Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Catholic News

Home

Home
Catholic
Religion News
Dominican carolers bring joy of Christmas to downtown DC

Dominican carolers bring joy of Christmas to downtown DC

Last updated on: December 24, 2013 at 4:54 pm by CNA Daily News

Dominican carolers bring joy of Christmas to downtown DC 2013-12-24T16:54:00+00:00 CNA Daily News

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Washington D.C., Dec 24, 2013 / 09:54 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Passers-by stopped for a moment to pause and listen in the busy streets of Washington, D.C., as Dominican brothers, sisters and friars gathered in joyful song to wish people a Merry Christmas.

One observer, John Cherry of Washington, D.C., described the scene as “very soothing to my spirit.”

He told CNA that religious brothers and sisters represent the “call of the future” of the Christian Church.

“The purpose of Jesus is to come and let the light shine in the darkness,” he continued, saying that the Dominicans’ singing offered a reminder of this in an often busy and sometimes difficult city.

Student brothers and friars from the Dominican House of Studies, along with Dominican sisters from the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecelia and the Dominican Sisters of Mary, took a short ride from their Washington, D.C. priory and convent to sing Advent and Christmas carols to people walking the downtown streets on Dec. 16.

Some of the friars, brothers and sisters also stopped to talk to the people walking by, praying with them, answering their questions about Catholicism and the meaning of Christmas, and handing out crucifixes blessed by Pope Francis.

Asdrubal Mencia, a D.C. resident and member of the Knights of Columbus at his local parish, said that while he had heard there were religious brothers and sisters in the city, this was his first time seeing them.

They have a “great tone,” he observed, but added that there was also a quality to their singing that he could not quite describe.

“It’s something joyful,” he said, a type of warmth. “I like it! It’s excellent.”

Bridget Boland and Branan Durbin – childhood friends who both attended a Dominican-run high school in Baltimore – explained that they had come specifically “to hang out with the Dominicans” during winter break at their colleges.

“It’s so cool to see them interact with everyone,” said Durbin, explaining that she loves to “see them talking to the little kids” and “out in the community.”

Boland added that the Dominicans offer a “really beautiful witness” and way of “teaching people about the Gospel.”

“They want to be with people, they want to share their faith,” she said. “It’s too much to keep inside – they want to spread it to the world.”

Br. Vincent Ferrer Bagan, O.P., who led the choir, explained that the brothers and sisters hoped to reach people by singing “songs of Christmas joy.”

This is the second consecutive year that the brothers have gone caroling downtown. The tradition began as a student activity for the Year of Faith.

“One of the brothers came up with the idea,” Br. Bagan said, and the other brothers agreed it was a good idea to take to the streets “in the spirit of the New Evangelization” in order to “remind people of the reality of God in the world” around Christmas.

Last year, Br. Bagan noted, the brothers picked Advent and Christmas hymns that they were familiar with and “practiced for about an hour” to prepare for caroling. After receiving many requests for other classic Christmas tunes, they incorporated additional songs such as “Feliz Navidad” into their song list.

Fr. Benedict Croell, O.P., vocations director for the Dominican province of St. Joseph, which has jurisdiction over the eastern United States, said that the event is “part of a larger effort of the younger brothers to try to figure out how to engage the larger culture” and help “put evangelization into action.”

Throughout the year, he said, the brothers seek ways “to be human” to people who have little interaction with the Catholic faith. Other efforts to reach out include talking to members of secular societies on college campuses and playing bluegrass in New York’s Central Park.

“You do something cultural or creative or something and people start talking,” he explained, adding that the caroling trip is a method of evangelization in tune with the order’s charism of being “out with people and engaged in the culture.”

“We want to bring the Gospel to people. The humanity which all of us share and the recognition of who God is,” Fr. Croell stressed, “is what we want to witness to.”

Still, the priest explained, “there’s no kind of grand scheme” to events like the downtown caroling.

“Our effort was simply to spread some Christmas cheer,” he said. “We’re just here to wish you a Merry Christmas.”

Previous Post

December 23, 2013

US budget plan compromise met with mixed reception

Next Post

December 24, 2013 Jesus is 'meaning of life, history,' Pope preaches on Christmas

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Americas Asia - Pacific Europe Middle East - Africa Uncategorized US Vatican

Select a Month November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What was the first miracle Jesus performed according to John's Gospel?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Turning water into wine Raising Lazarus Feeding the 5000 Walking on water