Several religious third orders are active in diocese

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SALT LAKE CITY — Some Utah Catholics who have felt a call to the lay religious life while remaining in the secular world have found a home with third order organizations in the Diocese of Salt Lake City. This group is made up of people from all walks of life and of all ages. Although this vocation requires a significant time commitment, it has been enriching to their faith, say those who take this path.

Third orders secular members are lay Catholics who try to live according to the charisms of the religious order with which they are affiliated; although they may take private vows, they do not profess public vows or live in community.

Order of Carmel Discalced Seculars

Connie Welch, a teacher at St. Vincent de Paul School in Salt Lake City, is a longtime member of the Order of Carmel Discalced Seculars of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which was established locally in 1953. Welch was drawn to the community because “I have an immense love for our Blessed Mother,” she said. “I’ve always been attracted to our Blessed Mother and all that she is, and [to] prayer, so the contemplative life just intrigued and fascinated [me] with the Carmelite saints like Teresa of Avila.”

The local community has about 25 active members and eight extended members. They set aside time for daily prayer, including attending Mass and praying the Liturgy of the Hours. Formation takes six to seven years. During the first two years candidates study the Carmelite way and Carmelite saints. Then they make a temporary promise to the community and study an additional three years before making their definitive promises. Once professed, candidates can discern for two more years if they want to take the vows of chastity, obedience and poverty.

Being a lay Carmelite has been a tremendous blessing, Welch said. “It has given me such a foundation of God and how much he loves me and how much I love him, and it’s grounded me in the Catholic Church and my faith. It has brought me closer to God and knowing that I want to be heaven bound.”

Although fulfilling the requirements can take some time, “You find time because you want to, because you’re attracted to it,” she said. “It’s a gift from God; it’s such a great gift that gives us the grace.”

The Immaculate Heart of Mary community meets at the Carmel of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, 5714 S. Holladay Blvd., Holladay, the second Sunday of each month at 1 p.m. Before attending, Welch asks inquirers to call her at 801-230-8743 for information.

Lay Dominicans

There are two Lay Dominican chapters in Utah: Our Lady of Victory, which meets at St. Catherine of Siena Newman Center in Salt Lake City; and St. Catherine of Siena, which meets at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Cottonwood Heights.

Suzanne Mozdy, a member of Our Lady of Victory Lay Dominican Chapter, joined the chapter with her husband Michael seven years ago. Together they pray the Divine Office and rosary every day; the couple also abstains from meat on Fridays throughout the year. All of these practices are traditions of the order.

“I wanted to learn how to pray more deeply, and I wanted to learn how to dedicate my life more to God and the Church,” Suzanne Mozdy said.

Those who are interested in joining the chapter meet with a formation director and go through a six-month study period before being received into the order. After another year they make a temporary profession and promise to live the Dominican Rule, a way of life based on the teachings of St. Dominic, for three years. Following that time they can make a life profession.

Mozdy and her husband made their life professions in April. Sharing this experience has strengthened their marriage and “taken it to another level,” she said. “One of the things that this has really helped us do is identify how we can be Christ for each other, and how we can grow together and pray together and do works of mercy together.”

Our Lady of Victory Lay Dominican Chapter meets at St. Catherine of Sienna Newman Center the second Saturday of the month at 3 p.m. At the meeting the group prays together and discusses a book they are studying (usually by a Dominican author). They then go to Vespers, Adoration and Mass together as a chapter. They finish their time together by praying the rosary.

The group, which is nine years old, is considered a chapter in formation because it has only five life-professed members and five others who are in process. A sixth will life profess next April, and the group will then become a full chapter. Until recently, Mozdy served as the chapter’s prioress; the prior is now Daniel Quintanilla. For information on the chapter, contact him at daniel.quintanilla@protonmail.com.

The St. Catherine of Siena chapter was established in 1995; currently there are nine active members and several other prayer members (those who due to old age or infirmity are unable to attend meetings). This chapter also meets monthly and follows a similar format: along with studying Dominican writers, they investigate a wide range of material from poetry to film related to that genre, Prioress Vicki Turner said. Those who cannot attend in person may attend electronically by Zoom and at times the chapter has presenters share their perspectives with the chapter through the same medium.

Turner, who has been chapter prioress for two years, has been life professed since 2006. Dominican spirituality has a rich history and charism, she said. “This order has been around for over 800 years. Their whole charism is centered around four pillars: prayer, study, community and preaching. I think what’s attractive for people interested in the Dominican Order is that it’s out in the world but it’s also contemplative.”

Chapter members commit to a similar prayer life as the Our Lady of Victory members, including praying the daily office “to the extent possible,” Turner said.

The St. Catherine of Siena Dominican Chapter meets at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 3015 E. Creek Rd., Cottonwood Heights on the third Sunday at 1:30 p.m. For information about the chapter, leave a message for Turner at the parish office, 801-942-5285 or email SCOSLayOP@gmail.com.

Secular Franciscans

Lay people who follow the Rule of St. Francis, a set of guidelines for living that St. Francis of Assisi instituted, strive to follow a life of obedience, poverty and chastity, while observing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Formation for Secular Franciscans is a two- to three-year process during which candidates study the rule and charism of St. Francis, pray daily and meet regularly with a spiritual assistant.   

“You can go through the process that any religious goes through to become professed and still, you know, live your life as a lay person, but have a perpetual commitment to live the rule that St. Francis developed,” said the chapter’s acting minister, Sabrina Buckley.

Members pray the Divine Office or the Office of the Passion daily; several also pray the rosary each day.

“We’re just trying to live as Christ lived, but we do have the rule that St. Francis gave us that kind of gives us … guard rails like for the path,” Buckley said. “The virtues that we feel particularly called to are prayer and devotion, something called naming the good, which is basically seeing God in the world, seeing the good that’s going on no matter what other kind of things are happening. It’s looking for the good, patience, poverty and minority.”

The Secular Franciscans meet on the second Sunday at 3 p.m. at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Salt Lake City. The group has seven members: five professed and two in formation, and has been regenerating over the last few years, she said.

The group is opening its meeting on Sunday Dec. 8, 3 p.m. to inquirers. It will be in the Our Lady of Lourdes Parish rectory, 700 South 1065 East, Salt Lake City. For information, contact Sabrina Buckley, 385-214-4036.