 |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
DCRD Celebrates 25 Years of Ministry
On September 25, 2005 we celebrated our 25th anniversary of the founding of the Dominican Center for Religious Development with a dinner program. A special feature of the evening was honoring Sister Charlotte Hoefer as the founder of the Center and as a sustaining presence of the Center.
See our Gallery of Pictures from this wonderful event
We have been enjoying ministry at our new site, St. Paul of the Cross Retreat Center, for about a year. We can’t stop thanking God for the gracious welcome we have received from everyone associated with this dear and holy place. We feel so blest to be doing our ministry in a quiet and reflective atmosphere that makes it possible for believers to pray and to live according to St. Dominic’s goal for his followers, “To contemplate and to give others the fruits of contemplation.”
Dominic de Guzman, born in the 12th century, was a priest of a small Spanish town. His is a vision to which we can still respond with energy after nearly a millennium, despite the fact that he lived in a different culture, a distant century, spoke another language, led no nation and left no written works. Dominic still inspires us because of his enormous imagination, his great heart for ministry, his solid belief in learning, his genuine love for the poor (once selling his hand bound books to feed the hungry) and his energy for God that led him to walk from Spain to France to Italy numerous times, to teach, heal and establish a community of preachers who could help people come to know their God.
What makes Dominic an especially appropriate patron for our work as spiritual directors is his belief that all people were created with a wonderful capacity for a deep and abiding relationship with a God who loves all humankind to excess. It is our role to assist believers to become aware of this relationship, to enjoy God and to respond to God’s loving presence and action in their lives. We see our ministry as especially important in these troubled times when the misery of a war torn world makes sustaining hope difficult.