Posted on 08/07/2015 8:18:36 PM PDT by Salvation
He and St. Francis, in their distinct ways, envisioned and tried to develop orders which contrasted with older orders in their poverty and active outreach.
For me at least, an important difference between Dominicans and the earlier orders is an emphasis on cheerfulness and joviality. Adaptability is also a theme.
The “pillars” and “charisms” of the order are prayer, study, community, and preaching. While prayer, and prayerful study are the foundational pillars, preaching or apostolate are distinctive. Though there are a very few Dominican hermits, the Second Order is made up of contemplative and enclosed nuns. But the special mission of those nuns is to pray for those who preach.
So all the Dominican life is directed toward and crowned by evangelical work “in the world.”
Like all orders, the Order of Preachers has periods of loss of focus and laxity. But so far these have always been followed by periods of reform, re-commitment, and energy. In this age in which the worship of Moloch has once again spread its foul stench, God is calling more and more men to the Dominican Order and life. We can hope and must pray that through them as through the entire Church the Joy of the Gospel and the Splendor of Truth are made known and set out as a remedy for the sins and sorrows of our time.
Thank you for the Dominican aspect here. God bless.
Saint Dominic, Priest
Memorial
August 8th
Fra Angelico
Saint Dominic Adoring the Crucifixion
1440s
Fresco, 239 x 177 cm
Convento di San Marco, Florence
History:
Saint Dominic founded the Order of Preachers, known as the Dominican Order.
He was born in 1170 to Felix Guzman and Joanna of Aza. Little is known of Felix Guzman except that he was in every sense the worthy head of a family of saints. Joanna of Aza's nobility of soul enshrined her in the popular veneration and in 1828 she was solemnly beatified by Leo XII. The example of such parents was not without its effect upon their children. Not only Saint Dominic but also his brothers, Antonio and Manes, were distinguished for their extraordinary sanctity. Antonio, the eldest, became a secular priest and, having distributed his patrimony to the poor, entered a hospital where he spent his life ministering to the sick. Manes, following in the footsteps of Dominic, became a Friar Preacher, and was beatified by Gregory XVI.The life of St. Dominic was one of tireless effort in the, service of god. While he journeyed from place to place he prayed and preached almost uninterruptedly. While his charity was boundless he never permitted it to interfere with the stern sense of duty that guided every action of his life. If he abominated heresy and labored untiringly for its extirpation it was because he loved truth and loved the souls of those among whom he labored. He never failed to distinguish between sin and the sinner. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, if this athlete of Christ, who had conquered himself before attempting the reformation of others, was more than once chosen to show forth the power of God.
Saint Dominic died August 6, 1221.
After signing the Bull of canonization on July 13, 1234, Gregory IX declared that he no more doubted the saintliness of Saint Dominic than he did that of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.
(Principal source - Catholic Encyclopedia - 1913 edition )
Collect:
May Saint Dominic come to the help of your Church
by his merits and teaching, O Lord,
and may he, who was an outstanding preacher of your truth,
be a devoted intercessor on our behalf.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.First Reading:1 Corinthians 2:1-10a
When I came to you, brethren, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in much fear and trembling; and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glorification. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him," God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
Gospel Reading: Luke 9:57-62
As they were going along the road, a man said to Him, "I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head." To another He said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." But He said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
The Call Within -- A Reflection on Contemplative Life -- "For spiritually minded people, religion is as simple as life itself, life lived in its fullness because of leaning toward the "other", toward fulfillment, completion, God." -- by Sister Joseph Andrew Bogdanowicz, OP (Vol XVIII, No 2 -- Pentecost 2003)
Come Lord Jesus - Dominican Monastery of St. Jude celebrates Advent. 2002
On Vatican website: FAUSTO APPETENTE DIE, Encyclical of Pope Benedict XV on St. Dominic, June 29, 1921
On Vatican website: BENEDICT XVI, GENERAL AUDIENCE, Paul VI Audience Hall, Wednesday, February 3, 2010, Saint Dominic Guzmán
Feast Day: August 8
Born: 1170, Calaruega, Province of Burgos, Kingdom of Castile (now modern-day Castile-Leon, Spain)
Died: August 6, 1221, Bologna, Province of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Canonized: 1234
Major Shrine: San Domenico, Bologna
Patron of: Astronomers; astronomy; Dominican Republic; falsely accused people; scientists
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English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
Matthew 17 |
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14. | And when he was come to the multitude, there came to him a man falling down on his knees before him, saying: Lord, have pity on my son, for he is a lunatic, and suffereth much: for he falleth often into the fire, and often into the water. | Et cum venisset ad turbam, accessit ad eum homo genibus provolutus ante eum, dicens : Domine, miserere filio meo, quia lunaticus est, et male patitur : nam sæpe cadit in ignem, et crebro in aquam. | και ελθοντων αυτων προς τον οχλον προσηλθεν αυτω ανθρωπος γονυπετων αυτον |
15. | 17:14 And when he was come to the multitude, there came to him a man falling down on his knees before him, saying: Lord, have pity on my son, for he is a lunatic, and suffereth much: for he falleth often into the fire, and often into the water. | 17:14 Et cum venisset ad turbam, accessit ad eum homo genibus provolutus ante eum, dicens : Domine, miserere filio meo, quia lunaticus est, et male patitur : nam sæpe cadit in ignem, et crebro in aquam. | και λεγων κυριε ελεησον μου τον υιον οτι σεληνιαζεται και κακως πασχει πολλακις γαρ πιπτει εις το πυρ και πολλακις εις το υδωρ |
16. | 17:15 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. | 17:15 Et obtuli eum discipulis tuis, et non potuerunt curare eum. | και προσηνεγκα αυτον τοις μαθηταις σου και ουκ ηδυνηθησαν αυτον θεραπευσαι |
17. | 17:16 Then Jesus answered and said: O unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. | 17:16 Respondens autem Jesus, ait : O generatio incredula, et perversa, quousque ero vobiscum ? usquequo patiar vos ? Afferte huc illum ad me. | αποκριθεις δε ο ιησους ειπεν ω γενεα απιστος και διεστραμμενη εως ποτε εσομαι μεθ υμων εως ποτε ανεξομαι υμων φερετε μοι αυτον ωδε |
18. | 17:17 And Jesus rebuked him, and the devil went out of him, and the child was cured from that hour. | 17:17 Et increpavit illum Jesus, et exiit ab eo dæmonium, et curatus est puer ex illa hora. | και επετιμησεν αυτω ο ιησους και εξηλθεν απ αυτου το δαιμονιον και εθεραπευθη ο παις απο της ωρας εκεινης |
19. | 17:18 Then came the disciples to Jesus secretly, and said: Why could not we cast him out? | 17:18 Tunc accesserunt discipuli ad Jesum secreto, et dixerunt : Quare nos non potuimus ejicere illum ? | τοτε προσελθοντες οι μαθηται τω ιησου κατ ιδιαν ειπον δια τι ημεις ουκ ηδυνηθημεν εκβαλειν αυτο |
20. | 17:19 Jesus said to them: Because of your unbelief. For, amen I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Remove from hence hither, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you. | 17:19 Dixit illis Jesus : Propter incredulitatem vestram. Amen quippe dico vobis, si habueritis fidem sicut granum sinapis, dicetis monti huic : Transi hinc illuc, et transibit, et nihil impossibile erit vobis. | ο δε ιησους ειπεν αυτοις δια την απιστιαν υμων αμην γαρ λεγω υμιν εαν εχητε πιστιν ως κοκκον σιναπεως ερειτε τω ορει τουτω μεταβηθι εντευθεν εκει και μεταβησεται και ουδεν αδυνατησει υμιν |
21. | 17:20 But this kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting. | 17:20 Hoc autem genus non ejicitur nisi per orationem et jejunium. | τουτο δε το γενος ουκ εκπορευεται ει μη εν προσευχη και νηστεια |
(*) Verses 14-15 breakdown differs.
Saturday, August 8
Liturgical Color: White
Today is the Memorial of St. Dominic, founder
of the Dominican Order in 1215. St. Dominic
received a vision from Our Lady asking him to
teach the rosary to others. He used the rosary
to convert many to the faith.
Day 220 - Signs and Persecutions
Today’s Reading: Luke 21:10-19
10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 11 there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. 12 But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. 13 This will be a time for you to bear testimony. 14 Settle it therefore in your minds, not to meditate beforehand how to answer; 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. 16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and kinsmen and friends, and some of you they will put to death; 17 you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your endurance you will gain your lives.
Today’s Commentary:
persecute you: Disciples must fearlessly identify with Jesus despite opposition (Mk 8:38; Jn 16:2-4, 33). Persecution will provide opportunities to proclaim the gospel. Luke recounts several such episodes where believers are locked up in prisons (Acts 4:3; 5:18; 8:3; 12:4; 16:23) and hauled before kings and governors (Acts 25:2326:32).
» Enjoy our Liturgical Seasons series of e-books!
Old Calendar: St. John Mary Vianney, confessor; Sts. Cyriac, Largus and Smaragdus, martyrs; Fourteen Holy Helpers (Hist)
At the end of the twelfth century the Church in France was ravaged by the Albigensian heresy, a doctrine which was not only entirely unchristian but which, in addition, constituted a social evil. Effective measures were required to be taken to combat it. Where others had failed, a Spanish canon, Dominic Guzman, succeeded. He was notable for his learning and love of poverty. The Order of Friars Preachers, which he founded about the year 1215, was endowed by him with these two characteristics; instead of manual labor, as practiced by the Cistercian monks, he required his friars to work with their minds by preaching and teaching. He died at Bologna on August 6, 1221. His friend, Gregory IX, canonized him three years later.
According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII, the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. John Mary Vianney and Sts. Cyriac, Largus and Smaragdus. St. Largus and St. Smaragdus are two Roman martyrs. They were buried at first on the Ostian Way. Their bodies were later transferred, after the peace of Constantine, to a church built near the baths of Diocletian by a Christian of the name of Cyriacus. The cult of St. Cyriacus has been joined to that of the two martyrs. St. Dominic's feast in this rite is celebrated on August 4. St. John Vianney's feast in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite is celebrated on August 4.
The Fourteen "Auxiliary Saints" or "Holy Helpers" are a group of saints invoked because they have been efficacious in assisting in trials and sufferings. Each saint has a separate feast or memorial day, and the group was collectively venerated on August 8, until the 1969 reform of the Roman calendar, when the feast was dropped.
St. Dominic
The Martyrology gives the following: "At Bologna (upper Italy) the holy confessor Dominic, the saintly and learned founder of the Order of Preachers. He preserved his virginity inviolate and gained for himself the grace of raising three dead persons to life. By his word he crushed heresy in the bud and led many souls to piety and to religious life."
Born about 1175 in Castile (Spain), Dominic hailed from the illustrious Guzman family. First he was a canon regular at Osma; then he founded the Dominican Order, which was approved in 1216. Alongside the Franciscans, it became the most powerful Order in medieval times, giving the Church illustrious preachers St. Vincent Ferrer, and contemplatives, Sts. Thomas of Aquinas and Pius V and contributing immeasurably to maintaining the purity of the faith. Through the example of apostolic poverty and the preaching of the word of God the Friar Preachers were to lead men to Christ. To St. Dominic is attributed the origin and spread of the holy rosary.
The two contemporaries, Dominic and Francis, effected a tremendous spiritual rejuvenation through their own spiritual personalities and through their religious foundations. Of the two, Dominic was the realist who surpassed the other intellectually and in organizational talent. His spirit of moderation, clarity of thought, and burning zeal for souls have become the heritage of the Dominican Order. Legend has contributed the following rare anecdote as preserved in the Breviary: "During pregnancy, Dominic's mother dreamed she was carrying in her womb a little dog that held a burning torch between its teeth; and when she had given birth, it set the whole world on fire. By this dream it was made manifest beforehand how Dominic would inflame the nations to the practice of Christian virtue through the brightness of his holy example and the fiery ardor of his preaching." He died at Bologna upon hearing the liturgy's prayer for the dying: "Come, ye saints of God, hasten hither, ye angels!"
Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
Patron: Astronomers; astronomy; scientists; falsely accused people.
Symbols: Lily; dog; book; star in forehead; pilgrim's staff; rosary; cross and rosary; dog holding torch; books in a fire.
St. Cyriac and Companions
The Acts concerning these martyrs give many fictional details. Together with Sisinius, Largus and Smaragdus, Cyriac languished a long time in prison. Among the miracles that Cyriac worked was that of freeing through his prayer Arthemia, the daughter of Emperor Diocletian, from an evil spirit. Thereupon he was sent to the Persian king Sapor and performed a similar miracle in favor of his daughter Jobias. But after baptizing the king and 430 of his entourage, he returned to Rome. Upon orders from Maximian the Emperor, he was arrested, chained, and dragged to prison. Four days later he was taken from confinement, drenched with seething pitch, and tortured on the rack; in company with Smaragdus and twenty other Christians he finally was beheaded on the Via Salaria near the gardens of Sallust."
Popular piety has numbered St. Cyriac among the "Fourteen Holy Helpers." The existence of a martyr with this name seems well attested by the trustworthy Depositio Martyrum of 354. The remaining details in the above account are pure fiction. But the story may bring to mind that endless series of heroic souls who suffered for Christ even more dreadful tortures than those fiction describes.
Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
The Fourteen Holy Helpers
The Fourteen Holy Helpers are invoked as a group because of the Black Plague which devastated Europe from 1346 to 1349. Among its symptoms were the black tongue, a parched throat, violent headache, fever, and boils on the abdomen. The victims were attacked without warning, robbing them of their reason, and killed within a few hours; many died without the last Sacraments. No one was immune, and the disease wreaked havoc in villages and family circles. The epidemic appeared incurable. The pious turned to Heaven, begging the intervention of the saints, praying to be spared or cured. Each of these fourteen saints had been efficacious in interceding in some aspect for the stricken during the Black Plague. The dates are the traditional feast days; not all the saints are on the General Roman Calendar.
Saint Dominic, Priest (Memorial)
The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! (Deuteronomy 6:4)
In the ancient world, dealing with the divine was a bit like going to a government office building. If you didn’t get in the right line, you risked wasting hours and hours of your day trying to get your petition answered. If you had a problem with the weather, you needed to make sure you visited the shrine of the god Hadad. But if you wanted to conceive a baby, you’d have to go to Ishtar’s altar. Not to mention, the enmities and squabbling between the gods were as complicated as any interoffice turf war!
Against this bewildering landscape of deities, the Jews stood out in sharp relief. They worshipped only one God. What’s more, he was the only God, the One behind all the forces of nature. There were no other gods jostling for power or telling him what he could and could not do.
Today’s reading is a declaration known to the Jews as the Shema Yisrael (Hear, O Israel). It captures the essence of their faith in an omnipotent, omniscient, singular God. And it’s an understanding that is just as important to our own faith. We, too, believe in one God who comes to us as a Trinity of divine Persons.
We believe in a God who is above all else, a God who is not subject to some other more powerful force and not involved in petty squabbles with his fellow “gods.” And yet, where the ancient Canaanites had their pantheon of bickering gods and goddesses, we sometimes have to deal with forces that we might believe God isn’t quite equal to.
Is there something you think God can’t help you with? Money? Family troubles? Your own shortcomings or lack of faith? Whatever it is, remember that the God we believe in has the ultimate power. Nothing is outside his domain. He holds all things together!
So the next time you find yourself waylaid by cares, frightened or frustrated or angry, take heart! Whatever is troubling you, God is infinitely capable of dealing with it. Not only that, but he is eager to help you. Trust in him because “the Lord is our God, the Lord alone!”
(Deuteronomy 6:4)
“Jesus, I praise you for your immense power and majesty. Thank you for your love and your dominion over every area of my life.”
Psalm 18:2-4, 47, 51
Matthew 17:14-20
Daily Marriage Tip for August 8, 2015:
Temper Taming Tip #1: Check your own temperature first. Maybe youre tired after a long day or feel stressed or worried. Try strengthening your resistance. Taking a short nap helps some. Others may listen to quiet music, take a bath or a walk. Experiment.
Turn to Jesus | ||
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August 8, 2015. Memorial of Saint Dominic, Priest
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Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, I believe you want me to have faith in you, faith that hearkens to your words without any second guessing. I hope in your words, not relying solely on my own strength or reasoning. I love you. You continue to astonish me by showing me that your ways are not my ways. Petition: Lord, give me the grace to trust you.
Resolution: Today when I go to prayer, I will look back on the road traveled thus far and be grateful. |
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