An Odd Dichotomy

Today is the traditional feast day of St. Dominic.  My chapter celebrated today.  One of the discussions we had was the dichotomy the Dominicans have of being out in the world but not of the world. Also, the strange dichotomy of being excited about a confrere being sent out on mission.  How can one be happy about the possibility of never seeing a confrere, again?

This was compared to the feeling my "cloistered brothers" have when one of us is leaving the prison.  We are happy and excited, even though we know we may never leave.  We are stuck here.  Yet, we are happy and excited,

not unlike our Dominican brothers and sisters being sent out on mission.

Always Pray and Pray Always

Fourth Day: St. Dominic’s Prayer

Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and inspired songs. Sing praise to the Lord with all your hearts. Give thanks to God the Father always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:18-20)

Prayer was the breath of St. Dominic’s life, the light on his path, the staff on his pilgrimage. He prayed always. In childhood, his delight was to serve Mass, to visit the Blessed Sacrament, and to chant Office. As a student, he learned wisdom more from prayer than from books. He won more souls by prayer than by preaching or miracles. In traveling, St. Dominic prayed as he went, sometimes singing the Veni Creator Spiritus, or the Ave Maris Stella, or sometimes he recited psalms. He often reminded his companions to think of God. Many times St. Dominic spent the night in prayer before the altar. His methods of prayer were various: sometimes he lay prostrate, then stood erect, then knelt down. For hours he would stand before a crucifix, genuflecting and making fervent ejaculations. Often he stretched out his arms like a cross, pleading earnestly to God. On occasion, he was seen in rapture by the vehemence of his prayer. “In all labors and trials, in hunger, thirst, fatigue, his heart turned always to God.”

Pray for us, blessed father, St. Dominic, That we may be made worthy of the prom­ises of Christ.

Let us pray, O God, who enlightened your Church by the virtues and preaching of St. Dominic, your confessor, and our father, mercifully grant that by his prayers we may be delivered from present dangers and ever increase in spiritual blessings. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

August 8th is the Feast of St. Dominic.  Start praying a novena to Saint Dominic, today.  I'm using the one from the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia.

Novena to St. Dominic

 / Our Vowed Life / St. Dominic / Novena to St. Dominic

Learn More

We look to St. Dominic, great Light of the Church

 and Doctor of Truth, and to the saints of the Order, 

that we may be of use to the souls of others.

 (Basic Constitutions)

This novena is prayed by our community (Dominicans of St. Cecilia)
as we approach the feast of St. Dominic. We invite you to pray with us,
asking the intercession of St. Dominic on behalf of the needs of the
world and for your own personal intentions.  (Success for the General
Chapter of the Xaverian Missionaries and for Christine to be healed.)

First Day 

First Day: The Force of Good Example

He shone in his days as the morning star, in the midst of a cloud,
and as the moon at the full; and as the sun, when it shines, so did
he shine in the temple of God. (Sirach 50:6,7)

LUMEN ECCLESIAE                      LIGHT OF THE CHURCH

St. Dominic was born in Spain in 1170. With the dawn of reason his
whole soul turned to God. His childhood was most pious and his youth
angelic in purity. In the University of Palencia he was the model student.
 At twenty five he became a canon regular at Osma, and with the
religious habit he put on the Lord Jesus and strove in all things to
imitate Him. His time was divided into prayer, study of Scripture, and
com­munity duties. Silence and retirement were his delight; works of
penance and tears of contrition his meat and drink. Going in 1205 to
France, he spent many years in every kind of labor for the conversion
of the Albigensian heretics. Like Jesus Christ he passed the day in
apostolic work, the night in prayer. His penance was extreme, but to
others he was gentle, sweet, and kind. Many were converted by his
miracles, many by the example of his holy life. Six times he jour­neyed
to Rome, once to Spain, once to Paris, walking barefoot, praying or
singing on the road; preaching in the towns and villages, spending the
nights in contemplation. He founded in 1215 the Order of Friars
Preachers for the conversion of souls. He was a man of truly apostolic
heart, a column of the Faith, a trumpet of the Gospel, the light of Christ
to men. He died at Bologna in 1221.

Pray for us, blessed father, St. Dominic, That we may be made worthy
of the prom­ises of Christ.

Let us pray, O most enlightened teacher of divine truth, Holy Father St.
Dominic, who taught what was profitable for salvation and made
yourself all things to all men, that you might win all to Christ; help us to
close our ears and hearts to all false doctrine and whatever may be
harmful to our souls and to open them joyfully to the truths of Holy
Church. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hymn  http://www.nashvilledominican.org/our-vowed-life/st-dominic/novena-to-st-dominic/#first-day

St. Dominic's Compassion

My  Lay Dominican Chapter is still celebrating the blessed solemnity of Saint Dominic.  We did some reflections on the stories about Saint Dominic, today.  There is one story that relates the situation of a man who unfortunately had been taken into slavery.  Dominic was going to offer himself up to replace the man, but the captive was released before that exchange could happen.

Dominic often could be heard crying, himself.  And if you could understand his mutterings, you would have heard begging God's mercy for us sinners.  One of the brothers wrote:

So wonderfully tender-hearted was he touching the sins and miseries of men, that when he (Dominic) came near any city or town from where he could overlook it, he would burst into tears at the thought of the miseries of mankind, of the sins committed therein, and of the numbers who were [headed for destruction].  (Conway and Jarrett, Lives of the Brethren, p. 56) as quoted in Praying with Dominic by Michael Monshau, o.p.

Meditating upon this quote, we prayed.

Try praying the name Jesus until you have focused on His presence within you.  Think of one of your own shortcomings, and pray:

Lord, have mercy.

Think of another and pray:

Christ, have mercy.

Keep on going:

Lord, have mercy.

Pray like this until you can't think of any more faults.  Now ask Jesus to give you the graces necessary to become a more merciful and compassionate person.

Mimosa

Today is the Feast of Saint Dominic.  I began the day with breakfast with my friends from the Hope of Bethany Pro-Chapter.  Sister Ruth surprised us by bringing a couple of our former "cloistered brothers."  It was wonderful to see them.  We toasted with orange juice because St. Dominic liked oranges.  He planted some orange seeds outside of Santa Sabina in Rome.  Santa Sabina has been the home of the Order of Preachers, since the 13th century.

There is still an orange tree growing and producing oranges at Santa Sabina.  No doubt it is a descendent of St. Dominic's original.

We were wishing we had some champagne to toast this happy occasion because orange juice and champagne make a drink called mimosa.  The toast would be Veritas!

The Monkey's Taunt at Saint Dominic

I've known the legend of the monkey and St. Dominic.  I've even blogged about it here.  But I never heard or read what actually the monkey was saying.  Today, on the Catholic Exchange blog, I read a post by Sean Fitzpatrick which gives the monkey's taunt.  It's amusing.

Dost thou here write when all do sleep?
O vanity of vanity,
To drive men to insanity,
With teachings of inanity–
Far better would it be to sleep!

Dost thou here muse when all do sleep?
O, thou, dim-witted Dominic,
Thou dost neglect the poor and sick,
For thine own liking dost thou pick–
Far better would it be to sleep!

Dost thou here pray when all do sleep?
O scribbling scrabbling Pharisee,
Are thy prayers of such quality
They merit immortality?
Far better would it be to sleep!

I enjoy the part where Dominic tries to ignore the pest.  Isn't that everyone's first reaction?  

Imagine calling Dominic, dim-witted?  Or a Pharisee?  

Praying Like Saint Dominic

I turned the page in my prayer book this morning, and came upon a little slip of paper I had torn out of a magazine.  It was titled "Meditation of the Day/How to Think as God Does."  The little meditation was about Saint Dominic's Nine Ways of Prayer, written by Pope Benedict XVI.

Obviously, I tore this meditation out because I'm a Lay Dominican, and I put it between the pages dedicated to the Feast of Saint Dominic, August 8.  All Dominicans know the nine ways of prayer.  There's showing reverence by bowing, prostrating, genuflecting, kneeling, doing penance, adoration, standing in orans position and alleluia position, walking while praying, and lectio divina.

B XVI, however, points out that all Dominic's ways of prayer point to Jesus.  Naturally!  But also, all these physical movements lead into one kind of prayer.  That kind of prayer being deep contemplation.

So very true.  My prayer eventually leads to quiet meditation.  I talk to God and He talks to me.  Prayer concludes with my listening.

Happy Feast of Saint Dominic.  May all your prayers bring you closer to Jesus.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

It's Sunday.  That means it's time to link up with the Catholic Carnival, at This That n' the Other Thing.  And thanks to RAnn for hosting.  Here's the snippets I posted about.  Monday, I wrote a book review on the next book in Michael Stewart's "Assured Destruction Series", Script Kiddie.  "Assured Destruction" is about a teenage girl who is trying to save her mom, her business, her boyfriend, her future,and even her life.  It's young adult, but I'm a senior adult and I'm hooked.  script Kiddie is the second in the series.
 
Tuesday I wrote about bargaining with God.  When I was about ten years old, I made a bargain with God because I wanted to win a softball game. That bargain still haunts me.

Wednesday, a friend was upset because her pastor disrespected her.  She was trying to help the parish by pointing out an error in a notice.  Everyone's reaction was that it was no big deal and she was just being a jerk.  I felt for her.  All people had to say was, "You're correct."  That's all.  Validate her concern.  What would it have cost her pastor to say, "You're right.  Thanks for noticing and telling me."  Everyone needs affirmation.

Thursday was a big feast day for me.  I celebrated the Vigil of St. Dominic with my brothers.  The feast day, itself, began with Mass.  And that's the last post I wrote this week, because I've been celebrating ever since the Feast of St. Dominic.  Veritas!

Our Holy Fathers

Our Lady of Mercy Chapter's Dominican and Franciscan
Ms. Ruth Raichele, op and Sr. Kathleen Deneven, osf  

October 5 is the Feast Day of St. Francis.  It is a venerable tradition in the Franciscan and Dominican Orders to call both founders, Our Holy Father Dominic and Our Holy Father Francis.  Both Orders do this in their Litany of Saints.  We also invite a preacher from the other Order to preach on our respective feast days.  For example, Our Lady of Mercy Chapter invited Fr. Martin Curtin, OFM Cap., and he gave an inspired Talk.  (Albeit impromptu, but it was excellent, nonetheless.)

Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira describes the complementary mission of these two Religious Orders:

"St. Francis and St. Dominic both received visions that allowed them to recognize one another. So when St. Dominic saw St. Francis in one of the churches of Rome, he went to him and embraced him. They both expressed their enthusiasm for the mission each had received and for the fact that they would support one another. This was the embrace of two souls, each one with every reason to hold the other in the highest esteem: on one hand, because their missions were very similar; on the other hand, because they were very different.

According to Catholic criteria, a great similarity leads to friendship, but so also does a great dissimilarity when it is not the dissimilarity of opposition, but rather one that is complementary. One had something that the other was lacking. Together they constituted a harmonic ensemble. For this reason, they admired one another.

Both saints had a profound Marian devotion. St. Francis was a great palatine of the Immaculate Conception centuries before it was defined as dogma. The Franciscans would spread that truth throughout the world. St. Dominic was the great apostle of the Rosary. Through the devotion of the Rosary the Dominicans would effect immediate and spectacular conversions. The Dominican is the Order of the Rosary par excellence. So, from the Marian perspective, there is a great similarity in the Orders.

However, even with this similarity of mission, there are also differences. The two Marian devotions represent in the minds of the faithful two different floods of light. Still, they are convergent lights, because it is not unusual for the person who believes in the Immaculate Conception to pray the Rosary, and vice-versa.

This balance between similarity and dissimilarity can also be noted in another point. The Dominican Order was called to convert persons by speaking to their will through their intelligence. It is clear that part of the Dominican mission is an intellectual work--the study and teaching of philosophy, theology, and apologetics. On the contrary, the dominant note of the Franciscan Order is to move the will through a manifestation of zeal. The great conversions of the Franciscans came about through the consideration of the Wounds of Our Lord, His Passion, His poverty and spirit of sacrifice. Once again, they are harmonic differences that merge in the spirit of the faithful. A Catholic instructed in the arguments of apologetics by the Dominicans should also be touched by the fervor of the Franciscans.

That embrace in a church of Rome, therefore, was not just the embrace of two saints, but something more. It was the missions of the two Orders that embraced in that moment. The two Founders were like the two hands of God uniting their efforts to work on this earth, to bring holiness and happiness to men and glory to the Catholic Church."

 h/t Friar Blog belonging to the Province of St. Joseph

Veritas

 Dominic Preacher of Grace, Christ the Heavenly Face

by

Mrs. Faith Flaherty, O.P.

Dominic the contemplative, Christ Paraclete Divine;
Dominic the holy priest, Christ our Most Sacred Wine!

Dominic the teacher, Christ the Living Word;
Dominic the merciful, Christ our One and Only Lord!

Dominic blessed preacher, Christ the Divine Prophet;
Dominic full of compassion, Christ who paid Adam’s debt!

Dominic our founder, Christ the King of Kings;
Dominic disciple, Christ in whom salvation brings!

Dominic man of Mary, Christ the Son of Man;
Dominic light of the Word, Christ the world’s New Adam!

Dominic man of prayer, Christ with us, Immanuel;
Dominic, communicator, Christ with whom we choose to dwell!

Dominic man of faith, Christ the Divine Way;
Dominic confessor, Christ the Holy Gate Way!

Dominic lover of God, Christ the promised Paraclete;
Dominic saintly religious, Christ Sacred Mystery Most Complete!

Dominic disciple, Christ the Head of the Church;
Dominic carrier of the torch, Christ the Living Torch!

Dominic Master of the Order of Preachers, Christ Our Savior;
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word will live forever!

I wrote this poem for the OPrize Contest.  This is a contest open to all members of the Dominican family.  When the international web site asked for poetry submissions to post on their Jubilee section, I submitted the above poem.  I got the idea from an old medieval hymn called "Mary the Dawn."  I explicitly stated so, in my submittal.  I followed the form in "Mary the Dawn."  Somehow, I think that was interpreted as I didn't write Dominic Preacher of Grace, Christ the Heavenly Face.  That this poem is from "Mary the Dawn."  I guess that's how it happened, because I wrote and asked the web master why my name isn't on the poem, like the other submissions.  I never got an answer.  And if you look at the Order's international site, and look at my poem, you'll see an asterisk on the bottom.  The asterisk explains "from Mary the Dawn."  That's wrong.  That's not the truth.  It's from me, using the form from "Mary the Dawn."  It doesn't bother me that I'm not given the credit.  St. Dominic, himself, never left any writings, prayers, treatises, or works of any kind.  He, himself, was not important.  I use him as my example.  But St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that distinctions are important.  So today, on the Feast of St. Dominic, on my own blog, I'm posting my own poem for St. Dominic.  And that's the truth!  Veritas.