Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) St. Dominic de Guzman founded the Order of Preachers – the Dominicans – to preach the Gospel and to save souls.  His zeal to save souls knew no limits. He reportedly spent every night in prayer tearfully asking God, “What will become of sinners?” Does such zeal for the salvation of souls exist today? I n a recent post on Missio Dei , Kaleb Hammond questioned how many individuals in the world today believe that: “Jesus is the one and only way to salvation, without whom we cannot enter heaven" and “Hell is a real possibility for each of us and that Heaven is guaranteed to no one.” Not many, he concluded, since we live in a culture that believes one religion is "just as good as another" and that all of us will go to heaven.  I highly recommend that you read his post, The Heresy of Universalism .  Here is a link . Sadly, Kaleb is right. Our Church has long abandoned its primary duty - the salvation of souls. Not enough of its leader...

Today, we Dominicans and the Universal Church celebrate the feast day and memorial of our Father, St. Dominic. I invite you to offer the following prayer which are excerpts from the Evening and Morning prayer intentions set forth in the Supplement to the Liturgy of the Hours for the Order of Preachers: Provident God, you gave Dominic to Your Church as an Apostle of Truth, increase our zeal for Your Word. Lord, you helped Dominic weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice, may we imitate his compassion for Your people. Lord, you gave Dominic the gift of preaching in Your Name, may we preach in our world as Dominic preached in his. Loving God, you call us to go serve You by imitating our Holy Father Dominic, give us that passion for Truth which inflamed his heart. Dominic sent forth his family to fill the world with the fruit of their study and contemplation. Lord keep us assiduous in study, persevering in prayer and zealous in ...

[Time got away from me so I am recirculating a post from three years ago.] Today we Dominicans pause to remember and honor the founder of the Order of Preachers, our Father, St. Dominic de Guzman. A little over 800 years ago, this unique and talented man, reshaped the face of the Church of his day by combining the contemplative and apostolic vocations under one religious order. Since that time, Dominicans have tirelessly sought the salvation of souls. Daily they strive to faithfully fulfill their mission -  to Praise, to Bless, to Preach! If you want a short but enlightening glimpse of who this man was, follow the suggestion of Ms. Marianne Jablonski, O.P., former President of the Lay Fraternities of St. Dominic, St. Joseph Province, and spend some time today reading and pondering the saint's  Last Will and Testament. Steal away a few more quiet moments before day's end and honor our founder and the God who made him and Whom...

Today we Dominicans and the universal Church have the great privilege of celebrating the feast day and memorial of our Father, St. Dominic!   This day is especially sweet this year - the 800 th anniversary of the founding of the Order of Preachers. (Church of St. Vincent Ferrer, NYC) God has used and continues to use the Order of Preachers to defend His Church and proclaim His Truth. Since their founding, Dominicans have worked untiringly to save souls. Every day, they strive to faithfully live their motto: "To Praise, To Bless, To Preach." In my mind, nothing captures the charism of the Dominican Order and its founder better than this most succinct and penetrating quotation attributed to St. Albert the Great: “The roving dogs are the Order of Preachers who do not wait at their homes for the poor but go out to them and lick the ulcers of their sins, having in their mouths the bark of preaching .” If you want a brief glimpse into the life of...

THE ORDER OF PREACHERS  THE DOMINICANS  THE PREACHERS OF MERCY Take a Quick Peak Here