Where Do Dominicans Preach?

L to R Back row: Claire Fitzgerald, Rosalie Stoner, Nicole Simoneaux L to R Front row: Dominique White, Ellen Yokum, Caroline Reuter

Almost every member of the Dominican community has at some point been asked the infamous question: “So, where do Dominicans preach?” For those who attended the 11th annual Dominican High Schools’ Preaching Conference, the answer is automatic: “Where don’t they preach?” 

At St. Mary’s Dominican High School in New Orleans, Louisiana, members of the Dominican Preaching Team are striving to live up to this motto by bringing the Dominican spirit into more aspects of student life. 

One of the group’s major objectives was to make the Preaching Team a more vocal presence in the school community.  Guided by their moderators, Sr. Pat Harvat, O.P. and Mrs. Marcia Peyton, members have spoken at numerous assemblies, including the Faculty/ Staff Retreat, the Eighth Grade and Freshman Days of Reflection, and the Mass of the Holy Spirit.

Sr. Pat describes these activities as producing “a sense of peer ministry, so that the girls are relating to other girls who are just like them, who have the same ideals, dreams, and struggles as they do at this point in their lives.”

As the girls learned at the Preaching Conference, effective preaching does not always come from a pulpit.  In keeping with the Dominican pillar of Service, the Preaching Team has begun to arrange a fundraiser with the school’s soccer team to support the Nothing-but- Nets Program, a charity they were introduced to at the Conference. Mrs. Peyton remarks, “I am so pleased about our preachers bringing their passion, service to others, to our Athletic Department and subsequently to the entire student body.”

In addition to these formal preaching activities, group members stay informed through periodic meetings, which allow them to plan upcoming events and maintain focus in continuing their mission. Sr. Pat believes that, by becoming a stronger presence in their school, these girls serve as “a visible witness” to the rest of the student body. Whether dressing up as Dominican saints to catch the attention of drowsy underclassmen or attending a podcast on the issue of global poverty, the members of the St. Mary’s Dominican Preaching Team are determined to incorporate the Dominican spirit into their school community with prayer, study, and a whole lot of Veritas.