Novena to Saint Dominic - Day 1

O renowned champion of the faith of Christ,
most holy saint Dominic,
who renounced the honor and dignity
of an earthly principality to embrace the poor, laborious and mortified life which should distinguish a disciple of Him Who has said:

"If any man will come after Me,
let him take up his cross and follow Me."

O burning torch, who being thyself consumed with the fire of divine love, and did incessantly work to enkindle that sacred flame in the hearts of others, look down upon me from that throne of glory where you enjoy the reward of all your labors, and obtain that some sparks of that blessed fire may be lighted in my soul, to animate and encourage me under any crosses or trials with which it shall please the divine goodness to visit me.

O great Saint, Who regarded as nothing, all the afflictions you endured, and all the toils you underwent, for the promotion of God's holy cause; obtain, I beseech Thee, that the same ardent love which strengthened you, may make sweet to me labor, humiliations, disgraces, or whatever other mortifications, I may have to suffer for the Name of Jesus.

May I ever bear in mind that nothing can happen to me but by the particular dispensation of a God Who is infinitely wise, and therefore knows what is best for my welfare; infinitely powerful, and consequently able to effect it; and above all, infinitely merciful and loving, Who has laid down His life for my redemption, and continues daily to give new proofs of His love and bounty.

O tender Father of the poor who, when all other resources were exhausted, offered yourself for their relief, obtain for me that true spirit of compassion for the suffering members of Jesus Christ, which shone forth so conspicuously in thy holy life.

May I, by charity to those whom Jesus so dearly loves, lay up for myself treasures in heaven, where you now enjoy that which the eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, but which God has prepared for those who love Him, and who prove themselves His Disciples, by the observance of His Divine precept - love one another.

I praise and thank God for the high degree of sanctity to which He had raised you, and the special privileges by which He has distinguished you.

I conjure thee, by that gratitude with which you shalt for all eternity be penetrated for your Divine Benefactor, implore for me the grace to root out of my heart whatever is not agreeable in His sight,
especially that evil habit by which I most frequently offend Him.
Obtain likewise the favours I request in this Novena, through your powerful intercession.

(Here specify your intentions)

O glorious Mother of God,
Queen of the most sacred Rosary,
you who loved Dominic with the affection
of a mother,
and were most tenderly loved and honored by him, look upon me, for his sake,
with an eye of pity,
deign to join with him in presenting these petitions to your most Blessed Jesus.

I sincerely desire from this moment to love Him with all my heart,
and serve Him with all my strength, and now place myself under your powerful protection,

as a sure means of obtaining all
the graces necessary
to serve Him faithfully here,
that I may eternally rejoice with Him hereafter.

May the Host be with you!

 Priest Celebrates “Star Wars” First Communion

Is it any wonder the Mohammedans are taking over Germany when this is unabashedly going on?

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.

Blessed Villana de'Botti

Today is the feast of Blessed Villana de'Botti according to the Domincan Ordo. (It is Feb. 28 in the Ordinary calendar of the Roman Rite.) Bl. Villana tried to enter religious life by running away to a convent when she 13 years old.  Expectedly, she was turned away.  This prompted her father to arrange an early marriage for her to a wealthy man.  She gave into a worldly life of the idle rich.  Eventually, she saw the effects of how her turning away from God had sullied her soul.

She sought the help of the nearby Dominican Fathers of Santa Maria and made herself right with God.  She became a third-order/lay Dominican, living the rest of her short life in a holy marriage while also given to prayer, doing penance, and studying.  She was publically ridiculed but remained strong in her spiritual life and duties.  She was only 30 years old when died in AD 1361.  Beacause of the constant amounts of mourners, it was a month before the Dominican Fathers could bury her.      

Prayer

 

O God, our merciful Father, you called Blessed Villana back from the emptiness of the world and aroused in her a spirit of humility and true penitence. Recreate in our hearts the power of your love and, filled by that same spirit, may we serve you in newness of life. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Tomb of Bl. Villana de'Botti

St. Thomas Aquinas

  Today is the Ordinary calendar feast of one of the Dominican Order's greatest glories, St. Thomas Aquinas. There is absolutely nothing I can say about him that has not already been better recorded.

Instead, here is list of personal suggestions of things anyone can do to honor the Angelic Doctor on his feast:

• Spend an hour in Eucaristic adoration.
• Read some of the Summa Theologiae (Click here for an online version of the 1947 translation by The Fathers of the English Dominican Province)
• Join the Angelic Warfare Congraternity (A Dominican apostalate under St. Thomas' partronage. Anyone can join!)
• Pray a prayer by St. Thomas or for his intercession
• Sing or listen to a hymn written by St. Thomas:
• Pange Lingua
• Adoro Te Devote  
• O Salutaris Hostia

Some prayers by St. Thomas Aquinas

Prayer for Guidance

 
O creator past all telling,
you have appointed from the treasures of your wisdom
the hierarchies of angels,
disposing them in wondrous order
above the bright heavens,
and have so beautifully set out all parts of the universe.
You we call the true fount of wisdom
and the noble origin of all things.
Be pleased to shed
on the darkness of mind in which I was born,
The twofold beam of your light
and warmth to dispel my ignorance and sin.
You make eloquent the tongues of children.
Then instruct my speech
and touch my lips with graciousness.
Make me keen to understand, quick to learn,
able to remember;
make me delicate to interpret and ready to speak.

Guide my going in and going forward,
lead home my going forth.
You are true God and true man, 
and live for ever and ever.

 

Prayer After Communion

 

I thank You, Lord, Almighty Father, Everlasting God, for having been pleased, through no merit of mine, but of Your great mercy alone, to feed me, a sinner, and Your unworthy servant, with the precious Body and Blood of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that this Holy Communion may not be for my judgment and condemnation, but for my pardon and salvation. Let this Holy Communion be to me an armor of faith and a shield of good will, a cleansing of all vices, and a rooting out of all evil desires. May it increase love and patience, humility and obedience, and all virtues. May it be a firm defense against the evil designs of all my visible and invisible enemies, a prefect quieting of all the desires of soul and body. May this Holy Communion bring about a perfect union with You, the one true God, and at last enable me to reach eternal bliss when You will call me. I pray that You bring me, a sinner, to the indescribable Feast where You, with Your Son and the Holy Spirit, are to Your saints true light, full blessedness, everlasting joy, and perfect happiness. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Redundant Headline

From The Blaze:

The Conditions at This MI Abortion Clinic Were So ‘Dangerous’ & ‘Disgusting’ It Was Shut Down

Funny, aren't all abortion clinics 'dangerous' and 'disgusting' by definition and design?