under the jurisdiction of their own Bishop.
(Foreward, Rule for the Priestly Fraternities of Saint Dominic)