By Mr. Miguel Peiro Alba OP, member of the Dominican Youth Movement

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
 

First I would like to thank the Master of the Order and all of you for allowing me the possibility of coming to this Chapter. Initially you might have seen my presence here simply as dreams and inexperience, I hope that, as time goes by, the dreams will stay and the inexperience will be changed to an experience of opening the dreams of Dominican Youth with you.
 

Yves Congar used to say that he considered himself to be "ontologically Dominican," I do not know if I can say the same, but, I can certainly state, with a mix of timidity and firmness, that I have been a Dominican for 19 years, maybe in a subconscious way, but Dominican nonetheless. Since I was six years of age I have been influenced by the charism to which I owe so much. We all know that if a Dominican is asked to describe his charism becomes uncomfortable and this then fade to silence. If we asked a child or a youth who attends a Dominican school what the charism is, or who founded the order, the answer may come as some surprise. It might not be particularly pleasant! This doesn't take from the fact that, behind the subtlety, we find a great strength when the need comes to transmit the faith with a Dominican flavour. The one who lives under the charism without knowing it sooner or later discover it as a reawakening. This is the story of my Dominican vocation, which I discovered as time went by, after many years in a Dominican environment, the Dominican charism that was in the way I lived my faith, the way I acted, the way I thought etc. Hundreds of young people throughout the world could tell you the same story. If you would allow me then to advise you to open your eyes, because in your ordinary Dominican life you could meet other young people like me. The IDYM (International Dominican Youth Movement) can be found in 25 countries throughout the world: Ireland, Holland, Italy, Malta, Poland, the USA, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Congo, Kenya, The Philippines, India, Spain, etc.
 

As you can imagine, the presence of a young person from the IDYM at the general chapter is not just an incredible experience for me (who won the draw to come here) but also it is a source of great joy to all the young people I represent here. This is because Indifference has often been the first obstacle that we have had to overcome, some people may have stopped to look at us and say some words of encouragement, or often the opposite, to correct the mistakes that we were making. When writing a few lines for the MJD's (Movimiento Juveníl Dominicano) bulletin, I described the invitation to the Chapter as "the Order's declaration of love to its young people." A love that can be seen here in Dialogue, a splendid Dominican quality.
 

1. - The principal challenges for the IDYM as we approach the Third Millennium. I begin my mentioning in jest how a movement with only a few years' history is speaking about millennia. Humour aside our main challenges are:
 

a) Prior to the evolution of many groups in distinct places throughout the world, our first need was to share information between the group and establish methods of communication and connection with them. The movement is growing and therefore needs to take its time. With this in mind we made it one of our priorities to mimic Latin America, (the strong growth of the movement there also deserves a special mention.) The movement defines itself as a part of the Dominican Family. Whilst it mostly lay-people the movement is open to and needs the participation of all the branches of the family. When the structures of the Dominican Family are stable, the movement grows stronger and healthier. Maybe this explains the growth in Latin America where the Dominican Family and CIDAL have good structures.
 

b) The definition of being part of the Dominican Family poses the next challenge: to involve ourselves actively, whilst remaining conscious of the diversity and characteristics of the other branches of the Dominican Family. A typical group in our movements grows out of a Dominican presence, (school, parish, priory etc.) and even though they can work without the other branches being active, their vitality is better if the other branches are active. Put more clearly, where the friars and sisters who work in the environment where the group began do not involve themselves in the group, the group disappears when any problem arises. On the same line, groups that exist in places where there are noviciates or studentates mutually enrich each other. We can see an example of this in the Philippines in the group MUCK AD.
 

c) Although this may sound a bit romantic, we cannot forget the issue of economics. The situation of our movement is a universal situation, that is we are situated in four continents. This entails a need for various structures such as in International Secretariat, an International Commission along with other international engagements and meetings, publications and formation materials, sending Miguel to the General Chapter · logically lead to a series of expenditures that are considerably high. I do not wish to burst into tears nor tremble before the Dominican Family, so I will present the case as parents with their child. At the moment the IDYM is the youngest child in the Dominican Family and the family has to reply if it accepts to provide for its child as the baby grows. As a child grows it learns co-responsibility until one day the child can manage its own economic independence. The world-wide dimension of the IDYM confronts us with different economic situations. Just before I came here I received the news that there would be no representation from India or the Philippines at the next International Meeting despite the fact that the Curia had given a $500 grant. Logically one could reduce the list of needs but we have to be able to organise ourselves in the dichotomy of which should we do, invest or cut costs. Notwithstanding, not always, the problem is money.
 

d) Mission. - The life of the groups is based on the Dominican pillars. The creation of outlets for the mission is undoubtedly a challenge for us. Finding a place where we can practice what we live, where we can share in community, prayer and study. To seek, find and create outlets along the lines of the Order's mission, a place where our Dominican choice can take on a fuller meaning. In Spain the MJD has three people working abroad, two in El Salvador and one in Togo. For varied reasons the latter's place of mission is not a dominican one, which certainly limits his misionary option. In my point of view this could be considered a lost oportunity specially if we think in terms of what it might have added to the mission of the Order. Let us look at this subject from a positive side, the MJD in Spain has also proposed to: a Province, a Congregation of sisters and the ONG of the Dominican Family in Spain, as an experience, the draft for a project of collaboration in the mission of the Order in the Third World. Furthermore, the possibility of solidifying these outlets for mission into temporal commitments (month, year) with the mission of the Order beyond the country of origin, is being launched in diverse places.

It is important to point out an aspect in which IDYM has much to offer: the mission of IDYM as a mission of the young for the young (not as an exclusive but as an advantageous option). The challenge arises in the re-enlivening of our creativity and witnessing pressence among the young, as seen in such cases as in: the Web Page (DYM USA), music (DCY Ireland) and Group of Cochera in Zwolle (DCY Holland).
 

e) Formation - When it comes to incarnating our Dominican vocation, formation is found among the essential points. The challenge is twofold: 1) formation as preparing for mission -we have claimed before, that we cannot go to mission without a guaranteeing formation; 2) To try, to the best of our abilities, to do this formation in common. We will mention as concrete examples of this the active participation in existing preaching teams in our Dominican milieus, strengthening of the Jane of Aza Community in Ireland as a community of the DF and a house of formation for the youth.
 

f) Balance among the pillars - Though we have mentioned mostly formation and mission, we cannot forget prayer and community. The challenge implies a balanced living of the four pillars in common spaces. We cannot preach what we have not studied, prayed nor lived together.
 

As you see we will not be bored in the future.
 

2) Main challenges for the Dominican Family in light of the coming Third Millenium. I don't know if a more global answer was expected to this question. Or if we were expected to post questions of Justice and Peace, or the media or, Frontiers. It would be a bit pretentious to give an opinion out of our inexperience of such a broad reality. However, we definitely can pose two challenges that, in our point of view as IDYM, may be very interesting in the future: the option for the youth and to be authentically a Dominican Family.
 

a) Option for the youth - In a secularized world such as ours, the issue of unbelief and despair among the young is to constitute a challenge for the DF. In this respect the document about the youth from the Avila Chapter continues to have great contemporary relevance. In the same way the Dominican charism continues to have contemporary relevance where many young people, as I said before, find an adequate way of being more a person and a Christian.
 

b) To be authentically a Dominican Family. - To say that the Dominican Family does not exist, would be as false as saying that it has been developed as far as the Dominican charism requires. As I prepared for the General Chapter, I had the opportunity of diving into some of the texts by other Chapters on the DF, as well as some letters from the former M.O. These have increased my suspicion that the development of the DF has not been as expected, and even though it seems more or less clear on paper it is difficult to take into practice. The DF is the marvelous gift we have received in order channel all the richness, potentiality, and strength that the Dominican charism has. Something that no branch of the Family can exclusively hold, take advantage of and use on its own. Only from a diverse and complementary action can we squeeze the substance of the Dominican charism in order to preach the Gospel throughout the world. As long as we are unable to embody faithfully the Dominican Family, we will be wasting the great gift we have received. It is as if God would have given us 10 talents and we'd make use of 4 or 5. Or expressed in Dominican code, if each community is in itself a House of Preaching then why renounce to building as DF the Great House of Preaching? To renounce to embody the Dominican Family is a luxury that not only impoverishes us as Dominicans but also impoverishes the Church that expects so much from the Dominican charism; it impoverishes all men, specially the poor and oppressed who await a word of hope from those of us who have received the charism of preaching. I believe it is thus; therefore, we share this with you, in order to live and share together this challenge, that as the Family we may accomplish because, as the former M.O. fr. Damian Byrne op said: what can't we accomplish if we work together?

The first instance of such working together is that all of you help us in dialogue to discover where we may have been mistaken when we posed these challenges to you. Thank you for letting us dream each day with you.

© 1998 Order of Preachers  General Chapter, 1998  Internet site by Scott Steinkerchner OP  email: steinkerchner@op.org