HOMILY OR ALLOCUTION
After this, those to be professed also sit down and the priest gives a homily in which he fittingly highlights both the biblical readings and the particular nature of the secular vocation of members of Fraternities of Saint Dominic.
What do you seek?
All reply together: God’s mercy and yours.1
Or, if it is preferred, omitting the questioning by the Presider, one of those to be professed, standing facing the Presider, may make the request on behalf of all in these or similar words:
Through the mercy of God, This candidate has come to know the Rule handed down to her and has fraternally spent a time of probation with us. We ask of you ………..(name of the moderator), Moderator of …………(name of the chapter),
that she might make the profession of evangelical life in the Dominican Family, in the manner proper to us, and that she might be incorporated into the Dominican Laity, so that they may be made partakers in the sweetness of community2 and the mission of the Order.
The Presider and all present respond in these or similar words: Thanks be to God.
EXAMINATION
After the sermon, those to be professed rise and, if desired, light a candle from the flame of the paschal candle or altar candle, which they will hold in their hands until the offertory procession. Then the Celebrant asks them about their intention, using the questions that following or others similar.
Celebrant: Dearly beloved, In baptism you have been consecrated to God by water and the spirit; Are you resolved to be more closely bound to Christ and the service of the Church by a new title of profession of evangelical life?3
Those to be professed reply together: I am, with God’s help and yours.4
Celebrant: Are you resolved to walk in newness of life, according to the apostolic concept proposed by Saint Dominic, as announcers of the Gospel following the footsteps of your Savior?5
Those to be professed: I am, with God’s help and yours.
Celebrant: Are you resolved, as you serve God and neighbor, to be of one mind with the Church, and, as members of the Order, to share in its apostolic mission by prayer, study and preaching, according to your lay state in life?6
Those to be professed: I am, with God’s help and yours.
Then the Presider confirms their intention, saying: May the Lord who has begun this good work, bring it to completion.7
All: Amen.
INVOCATION OF DIVINE GRACE
After the examination is finished, a prayer of supplication may be offered for the brothers and sisters, especially if it is a matter of perpetual profession.
For the supplication all rise. The priest, standing with hands joined, turns to the people and says:
Beloved brothers and sisters, let us prayer to God the Father, to pour out upon these sons and daughters of his,
who have been called to a fuller following of Christ, the grace of his blessing. In God’s loving kindness, may they be confirmed in their holy intent.
Immediately afterward, the priest invites those present to pray, saying: Let us pray.
All pray a while in silence. Then the priest says: Look down, we beseech you, O Lord, on your daughter who today professes with a repentant heart the life of the Gospel. Grant that the grace of Baptism, which she wishes to strengthen by new bonds, may take full effect in her, so that, strengthened by the aid of the Holy Spirit, she may render due worship to your majesty and spread the reign of Christ with apostolic zeal. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
R/. Amen.
PROFESSION
After these prayers, the Presider who is to receive the profession goes to the chair especially prepared for the reception of the profession.Then each of the novices, kneeling before the Presider, makes profession. In making the profession, the following formula should be used or one substantially similar:
To the honor of almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and of Blessed Mary the Virgin and Saint Dominic, I, ………N.N., in your presence: ……………….. Moderator of this Fraternity, and ………., religious assistant, in the place of Bruno Cadoré, the Master of the Order of Preachers, promise that I will live according to the Rule of the Laity of Saint Dominic for life.
KISS OF PEACE AND THE GIVING OF THE SYMBOL OF PROFESSION
After the profession has been made, only the Presider receives the individuals who have made profession to the kiss of peace, which is the sign of acceptance into the Order and admission into the local Fraternity.8 Then they return to their place and remain standing there.
Then the Presider informs the professed that by acceptance into the Order, they have been admitted to participation in the spiritual goods of the whole Dominican Family.
Then, where it is the custom, the newly professed brothers and sisters approach the Presider (or the Celebrant), who hands the book of the Gospel to each with these or similar words:
Receive the Gospel of peace; may it be in your heart and in your mouth, so that as you witness to it with your manner of living, and proclaim it faithfully, you may become the salt of the earth and the light of the world,11for the honor of God and the salvation of souls.
The professed person responds: Amen.
And, having received the book, the newly professed returns to his or her place and remains standing.
If, however, there are many newly professed, or for any other just cause, the Presider (or Celebrant) may hand the book of the Gospel to them, reciting the formula once for all, adapting it to the plural.
If, according to local custom, other insignia of profession (e.g. a rosary, a medal of Saint Dominic, a ring or symbol of the Order) are to be given, they should be given in silence or with a suitable formula, maintaining the befitting simplicity.
CONCLUSION OF THE RITE OF PROFESSION
The Creed is said if the rubrics of the day prescribe it. The rite may be appropriately concluded with the recitation of the Prayer of the Faithful (cf. below in Appendix II, nos. 62-65).