St. Dominic's Yoga

My Lay Dominican Chapter is gearing up for St. Dominic's Feast Day.  Today we watched a real live demonstration of St. Dominic's Nine Ways of Prayer.  Afterwards, one of my "cloistered brothers" quipped, "It looks like Yoga!"

We all laughed and from now on St. Dominic's Nine Ways of Prayer will be known as Dominican Yoga.  This led to a discussion of different ways of prayer.  Brother James added an interesting concept that I never thought of before.  Brother James remembered that at one time we had a volunteer that used to come to Mass with us.  Afterwards, she lead us in some yoga exercises.  This volunteered said that yoga was spiritual to her because she considered yoga led her to prayer.  We didn't know what to think of that, but to be polite, we joined her.  After all she volunteered to teach us yoga.  She wasn't being paid.

So after Mass, Mary Jane led us in some yoga.  We all laughed, especially at each other.  But we were laughing together, helping each other, and sharing the experience.  Brother James said that he tried doing yoga back in his cell, but it wasn't the same.  In fact, he considered it a failure.

What was missing when Brother James was alone was the community.  Also the timing.  When we did the yoga after Mass, it did feel spiritual--like continuing our prayers after Mass.  We were with our confreres and sharing the experience.

That's two of the four pillars of Dominican spirituality: prayer and community.  We decided to baptize yoga and make it Christian.  From now on our yoga will be known as Dominican Yoga, and St. Dominic's Nine Ways of Prayer are in it.

Sunday Snippets A Catholic Carnival

First this week's question, asked by RAnn, who is the host of Sunday Snippets A Catholic Carnival.  My favorite religious holiday recipe is mimosa, which comes from Catholic Cuisine.  This is a wonderfully informative, and delicious blog about cooking religiously.  And mimosa is a drink, made with champagne and orange toast.  On the feast of St. Dominic, my Lay Dominican friends and I, toast to St. Dominic with mimosas.

Why oranges and St. Dominic?  Legend has it that Saint Dominic planted an orange tree in Santa Sabina priory.  The tree is still there.  So if you eat from that tree, you are eating a third class relic (just kidding).

My Sunday Snippets from the week include:

Monday --  going to a Mass celebrated by a Primitive Franciscan.

Tuesday -- I meditated upon heaven.

Wednesday -- a book review.

Thursday and Friday -- Family Celebrations

Saturday -- I wrote about Blessed Henry Suso.

Why don't you click over to RAnn's and read some others' blogs?  You will be entertained.

What is a Novena?

A novena is a series of prayers, said for nine consecutive days, for the purposes of requesting special blessings.  Since I'm a Lay Dominican, and the Feast of Saint Dominic is August 8, nine days away, I'll begin a novena, today.

First Day
The Faith of Saint Dominic
"Without faith it is impossible to please God." (Heb. xi 6)

With his mother's milk, St. Dominic imbibed that greatest of virtues, divine faith.  Blessed Jane of Aza was a woman of remarkable piety, and her son was a faithful imitator of his holy mother.

Fortified by his strong faith, St. Dominic undertook all those works which resulted in such wonderful blessings to the Church, and in such great glory to God by the salvation of so many souls.  Nothing dismayed him.  His confidence was unbounded.  In His name he accomplished all.  And though he sighed for martyrdom that he might seal his faith by shedding his blood, God did not will this sacrifice.  In the thousands of his children, however, who offered their lives for Christ, St. Dominic may well be considered a martyr.

Practice

Our Lord tells us that we may know ourselves by our fruits.  What are the fruits of our faith?  Are they such that we may have confidence that we are pleasing God?  What is the motive of all we do?  Do we live, as the just man, by faith?  Are we strong in trial and faithful in temptation?  Do we rely on God or seek human motives and human means in the good we do?

Let us learn a lesson from St. Dominic.  Let us ask of him to obtain for us the gift of a lively faith, his unshaken confidence in God.

Celebrating St. Dominic

op and osf

My "cloistered brothers" were in rare form today.  They put on a special program to celebrate our Feast Day.  We didn't have enough time together.  It all had to end too soon.
   The chapter's music group, Echoes of Truth, played and sang for us.  The chapter's Sacred Movement Group performed, also.  We played Dominican Trivia.  And we even had a Franciscan preach to us.
   Father Martin Curtin, OFM CAP preached on the beginnings of the two Orders.  What particularly impressed me was the story of seeing Christ in others.  Fr. Martin made me see Christ in a new way.  I use to wonder, when I saw a particularly revolting person, where Christ was, in that person.  Fr. Martin in talking about community life, said that annoying people encourage us to act like Christ.  That's where Christ is--"us" being moved to be better persons.  Finally, I get it.

And in a Franciscan's preaching!  Who knew?