REFLECTION FROM BARRY REINHOLTZ
OHIO DOMINICAN

“How I Feel About…Beginning Dominican Young Adults.”

For years, a movement has existed in the international community- a movement which has brought change and revitalization into the Church, particularly within the Dominican Order. Dominican Young Adults of the International Dominican Youth Movement have ushered in a new period of the Order- one in which a particular group of the laity can make a special connection with a tradition begun nearly eight hundred years ago. Their desire to praise, bless, and preach in the footsteps of the Dominican tradition has united them from countries across the world- rallying one another in their common charism and call, working to aid those in need, and preaching with the light of their lives.

At last, this movement has officially found a home in America. In July, Dominican Young Adults from across the country met at Ohio Dominican University to decide if they should announce their commitment to the IDYM. These students- whose hometowns and lives varied as much as Ohio weather- came to the conclusion that now was the time to commit themselves to a calling that brought them onto the world scene. Granted, the group which met each day at the Martin de Porres Center was no larger than fifty people, yet it is their conviction which makes them all the more powerful. The formation of these far-flung American Dominicans into a united body- one which is to represent the hopes and convictions of their peers across the country -is no small matter. Simply creating a group is one matter- creating one which is active in the world and carries out God’s will in it is an entirely different one.

As part of this movement, I want you to know we exist. I want you to know that all we do in the ministries we carry out at our respective campus’, and our mission to be a light in this nation which is often so dark, will be taken seriously. “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” Christ declares the importance of our conversion to Him, and it is to this conversion that we Dominican Young Adults must daily convict ourselves. It is my hope that you will be hearing of us in the future- not that our works will be grandiose or appreciated for the world‘s sake, but simply that we are working for Christ’s.