Life testimony of novice James Baxter

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I was born and grew up in Sydney, Australia, and attended a secondary school there run by the Jesuits. After several years at university I became more knowledgeable about the Catholic faith and first experienced a desire to live it more fully.

I had never met a Dominican until I met a few friars through the Catholic chaplaincy at the University of Sydney in 2003. Two years later our new university chaplain was appointed. He was also the vocations director for the Dominicans, and an enthusiastic and happy friar. Through him I came to know more about the Order. At the same time I developed a great interest in St Thomas More, who as a young law student spent many years considering whether he had a religious vocation. I thought I would do the same, and ended up deciding to apply to join the Dominicans. I commenced my postulancy in Adelaide in February 2009, and received the habit four months later, prior to leaving for my novitiate here in Hong Kong.

The attraction of the Order for me is its focus on prayer, study and preaching, all nourished by a life lived in a communal and liturgical setting. This is best expressed through one of the mottos of the Order – “To contemplate and to hand on the fruits of contemplation.”