"If any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema" (1 Cor. xvi 22)
St. Dominic's love for Jesus Christ was the mainspring for all his actions. For Him he lived and died. All his labors, his preaching, his writings, his journeys, his miracles, were the outpouring of this love that God might be better known and better served. He ever prayed that he might love God with a pure love, that he might love Him solely for His own sake. Jesus Christ and Him crucified he only desired. The passion of our Blessed Lord was the object of his frequent meditation and this so inflamed his heart that he longed to yield himself up a victim, to shed his blood to prove how much he loved his Master. And when he was asked by the heretics what he would do if he fell into their hands, he replied that he would ask them not to kill him by a single blow, but to cut off his members one by one, and then, plucking out his eyes, leave him there to die.
The Blessed Sacrament was also the object of his most tender devotion. Frequently did he prolong his vigils before the altar during the entire night. The tabernacle was the centre of his love. There he always made the first visit on arriving at the end of his journey.
In offering up the adorable sacrifice of the Mass, his devotion was most touching. Never did he celebrate without shedding abundant tears, and often while holding his Divine Master in his hands, he was raised in the air, where he remained in heavenly ecstasy.
Practice
How often do we make acts of love? Let us measure our love by our deeds, by our suffering, for suffering is the test of love. How does it appear compared with St. Dominic's burning love? Have we ever proved our love by deed and not by word only, as St. John requires? Do we try to imitate our Lord in His passion? How often do we think of Gethsemane and Calvary? And the altar? Are our visits frequent? Do we not soon grow weary of staying a few minutes with Jesus, Who remains days and nights for us?
Let us ask St. Dominic to be our master, to teach us how to love our Blessed Lord.
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