Setting the World on Fire: Lay Dominican Preachers as Grace in the World, Gift for the Church
()
About this ebook
Preaching does not occur solely within liturgical settings, or only via pulpit preachers. All Dominicans, as members of the Order of Preachers, are called to embody the Sacra Praedicatio--the Sacred Preaching. In fact, canon law does permit laity to preach in certain liturgical settings. Setting the World on Fire details one Roman Catholic woman's experience of her own call to preach, the grace and gifts brought to both the preacher and the assembly, as well as her desire to help all Dominicans--and indeed, all Christians--embrace their rightful role as "preachers."
Laura R. Dejmek
Laura R. Dejmek, OP, is a member of the Order of Preachers as a Lay Dominican. She currently serves as the Promoter of Preaching for Lay Dominicans in the Central Province (USA). Laura holds a doctorate of ministry in preaching and preaches regularly at both Roman Catholic and Episcopal parishes in the Chicago area, as well as online. In addition to her preaching ministry, she is also a full-time elementary school music teacher.
Related to Setting the World on Fire
Related ebooks
A Progressive Voice in the Catholic Church in the United States: Association of Pittsburgh Priests, 1966–2019 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDeacons and Vatican II: The Making of a Servant Church Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Unique Charism of Diocesan Priestly Spirituality Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFlawed Church, Faithful God: A Reformed Ecclesiology for the Real World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAfter Pandemic, After Modernity: The Relational Revolution Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWitness: Learning to Tell the Stories of Grace That Illumine Our Lives Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Aquinas, Science, and Human Uniqueness: An Integrated Approach to the Question of What Makes Us Human Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Funny Thing Happened on My Way Through the Bible Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTheology in Practice: A Beginner's Guide to the Spiritual Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Forgotten Jesuit of Catholic Modernism: George Tyrrell's Prophetic Theology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom Monks to Missionaries: Schools of Spirituality in the Christian Tradition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Rise of Bishops: From Parish Leaders to Regional Governors Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAfrican Catholic Priests: Confronting an Identity Problem Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Morally Divided Body: Ethical Disagreement and the Disunity of the Church Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBe Merciful: Reflections on the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsApproach to Prayer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHoliness through Work: Commemorating the Encyclical Laborem Exercens Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTheological Fragments: Confessing What We Know and Cannot Know about an Infinite God Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Oxford Reformers: John Colet, Erasmus, and Thomas More Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsScattered and Gathered: Catholics in Diaspora Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Chief End of Man Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConfronting the Idols of Our Age Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOutpouring: A Theological Witness Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLittle Flowers for God: Collected Poetry Volume I Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Logic of Intersubjectivity: Brian McLaren’s Philosophy of Christian Religion Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Living Tradition: Catholic Social Doctrine and Holy See Diplomacy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEvangelicalism Is Dead Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhat Do You Seek?: The Questions of Jesus as Challenge and Promise Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEleven Cardinals Speak on Marriage and the Family: Essays from a Pastoral Viewpoint Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5God Matters Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Christianity For You
The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Enoch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Holy Bible (World English Bible, Easy Navigation) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winning the War in Your Mind Workbook: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Your Brain's Not Broken: Strategies for Navigating Your Emotions and Life with ADHD Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Bible Recap: A One-Year Guide to Reading and Understanding the Entire Bible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It's Not Supposed to Be This Way: Finding Unexpected Strength When Disappointments Leave You Shattered Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Screwtape Letters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex: Creating a Marriage That's Both Holy and Hot Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mere Christianity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Changes That Heal: Four Practical Steps to a Happier, Healthier You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Four Loves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Grief Observed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Boundaries Workbook: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Habits of the Household: Practicing the Story of God in Everyday Family Rhythms Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Setting the World on Fire
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Setting the World on Fire - Laura R. Dejmek
Setting the World on Fire
Lay Dominican Preachers as Grace in the World, Gift for the Church
flame_black_white_line_art_coloring_book_colouring-1969px.pngLaura R. Dejmek, OP
Foreword by Donald Goergen, OP
11593.pngSetting the World on Fire
Lay Dominican Preachers as Grace in the World, Gift for the Church
Copyright © 2014 Laura R. Dejmek. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright 1989, 1993. Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV
and New International Version
are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
Scripture taken from the New King James Version (NKJV). Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Wipf and Stock
An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers
199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3
Eugene, OR 97401
www.wipfandstock.com
ISBN 13: 978–1–62564–153–3
EISBN 13: 978-1-63087-478-0
Manufactured in the U.S.A. 04/14/2014
To my family: here on earth and at home with God
—both human and four footed—
but especially my mom, Patricia Dejmek-Crotty
and to
my fellow Lay Dominicans, and all people called to preach.
May our lives reflect the Sacred Preaching.
Laudare, Benedicere, Praedicare.
God saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to divine purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.
2 Tim 1:9, adapted from NRSV
Foreword
by Donald Goergen, OP, PhD
The Order of Preachers, founded by St. Dominic in 1216, and better known as Dominicans, comprises several branches, which include approximately six thousand friars, close to three thousand cloistered nuns, as well as twenty-four thousand apostolic Dominican sisters. There are, however, 150 thousand Lay Dominicans. Yet we do not as often here their voice, especially not their voice as preachers. Thus it is a welcomed note to have Laura Dejmek’s brief but substantive treatment of the preaching charism as it is manifest among Lay Dominicans and which ought to inform the Lay Dominican vocation as well as that of the friars, nuns, and sisters. Like Catherine of Siena, another Lay Dominican, Laura longs to set the world on fire through preaching.
Dejmek addresses the questions of the Lay Dominican’s vocation to preach, preaching from within the context of one’s life experience, the canonical context for lay preaching, the theological implications and foundations of such, along with practical aids and suggestions. Hers is a passionate, practical and substantive treatment.
There are many questions, and many that the Order of Preachers itself has been asking for years now. Is there a role for lay preaching in the Church? What would this look like? Is there a place for laity preaching within a liturgical context? Is the call to preach intrinsic to the call to a Dominican way of life? Is there any connection between profession as a member of the Order of Preachers and the preaching vocation? Indeed, wrestling with these questions takes us to the very heart of the matter: What is preaching? What role does evangelization play in the life and mission of the Church? Dejmek guides us through a reflection on all of these questions.
She is well acquainted with her sources, and a wide variety of them, and responsive to the many questions that people will have, including those of Dominicans and especially lay Dominicans. Preaching, even among Dominicans, can be misconstrued as implying only or primarily preaching during the Eucharistic Assembly. But as one of my confreres likes to say, We are not an Order of Homileticians but an Order of Preachers.
Sisters, nuns, lay persons, and cooperator brothers among the friars are all essential to the Order in this respect as well as in many others. They remind us that our theology of preaching must embrace a wider understanding of the communication of God’s Word.
What does it mean to preach? To be a preacher? The words can have their negative connotations. How often we hear the word preachy
as a denunciation of something that seems parental or moralistic rather than an appreciation of preaching as reverencing and communicating God’s Word. After all, preaching is the way in which Jesus Himself saw much of His ministry. Let us go on to the nearby villages that I might preach there also. For this purpose have I come
(Mark 1:38). The Synoptic vision of Jesus is that of one who preaches, heals, names, and drives out demons.
At the same time as we don’t desire preachy preaching, we recognize the importance of preaching in the life of the Church. How many studies have shown this! And for how long now have we not heard from different popes the importance of evangelization, from Pope Paul VI’s Evangelii Nuntiandi to Pope John Paul II’s call for a new evangelization recently emphasized by Pope Francis as well. And how are they to believe if they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?
Paul queries (Rom 10:14–15). It is thus that Dejmek takes up crucial questions and widens the space of our tents
(Isa 54:2).
Acknowledgments
I am profoundly grateful to God for the gift of faith, baptism, the charism of preaching, and my vocation to the Order of Preachers.
I have so many people to thank for their assistance on my preaching journey, and, more specifically, the culmination of this book. I wish to express my gratitude to Donald Goergen for agreeing to write the foreword to this book. By doing so, I have experienced your support of the preaching charism of Lay Dominicans. I am indebted to Thomas Kerber for providing beneficial feedback, disputatio, and clarification as I endeavor to become a better preacher, and a more consistent disciple of Christ. The responsiveness and support I have received from my own Lay Dominican community—Blessed Fra Angelico Pro Chapter—has brought me immense joy.
To the people of Sts. Joseph and Aidan Episcopal Church and St. Clement Episcopal Church: words are inadequate to express my profound gratitude for supporting me, providing insights, and helping me to become a better preacher. Thank you, all, for welcoming me to preach at in your parishes, to become part of your lives, and accepting this Roman Catholic just as I am, Communion canonical restrictions, and all. My thanks to my friend Barbara Gustafson, who was one of the first to believe that I should, and could, have a viable preaching ministry, and took steps that it could become a reality. The Episcopal Communion has a special place in my heart due to all of you.
My family and special circle of friends: your support along this journey has meant the world to me. I am blessed to have each of you in my life. Thank you for celebrating with me in this endeavor.
Abbreviations
Documents of Vatican II (1962–1965)
AA Apostolicam Actuositatem (Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People)
DV Dei Verbum (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation)
GS Gaudium et Spes (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World)
LG Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church)
SC Sacrosanctum Concilium (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy)
Other Documents of the Magisterium
CCC Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992)
CIC Codex Iuris Canonici (The Code of Canon Law)
CL Christifideles Laici (The Vocation and Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World, Pope John Paul II, 1988)
EG Evangelli Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis, 2013)
EN Evangelii Nuntiandi (Evangelization in the Modern World, Pope Paul VI, 1975)
RS Redemptionis Sacramentum (On Certain Matters to Be Observed or Avoided regarding the Most Holy Eucharist, Card. Francis Arinze, prefect, 2004)
Biblical Translation Abbreviations
KJV King James Version
NIV New International Version
NRSV New Revised Standard Version
Other Abbreviations
AAS Acta Apostolicae Sedis (Acts of the Apostolic See)
USCCB United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Chapter 1
Lay Dominicans’ Preaching Vocation
Then I heard the voice of the LORD saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?
And I said, Here am I; send me!
Isa 6:8
Introduction
Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.
¹ These words of Saint Catherine of Siena may be directed to all people—not only Dominicans. Who is the person God is calling you to be? What is God’s dream for each of us? For a person entering the Order of Preachers (a.k.a. the Dominicans), God is calling that person to become a preacher. Preaching is the charism that all Dominicans are called to embrace—not solely the ordained friars. All Dominicans are charged to become an expression of the Sacred Preaching.² Dominican communities, as well as the lives of individual Dominicans, strive to embody the sacred mission of the Order of Preachers—the Sacra Praedicatio. The Sacred Preaching
can be defined as a way of living. It encompasses not only what is said or preached, but everything a Dominican does—their work, family or community life, personal actions, or ministries. The words and actions of all Dominicans are sacredly woven together by the Holy One to form the Sacred Preaching.
Most Lay Dominicans are comfortable with the idea that their actions and verbal witness within the world are part of the holy threads that comprise the Sacred Preaching. Fewer are comfortable envisioning themselves as a preacher in the traditional, liturgical sense. Some Lay Dominicans are concerned that lay liturgical preaching may be contrary to Church teaching. This simply is not the case; there are licit avenues for lay liturgical preachers, which will be discussed further in chapter 3. In the midst of canonical confusion, and sometimes inconsistent Church support, discerning a vocation to become a lay liturgical preacher in the Roman Catholic Church can seem a fearsome, daunting, even an overwhelming call.
When receiving God’s call to preach, it is not one that can be easily ignored.³ Upon learning of my acceptance into a doctor of ministry in preaching program, a retired Roman Catholic bishop assured me of his prayers and mused: "Are preachers