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The Winter 2012 issue of Dominicana, the journal of the student brothers of the Province of St. Joseph, is now available, featuring articles on the temperance of St. Thomas Aquinas, the humble example of St. Martin de Porres, Pope Benedict and his favorite boyhood teddy bear, the Year of Faith, an interview with the philosopher Roger Scruton, original prose and poetry, book reviews, and more. Read the opening editorial below. Subscribe here.

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Faith, hope, and love, these three remain, and though love is the greatest of these, faith is the first. In faith, we hear Truth himself speak, and we know his word is true. In faith, we hear him promise, “I am with you always,” and we know his word is true. In faith, we hear him say, “Greater love than this hath no man . . .” and we know his word is true. Faith places before our minds the ground of our hope and the object of our love, and this is nothing less than God himself. In this sense, faith is truly the beginning of the Christian life.

In commemoration of the opening of the new academic year at the Dominican House of Studies, we invite you to revisit an article published in the Winter 2011 issue of Dominicana: ✠ J. Augustine Di Noia, O.P., “Theological Method and the Magisterium of the Church,” Dominicana 54:2 (2011) 51-61.

In this article, Archbishop Di Noia shows that the Magisterium is not merely an intrusive, external authority, as it is often portrayed. By working and thinking within the framework established by the Magisterium, the intellectual integrity of Catholic theologians is safeguarded and fostered, not undermined. This article complements the Archbishop’s article “Discere et Docere: The Identity and Mission of the Dominican House of Studies in the Twenty-First Century,” which appeared in The Thomist 73:1 (2009) 111-127.

The students at the Dominican House of Studies ask our readers to keep us in your prayers as we continue our formation within the Dominican theological tradition this academic year.

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Image: Archbishop Di Noia preaching at 2012 Ordination Mass for the Province of St. Joseph at St. Dominic’s Church in Washington, DC.

On Friday, June 29, the DC area was hit by an unexpected storm that has left the nation’s capital strewn with downed trees and over 40,000 of its homes without power. The Dominican House of Studies is one of those homes. This has its advantages—prayer by candlelight and the fun of pretending to be a character in an Umberto Eco novel—but it has its disadvantages as well, one of which is our inability to process Dominicana blog posts. We’re working on a solution, but we may not be able to have any new posts until our power comes back.

We appreciate your patience and your prayers!

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Image: National Geographic, Lightning Storm During a Volcanic Eruption in Chile

As a gesture of support for the bishops’ Fortnight of Freedom, during which Americans have been called to be vigilant in prayer and public action for the cause of religious freedom, Dominicana will provide free access to “Salt and Light: An Interview with Chris Smith” from today until July 4.

“Salt and Light” is one of the feature articles from the Summer 2012 issue of the semi-annual print journal Dominicana. In the interview, Brs. Mario Calabrese, O.P., and Thomas More Garrett, O.P., discuss the pressing questions surrounding the public life of Catholics in contemporary America with one of our country’s great experts on the question, Congressman Chris Smith. Chris Smith has served in Congress since 1980 and has been co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus since 1982. He has also distinguished himself as an advocate of human rights in many different fields, authoring innumerable laws to protect Americans’ authentic freedom.

The interview deals with the successes and failures of Catholic politicians, the circumstances of the Obama mandate on contraception, the prevailing political climate regarding religious freedom, and more.

Enjoy the free article! If you would like to subscribe to the journal, you can do so here. The cost is $15 per year for a print subscription (which includes online access) or $8 per year for only online access. Gift subscriptions are also available.

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Image: Canaletto, Ruins of the Forum Looking Towards the Capitol

Just in time for June, the Summer 2012 issue of Dominicana has arrived! Individual subscribers should receive their copies within two weeks. Online subscribers can access the journal right now using their individual or parish usernames and passwords here, or by selecting the Summer issue from the “Journal” tab above.

The new issue includes an interview with Congressman Chris Smith about religion, politics, and public life, a debate about the New Evangelization, a review of Richard Dawkins’ The Magic of Reality, an analysis of the Bible’s translation to Kindle format, original fiction and poetry, and more.

As a special bonus to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the revival of Dominicana, we have also added free online access to all of volume 54, including both the Spring 2011 issue and the Winter 2011 issue.

Not a subscriber yet? Never fear! Subscribe here for either the print or the online version of the journal. Alternatively, for the print journal send a check for $15 addressed to “Dominican Students” to Dominicana editor, 487 Michigan Ave NE, Washington, DC 20017. Gift subscriptions are available here.

Also note that all print subscribers automatically have free access to the online journal for the duration of their subscription. To receive your online username and password, please contact us at dominicanadhs@gmail.com. If you are an online subscriber but have forgotten your username or password, you can get a new one here.

With the approach of Christmas, some of our readers have inquired about the possibility of taking out gift subscriptions for their friends and relatives to the print edition of Dominicana. It is possible to do this either by check or credit card for $15 per subscription.

To pay by credit card, click here. First, enter the total amount you would like to pay ($15 for each subscription). After entering your PayPal account information or credit card number, click on the words “Write the names and addresses here” and enter the names and addresses of the people you would like to subscribe.

To pay by check, write to Dominicana Editor, 487 Michigan Ave, NE, Washington, DC, making the check payable to “Dominican Studentate.” Please include the names and addresses of the people you would like to subscribe.

It is also possible to buy individual copies of the Winter 2011 issue from Amazon.com.

Image: Adoration of the Magi, Cathédrale St-Lazare, Autun, France

The Winter 2011 issue of Dominicana, the journal of the Dominican student brothers, is now available. Special articles in this edition include a debate about the evangelical uses of the internet, an interview with Fr. James Schall, SJ, and an article about the magisterium by Archbishop Augustine Di Noia, OP, in addition to a wide range of other original writings by the Dominican student brothers. You may see excerpts of the Winter 2011 issue, or you may register for online access for a modest fee. Subscribe today to receive a printed copy of the latest issue!

Fr. Walter Farrell, O.P. (1902-1951), is best known today for his books My Way of Life and the Companion to the Summa, as well as for founding The Thomist in 1939. Before undertaking these efforts, however, Farrell developed his literary talents as editor of Dominicana during his time as a student brother at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC. (Farrell later joined the Province of St. Albert the Great after its foundation in 1939.)

Today, on the anniversary of his death in 1951, we are happy to present an article by Walter Farrell from the March 1926 issue of Dominicana where he describes the origins of the publication: “Retrospect,” Dominicana 11:1 (1926) 5-8.

If you would like to support the renewed efforts of the Dominican student brothers to publish Dominicana in the blog and journal formats, please consider subscribing or donating.

Below is an excerpt from Br. Raymund Snyder’s article, “Saints, Criminals, and the Blood,” in the upcoming Winter 2011 issue of Dominicana. To subscribe to Dominicana, click here.

St. Therese of Lisieux is renowned as a model of child-like innocence, so it may seem surprising that the first person to convert through her potent intercession, Henri Pranzini, was a criminal sentenced to death. St. Catherine of Siena likewise attended to three criminals sentenced to the same fate and by her fervent prayer obtained their conversion. One of these criminals, Niccolo di Toldo, she even accompanied up the execution scaffold, catching his head in her hands as it was cut from his body, rejoicing to see her white scapular spattered with his blood.

Why did Therese, the “Doctor of the Little Way” and light of purity and innocence, adopt as her first spiritual “child” a man whose sins were so great she could only mention them indirectly as “some horrible crimes”? And likewise, why did Catherine, the Seraphic virgin, take such an interest in criminals that she even rejoiced in di Toldo’s blood? Either of these accounts seems unlikely enough on its own, so why do we find virtually the same experience shared by these two doctrices of the Church?

Below is an excerpt from Br. Albert Duggan’s article, “Our Consciences, Our Selves,” in the upcoming Winter 2011 issue of Dominicana. To subscribe to Dominicana, click here.

Many have come to regard freedom of conscience as a threat to individual rights. This has played itself out most recently in the debate over the implementation of federal health-care reform legislation that would require most private health-insurance plans to cover artificial contraception and sterilization procedures, since federal guidelines classify them as essential “preventive services” for women. What is most worrisome is that there is little allowance made for insurers and health-care institutions to refuse to offer such services on moral or religious grounds.

This case calls forth the broader question of conscience and the extent to which individuals and organizations should be allowed to refuse to offer services that violate their consciences. These days, this question seems to be debated most vigorously in the area of health care, but it is relevant to many other professions as well. Those opposed to protections for conscientious objection argue that when health-care providers refuse to offer a service or procedure on moral grounds (e.g., a physician who refuses to refer a patient for an elective hysterectomy, or a pharmacist who refuses to fill a prescription for emergency contraception), they deny women their “right” to such services.