Feast of the Translation of Our Holy Father Saint Dominic

Heaven works the way it wants.  Despite Holy Father Dominic's sincere, humble wishes in his burial, and the best efforts of the Friars to keep miraculous happenings and pious attentions quiet, they knew when to give in when Heaven had other ideas!

Today all Dominicans remember the translation of St. Dominic's relics from his original tomb to a new one on this day in A.D. 1233, which also began the process of his canonization.

Blessed Jordan of Saxony wrote of this:

In its unsearchable wisdom the divine goodness is often accustomed to delay the manifestation of virtue, not that it might slip into oblivion, but rather that after having been hidden, it may be revealed more abundantly at an opportune moment. Whether God wished to so provide greater benefits for the Church or whether for some other reason, certain brothers whose simplicity outweighed their prudence decided that it would be quite sufficient if the glory of Saint Dominic, the servant of the Most High and the founder of the Order of Preachers, were known to God alone. They decided it was not worth the effort to bring that glory to the attention of others.

O God, who has vouchsafed to enlighten Thy Church by the merits and teachings of Thy blessed Confessor, our Holy Father, Saint Dominic, grant at his intercession that it may never be destitute of temporal help, and may always increase in spiritual growth. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Saint Catherine of Siena

On the Extraordinary calendar, today is the feast of St. Catherine of Siena, virgin, mystic, and Doctor of the Church.  Hardly any known child of Christ is as great as she!

Anyone Can Be Charitible

This was my reply to someone having a hard time understanding why a local parish would no longer allow a parishner publicly living against Church teaching to participate in some ministries run by the parish.

It makes no sense to act as a disciple of Christ while consciously going against His teaching. When we comfort the afflicted, feed the hungry, etc. we are doing much more than temporal works of charity; all such acts are ways of bringing Jesus to those that need Him. If we want to do this in the name of His mystical body (the Church), doesn't it make sense that we would do so in an exemplary manner? If you knowingly persist in not obeying a commandment (actively engaging in wrong doing), how can that be seen as anything but a mixed message? I think of it like a drug counselor trying to help addicts while publicly being active in addiction himself.

Fra Angelico

Portrait of Fra Angelico

"Blessed Fra Angelico was an Italian painter of the early Renaissance who combined the life of a devout friar with that of an accomplished painter. He was called Angelico (Italian for "angelic") and Beato (Italian for "blessed") because the paintings he did were of calm, religious subjects and because of his extraordinary personal piety. Originally named Guido di Pietro, Angelico was born in Vicchio, Tuscany. He entered a Dominican convent in Fiesole in 1418 and about 1425 became a friar using the name Giovanni da Fiesole. Although his teacher is unknown, he apparently began his career as an illuminator of missals and other religious books. He began to paint altarpieces and other panels"

"He died in the Dominican convent in Rome on March 18, 1455. Angelico combined the influence of the elegantly decorative Gothic style of Gentile da Fabriano with the more realistic style of such Renaissance masters as the painter Masaccio and the sculptors Donatello and Ghiberti, all of whom worked in Florence. Angelico was also aware of the theories of perspective proposed by Leon Battista Alberti. Angelico's representation of devout facial expressions and his use of color to heighten emotion are particularly effective. His skill in creating monumental figures, representing motion, and suggesting deep space through the use of linear perspective, especially in the Roman frescoes, mark him as one of the foremost painters of the Renaissance."

from Catholic Online entry on Fra Angelico.

Saint Dominic by Fra Angelico

  

When singing my praise, don't liken my talents to those of Apelles.

Say, rather, that, in the name of Christ, I gave all I had to the poor.

The deeds that count on Earth are not the ones that count in Heaven.
I, Giovanni, am the flower of Tuscany.

                                     --Epitath (translated) on Fra Angelico's tomb

 

The Coronation of the Virgin by Fra Angelico

The Death of St. Dominic by Fra Angelico

See more Fra Angelico's brilliant art at the Web Gallery of Art.

Saint Thomas Aquinas

Give us, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; give us an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; give us an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon us also, O Lord our God, understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Latin Mass Returns to Franciscan Friars

Congratulations to the Franciscan Friars at the Marian Friary of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Griswold, CT.  Starting today, they are switching to the usus antiquior predominantly for their liturgy!  It's wonderful watching the gradual return to the extraordinary form!

Goodbye Good Man

Bishop John D'Arcy entered Eternity today.  He was an early alarm sounder of the abuse crisis and, more recently, tried to keep Notre Dame Univerity Catholic.  See more here.

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine.
Et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion,
Et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem
Exaudi orationem meam
Ad te omnis caro veniet.