Dominican novices taste life in Newman Center Paris

Intermountain Catholic

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Dominican Father Peter Rogers (left), pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Newman Center Parish, visits the Intermountain Catholic with Dominican Brothers Gabriel Mosher, Michael James Rivera, Albert Camburn, and Brother Simon Kim, who are visiting Dominican parishes with Father Anthony Rosevear, novice master, right. IC photo by Barbara S. Lee

SALT LAKE CITY — Four Dominican novices from the San Francisco Province visited St. Catherine of Siena Newman Center Parish with their novice master, Dominican Father Anthony Rosevear last week, learning what life is like in a Dominican parish.

Father Peter Rogers, pastor of St. Catherine Newman Center, welcomed Dominican Brothers Albert Camburn, Simon Kim, Gabriel Mosher, and Michael James Rivera, who spoke at each of the weekend Masses about their religious vocations.

Fr. Rosevear said the current class of four novices "is about average for the San Francisco Province. "They will spend one year in the novitiate before taking their first, temporary vows, then they will have seven years of study. We are spending January and February visiting all the Dominican ministries in the southern part of the province, then in July, we’ll visit the ministries in the northern section of the province."

The novices are slated to make their first vows in September.

In the meantime, they will continue their studies at St. Albert Priory in Oakland, Calif., and the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology at the Theological Union at the University of California, Berkeley.

Brother Gabriel Mosher, a native of Albuquerque, N.M., said he was drawn to the Dominican order by their charism of teaching and preaching.

At 28, Brother Gabriel spent some time in the seminary, studying for the Diocese of Santa Fe, "but I really feel called to community life," he said. "I also studied history and political science at Texas A & M."

Brother Albert Camburn is 35, and a native of Boyertown, Penn."I felt called to the priesthood, but I wanted the community support," he said. "I feel others in the community will help strengthen my vocation and my mission."

A carpenter for many years, Brother Albert earned a degree in biology from Kutztown University in Pennsylvania.

"I grew up thinking I would get a degree in wildlife management, but then, when I was 33, I began discerning a religious vocation. I looked at the diocesan priesthood, but the minute I walked into the Dominican house, I immediately felt like I was home," he said.

Brother Michael James Rivera, 27, is a native of the San Francisco Bay area. He’d worked as a youth minister in a Dominican parish, and said he was drawn to the Dominican way of sharing faith and preaching the Gospel.

"Leaving the parish was both hard for the youth to whom I ministered and hard for me," he said. "It was like leaving my protective parish family."

Brother Michael James was an only child, so he’s getting used to community life with a few adjustments. "Now, I feel this is like a large family, with lots of brothers to keep me in line."

Brother Simon Kim, at 25, is a native of Riverside, Calif., and a 2005 graduate of the University of California at Berkeley in biology and religion.

"I began discerning a vocation to the religious life before I began studying in college," said Brother Simon. "I love sharing my faith with others, studying apologetics, and the academic side of the church. I’m taking the pastoral aspects of my vocation one step at a time."

Although Brother Simon doesn’t see himself as a teacher, he’s looking at the possibility of campus ministry, so the visit to St. Catherine’s was particularly meaningful.

With their eyes on the priesthood, the four brothers, once they make their first vows, will undertake two years of philosophy study and four years of theology study. Then they will undertake a year of residency or practical training in a parish or other type of Dominican ministry before ordination.

Fr. Anthony said the Dominican course of study is communal, academic, pastoral, and spiritual.