Post by Dominican Friars Province of St. Joseph

When casual conversation, a search for the truth, and concern for society’s most vulnerable come together, you get a life-long friendship with the Dominican Friars. “My life has been incredibly enriched, and I know my wife would say the exact same, by our involvement with the Friars,” said Edward “Ed” Sweeney, a friendly Manhattanite who has made the Catholic faith and community service a priority for his life. His relationship with friars brings to life St. Paul’s ancient metaphor of the Church as the Body of Christ, one where the unique gifts of the laity and the intellectual depth of the Dominican Friars combine to foster a hopeful future. To start his story, Sweeney goes back almost 20 years. “Ed, you have to meet this priest,” a friend said. That priest was Fr. Gabriel Gillen, O.P., who was serving at the Church of St. Catherine of Siena in Manhattan. They clicked over casual conversation. Unfortunately, Fr. Gabriel’s emergency beeper alerted him to a dying person in need of Anointing of the Sick, cutting their conversation short. Nonetheless, they kept in touch. “He’s become certainly one of my closest friends,” Sweeney recalled. Visit the link in the comments to read more.