Thursday, August 8, 2024

Memorial of Saint Dominic, priest

(Jeremiah 31:31-34; Matthew 16:13-23)

A few months ago someone wrote on public media that she knew little about St. Dominic, the founder of the Order of Preachers, the “Dominicans”.   Not only she but many others have hardly heard of St. Dominic.  But almost everybody has heard about St. Francis, Dominic’s contemporary and founder of the Order of Friars Minor, the “Franciscans”.   It is only reasonable because the life of Dominic was hardly as spectacular as that of Francis.  Dominic never took off his clothes in public, as Francis did, to protest his father’s dislike for him becoming a vowed religious.  Nor did Dominic debate the Sultan of Egypt or initiate the custom of a creche to celebrate Christmas.  Dominic was only a Spanish priest with a dream to evangelize the world and the organizational ability to do so.

Dominic’s dream was born when he met members of the Albigensian religious sect in southern France.  These men and women were scandalized by the dissolute lives of many clerics.  Their outrage made them think that most things spiritual were good and most things material were bad.  They left behind belief in the sacraments and the authority of the bishops.  Feeling pity that they abandoned the sure road to eternal life, Dominic desired to establish a clerical order to preach to them the goodness of creation.  With the pope’s approval, he sent out the band of men he had gathered not only to France but also to other parts of Europe.  In time the Dominican movement reached the corners of the earth preaching that the Son of God became human to save men and women from death because of their sins.

It is said that St. Dominic lives in each of his friars so that if one praises a friar, the praise rebounds to Dominic.  A Dominican who distinguished himself in colonial Latin America was Antonio de Montesinos.  He arrived in what is now the Dominican Republic along with a handful of other friars around 1510.  These friars noted how the colonists were mistreating the indigenous population working in their plantations.  They discussed how to respond and elected Antonio de Montesinos to preach a sermon defending the indigenous.  On December 21, 1511, Fr. Antonio climbed the to the pulpit of the Dominican church in the city of Santo Domingo and chastised the Spanish for their abuse.  “Are these not men,” Montesinos preached. “Are they not human beings like you?  Are you not obliged to love them like yourselves?”

Today we should raise the same questions about the unborn.  Both fetuses forming in their mothers’ wombs and embryos frozen in laboratories possess human composition and should be treated with respect and care. Dominicans in name of their founder St. Dominic have united with popes, bishops, and people of goodwill to denounce abortion and the freezing of embryos.  For them all human life is sacred because God took on human flesh in Jesus Christ.

Thursday, August 8, 2019

Memorial of Saint Dominic, priest

(Numbers 20:1-13; Matthew 16:13-23)

St. Dominic is most often portrayed in art receiving the rosary from the Blessed Mother.  There is no reliable historical evidence of this event having taken place.  Still there is reason to associate Dominic with the rosary. Dominican priests, the spiritual sons of Dominic, have been among the principal promoters of praying the rosary in history.  There are statues of Dominic holding a church on one of his arms.  It’s a symbolic gesture, of course, but it has definite historical roots.

Dominic founded the Order of Preachers when the Church was being severely challenged.  Especially in France and Italy people were reacting against the corruption that often contaminates living the faith.  These people were called Cathars, a term meaning pure ones, or Albigensians for the city in what is now southern France where they were popular.  These idealistic people lived in austere ways accepting Jesus’ radicalness in the New Testament but rejecting the goodness of creation from the Old Testament.  Dominic believed that they might be converted back to a truly evangelical life.  He formed his spiritual brothers, who became known as Dominicans, to live in simplicity and community.  They would study Scripture and preach dynamically to win back those alienated from the Church.

We should see St. Dominic as standing in direct line with Jesus and St. Peter.  In today’s gospel Jesus calls his lead disciple “the rock (upon which) I will build my church.”  Twelve hundred years later Dominic worked to maintain that Church’s integrity.  The newly elected successor of St. Dominic, Fr. Gerard Timoner, Master of the Order of Preachers, has indicated his intention that the Order continue that enterprise. After accepting his election, he said, “The mission of the order is to help build the communion of the Church, the Body of Christ…”

Thursday, September 7, 2017

Thursday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

(I Corinthians 3:18-23; Luke 5:1-11)

A witness in the process of canonization of St. Dominic, the founder of the Order of Preachers, testified that the saint never became agitated or angry.  Even on arduous journeys, Paul of Venice said, Dominic “was always happy in tribulations and patient in adversities.”  This note regarding another saint may help us appreciate the holiness of Simon Peter in the gospel today.

Simon must feel tired and frustrated as he returns from a long night of fishing without catching anything.  We might think of the writer who spends hours before her computer before realizing that she has typed nothing worth saving.  Or Simon now may be compared to the farmer who comes home to find his garden completely ruined by raccoons.  Simon may want to swear and certainly needs to rest before considering his next outing.  When Jesus at that moment tells him to put out to sea and lower the nets again, he may want to explode saying, “What do you know about fishing?”  But instead Simon tells the Lord calmly what took place during the night and does as Jesus commands.  The result is a catch so stupendous that Simon does not think twice about changing his life’s course to follow Jesus.

Where Jesus is leading us is demonstrated in today’s first reading.  Paul or one of his disciples writes that followers of Christ exhibit endurance, patience, joy, and thanksgiving. With practice we can develop these virtues.  They will bring much fruit – not only peace to us but even more followers to Christ. 

Monday, August 8, 2016

Memorial of Saint Dominic Guzman, priest

(Ezekiel 1:2-5.24-28c; Matthew 17:22-27)

Some may remember St. Dominic from images in churches of him receiving the rosary from the Blessed Mother.  A few may recall a song about his life by a Belgian religious that rose to the top of the sales charts in the early 1960s.  But for most people St. Dominic’s story is as obscure as that of Jorge Bergoglio’s four years ago. 

Dominic was not a bishop or a martyr.  He did not leave any writings as a legacy beyond a simple exhortation to a community of sisters and some letters.  He was reportedly a fine preacher but no transcriptions of his sermons exist.  Dominic achieved standing in the Church for founding the Order of Preachers exactly eight hundred years ago.  In fact, since there is no historical evidence of Dominic’s miraculously receiving the rosary, historians attribute the popular image to the fact that members of the Order, called “Dominicans,” have been the leading promoters of the rosary through the ages.

But no one should mistake Dominic as a mediocre man who happened to found a successful religious congregation.  The Order of Preachers became successful because of his effectiveness as a leader.  Three qualities stand out: the breadth of his vision for the “holy preaching” (as he called it), the excellence of his character to set that vision in motion, and most of all the profundity of his faith which was not deterred by historical setbacks or weak followers.    Dominic believed radically in God’s providence and beseeched the Lord constantly for assistance in his enterprise of announcing Jesus Christ to the world.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Memorial of Saint Dominic, priest

(Deuteronomy 10:12-22; Matthew 17:22-27)

St. Dominic is often pictured with a dog. A legend says that his mother dreamed of giving birth to a dog with a torch in his mouth that would set the world on fire. The dog is taken as Dominic himself who with his band of friars helped spread the gospel to the corners of Europe and beyond. C.J. Jung thought the dog indicates the saint’s well-integrated emotional life. Dominic was noted as a person of equanimity able to accept advances or setbacks with the same reliance on the Lord. A more recent explanation of the dog would be that Dominic had a personal affection of the Lord akin to a dog’s for his master. This may be pushing the envelope too far, however, as dogs may in ways imitate people but certainly mature human love reaches far beyond canine devotion. Nevertheless, throughout their history Dominicans have taken pride in being thought of as “dogs of the Lord,” what their popular name sounds like in Latin.

Dominic would readily accept Moses’ plea to the Israelites in today’s reading from Deuteronomy. The primitive constitution of his Order speaks of its purpose as bringing men (and in their own convents women) together to be perfected with the same love of God and of neighbor. But the Order has always been more outward than inward looking. The same constitution speaks of its mission as “preaching and the salvation of souls.”

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Thursday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

(I Corinthians 3:18-23; Luke 5:1-11)

A witness to the process of canonization of St. Dominic, the founder of the Order of Preachers, testified that the saint never became agitated or angry. Even on arduous journeys, Paul of Venice said, Dominic “was always happy in tribulations and patient in adversities.” This note regarding another saint may help us appreciate the holiness of Simon Peter in the gospel today.

Simon must feel tired and frustrated as he returns from a long night of fishing without catching anything. We might think of the writer who spends hours before her computer before realizing that she has typed nothing worth saving. Or Simon at this moment may be compared to the farmer who comes home to find his garden completely ruined by raccoons. Simon may want to swear and certainly needs to rest before considering his next outing. When Jesus at that moment tells him to put out to sea and lower the nets again, he may even consider exploding, “What do you know about fishing?” But instead he tells the Lord calmly what took place during the night and without hesitation does as Jesus commands. The result, of course, is a catch so stupendous that Simon is completely humbled and entirely changes his life.

Very often in the New Testament followers of Jesus are exhorted to patience, kindness, and gentleness. Roughness, bitterness, and rancor are not Christian virtues. Not only do soft words and obliging ways attract others to Christ, they also act like gentle rains producing abundant fruit for their practitioners.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Thursday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(I Kings 2:1-4.10-12; Mark 6:7-13)

St. Dominic founded the Order of Preachers as a response to a missionary necessity. Many people, especially in southern France, were attracted to Catharism, a religion that taught the dualism of matter and spirit. What is spiritual, the Catharists believed, is good and what is material is evil. Fine food, drink, even sex between married partners were eschewed. Truth and goodness were to be embraced. For all the abuse that people make of material things we can see how Catharist ideas would have appeal among simple people.

Monks galloping on horses from well-endowed estates had little success in checking the Catharist distortion. Their near betrayal of poverty seemed only to confirm what the dualists were teaching. Dominic dreamed of a different tact. He would form a group of men who would beg for the food they ate and go on foot – two by two -- to preach truth to the people. Actually much of Dominic’s program is based on today’s gospel. Jesus sends his disciples out with the same scarcity of physical resources – “no food, no sack, no money in their belts.” However, they go forth with spiritual power to cast out demons and to cure the sick. Their effect, as we shall read in Saturday’s mass, is considerable.

These stories challenge us to re-examine our lives. They make us ask if our possessions might not give a counter-message concerning what we treasure most. More than that, they urge us to seek spiritual values – truth, beauty, and goodness -- before material goods and to find satisfaction in doing the Lord’s work.

Homilette for Friday, August 8, 2008

Memorial of St. Dominic, priest

(Matthew 16:24-28)

When William Jefferson Clinton was first inaugurated President of the United States, his wife Hillary was wearing a cross on a chain around her neck. Radio commentators asked whether the cross was an appropriate symbol on such a civic occasion. A more poignant question would have been whether Mrs. Clinton knew the significance of her jewelry.

In the gospel Jesus tells us that to be his disciples we must take up our cross and follow him. Wearing a cross signifies that we have accepted the terms. As his disciples, everyday we will encounter challenges because we are opting for self-denial which goes against our hard-wired fallen human nature. Sometimes – like when the cross demands that we give up the possibility of marriage to someone we are exceptionally fond of – it will seem too much to bear. But, of course, we can always count on Jesus himself to help us carry it.

It seems that St. Dominic never flinched in carrying his cross. His followers saw him as both austere and amiable. He would stay up all night praying on the floor of the Dominican basilica in Rome. However, such piety did not leave him too weary the next day to graciously encourage his brother friars. Several witnesses summed up Dominic’s virtue by testifying in his Acts of Canonization, “He spoke only of God or to God.”

Homilette for Thursday, November 8, 2007

Thursday, XXI Week of Ordinary Time

(Luke 15:1-10)

Dominicans tell a story about St. Dominic that corresponds in a way to the gospel today. Once when Dominic was traveling in southern France, he stopped at an inn whose keeper was an Albigensian heretic. Dominic engaged him in a discussion that lasted the whole night. In the morning the innkeeper was ready to convert to orthodox Christianity. The story indicates how difficult it is to turn one who has defied the Church back to the faith.

Certainly Jesus has as large a challenge when preaching to tax collectors and sinners. Yet he seems to change their hearts with all the facility of a potter molding clay. Evidently the Pharisees are scandalized by his associating with these people. But knowing the duplicity of our own hearts, we may suggest that they also resented Jesus for his success. After all, if he was bringing back people from contempt of religion to religious observance, there is certainly Scriptural precedent to rejoice. But either they thought the conversions insincere or, more likely, they could not tolerate Jesus accomplishing such difficult transformations. So they find reasons to undermine his efforts.

We must take care not to give in to envy of others’ successes. We might criticize the achievement of the head salesperson by saying that her territory is easier than ours. We might carp at the “teacher of the year” by saying that he concentrated too much on test scores. Perhaps we have a point, but it is also possible that another has more talent than we or worked harder than we. We should be ready to congratulate the person and to thank God for the benefits her work attained for others.

Homilette for Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Wednesday, the Memorial of St. Dominic

(Numbers 13-14)

Caleb sounds like the rambunctious voice of youth as he urges the Israelites to form an expedition into Canaan in the first reading today. The land seemed unassailable to the scouts who examined it. Perhaps Caleb’s confidence comes from the assurance that the Israelites have more than swords and shields to claim the land. God, who has accompanied them past high waters and ensuing armies, has promised them victory.

Caleb’s nerve is matched by St. Dominic’s many centuries later. In 1217 Dominic had just received papal confirmation for the Order of Preachers. He had a group of seventeen men in various stages of formation walled up in a house in Prouille, France. They had much to learn about the apostolic life, but Dominic saw the need to begin an expedition of preaching throughout the world. “Wheat stored up in bins only rots,” he told the friars as he sent them forth in different directions. With God’s help they successfully established communities and then provinces.

Often we face what appear to be daunting challenges. Sometimes it’s a diet or exercise regime that we just don’t think we are up to. Sometimes it has to do with relationships whose disruption may make life unpleasant. A woman, for example, recently had to tell her company’s administration that her supervisor was stealing company funds. Certainly her action would seem a betrayal to the thief-supervisor and, likely as well, to other employees. With prayer and perhaps some consultation, we can – like St. Dominic – boldly move ahead to do what we know to be right.

Homilette for Thursday, May 24, 2007

Thursday, May 24, The Transfer of St. Dominic’s Remains

(John 17)
The Lord has blessed the Dominican Order with unity. Where several other large orders have fractured, the Dominicans have stayed united. The Dominican Constitutions detailing the dynamics of communal life has, no doubt, contributed to this unity. Perhaps also Dominicans have resisted the impulse to divide over disagreements out of love for St. Dominic.

St. Dominic enjoyed talking with the brothers and sisters. This inclination to socialize was exceeded only by his desire to pray for the Order and its mission. Jordan of Saxony, St. Dominic’s successor, said of him, “During the day, none was more affable, none more pleasant to his brethren or associates. At night none was more instant in prayer or watching.” Today the Dominican Order celebrates the Transfer of St. Dominic’s Remains from their original burial place to a special tomb. It was Dominic’s desire to be buried under the choir stalls where the friars prayed. Obviously, he wished to perpetually remain part of their unity.

In the gospel Jesus prays to the Father that his disciples remain one. The source of the unity of Christians is to be love of him. He asks the Father that “the love with which you loved me may be in them.” He is praying for the same kind of unity that has blessed the Dominican Order for almost 800 years.