It’s been said that there’s no such thing as one Christian. As St. Paul tells, we are all members of the body of Christ; and fingers, noses, and spleens can’t live on their own. (We have a lot of spleens in the blogosphere, I notice.) Even the desert hermits lived to some extent in community. And this is also true for Lay Dominicans.

To be a Lay Dominican is to be part of a Lay Dominican Fraternity, also known as a Chapter. And there are two aspects to this. The first is that in a chapter you associate with and can learn from those who are more mature in the faith and in the ways of St. Dominic than you are. You have brothers and sisters who can pull you up and hold you accountable and give you guidance and encouragement. They are companions on your journey.

But there’s a second aspect, too. One’s chapter is very like a family, in the sense that you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family; and in every family there is occasionally some friction. And interpersonal friction is an occasion for growing in holiness: for being forbearing and serene in trial, for forgiving others, for loving even when it’s difficult.