Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Aquinas: An Imagined Encounter

An interesting piece over at First Things by Archbishiop Augustine Di Noia, O.P., that is of particular significance to me as a graduate of the University of Virginia who was received into the Church at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish (a Dominican parish adjacent to the UVA grounds).

Feast of St. Dominic - 8 August

(Originally posted 8 August 2006)

St. Dominic in Prayer, by El Greco
From the Patron Saints Index:

Dominic de Guzman

Memorial
8 August

Profile
Born of wealthy Spanish nobility. Son of Blessed Joan of Aza. When she was pregnant, his mother had a vision that her unborn child was a dog who would set the world on fire with a torch it carried in its mouth; a dog with a torch in its mouth became a symbol for the order which he founded, the Dominicans. At Dominic's baptism, Blessed Joan saw a star shining from his chest, which became another of his symbols in art, and led to his patronage of astronomy.

Studied philosophy and theology at the University of Palencia. Priest. Canon of the cathedral of Osma. Augustinian. Worked for clerical reform. Lifelong apostolate among heretics, especially Albigensians, and especially in France. Worked with Blessed Peter of Castelnau. Founded the Order of Friars Preachers (Dominicans) in 1215, a group who live a simple, austere life, and an order of nuns dedicated to the care of young girls. Friend of Saint Amata of Assisi.

At one point Dominic became discouraged at the progress of his mission; no matter how much he worked, the heresies remained. But he received a vision from Our Lady who showed him a wreath of roses, representing the rosary. She told him to say the rosary daily, teach it to all who would listen, and eventually the true faith would win out. Dominic is often credited with the invention of the rosary; it actually pre-dates him, but he certainly spread devotion to it, and used it to strengthen his own spiritual life.

Reported miracle worker who brought four people back from the dead. Legend says that Dominic received a vision of a beggar who, like Dominic, would do great things for the Faith. Dominic met the beggar the next day. He embraced him and said, "You are my companion and must walk with me. If we hold together, no earthly power can withstand us." The beggar was Saint Francis of Assisi.

Born
1170 at Calaruega, Burgos, Old Castile

Died
4 August 1221 at Bologna

Canonized
13 July 1234 by Pope Gregory IX at Rieti, Italy

Name Meaning
belonging to God

Patronage
astronomers; astronomy; prelature of Batanes-Babuyanes, Philippines; diocese of Bayombong, Philippines; Dominican Republic; falsely accused people; Santo Domingo Indian Pueblo; scientists

Prayers
Prayer I to...
Prayer II to...

Representation
chaplet, Dominican carrying a rosary and a tall cross; Dominican holding a lily; Dominican with dog and globe; Dominican with fire; Dominican with star shining above his head; rosary; star

Images
Gallery of images of Saint Dominic [50 images, 713 kb]

Storefront
Commercial Links related to Saint Dominic

Additional Information
Google Directory
New Catholic Dictionary
Fausto Appetente Die: On Saint Dominic, by Pope Benedict XV

Readings
A man who governs his passions is master of his world. We must either command them or be enslaved by them. It is better to be a hammer than an anvil.
- Saint Dominic
-------------------
Dominic possessed such great integrity and was so strongly motivated by divine love, that without a doubt he proved to be a bearer of honor and grace. And since a joyful heart animates the face, he displayed the peaceful composure of a spiritual man in the kindness he manifested outwardly and by the cheerfulness of his countenance.

Wherever he went he showed himself in word and deed to be a man of the Gospel. During the day no one was more community-minded or pleasant toward his brothers and associates. During the night hours no one was more persistent in every kind of vigil and supplication. He seldom spoke unless it was with God, that is, in prayer, or about God; and in this matter he instructed his brothers.

Frequently he made a special personal petition that God would deign to grant him genuine charity in caring for and obtaining the salvation of men. For he believed that only then would he be truly a member of Christ, when he had given himself totally for the salvation of men, just as the Lord Jesus, the Savior of all, had offered himself completely for our salvation. So, for this work, after a lengthy period of careful and provident planning, he founded the Orders of Friars Preachers.

In his conversations and letters he often urged the brothers of the Order to study constantly the Old and New Testaments. He always carried with him the gospel according to Matthew and the epistles of Paul, and so well did he study them that he almost knew them from memory.

Two or three times he was chosen bishop, but he always refused, preferring to live with his brothers in poverty. Of him Pope Gregory IX declared: "I knew him as a steadfast follower of the apostolic way of life. There is no doubt that he is in heaven, sharing in the glory of the apostles themselves."

- from various writings on the history of the Order of Preachers

St. Dominic Receiving the Rosary from Our Blessed Lady
Also, St. Dominic Web Links from www.op.org:

Pierre Mandonnet, O.P.: St. Dominic and His Work
http://www.op.org/domcentral/trad/domwork/default.htm

New "St. Dominic Page" on the St. Joseph Province website
http://www.op-stjoseph.org/hist-dom1.html

The Life of St. Dominic by fr. Gregory Anderson, OP
http://www.op.org/domcentral/trad/dominic1.htm

St. Dominic: Biographical Documents, ed. by Francis C. Lehner, O.P.
http://www.op.org/domcentral/trad/domdocs/default.htm

The First Disciples of St. Dominic, Adapted and Enlarged From Father Anthony Touron's Histoire Abrégée des Premiers Disciples de saint Dominique By The Very Rev. Victor F. O'Daniel, O.P., S.T.M., Litt.D.
http://www.op.org/domcentral/trad/disciples/default.htm

St. Dominic Clip-Art
http://www.op.org/domcentral/album/dominic/default.htm

St. Dominic and His Symbols
http://www.dominicos.org/hrosary/english/history/domsymbols.htm

Litany of St. Dominic
http://www.opthird.com/litany.htm

Father Paul A. Duffner, O.P. IN DEFENSE OF A TRADITION: St. Dominic and the Rosary
The Rosary Light & Life - Vol 49, No 5, Sep-Oct 1996
http://www.rosary-center.org/ll49n5.htm

Who's Who in Medieval History: St. Dominic
http://historymedren.about.com/library/who/blwwdominic.htm

Catholic Encyclopedia: ST. DOMINIC
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05106a.htm

St. Dominic from The Penguin Dictionary of the Saints
http://www.op.org/domcentral/trad/stdom.htm

St. Dominic and the Rosary by Robert Feeney
http://www.catholic.net/RCC/Periodicals/Faith/0910-96/articl11.html

The Nine Ways of Prayer of St. Dominic
http://www.op.org/DomCentral/places/stjude/NineWays.html
http://www.users.csbsju.edu/~eknuth/nineways/nwintro.html

Biography & Readings for St. Dominic, August 8, according to the Episcopal Church
http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Dominic.htm

Patron Saints Index: Dominic de Guzman
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintd02.htm

ST. DOMINIC Founder of the Order of Friars Preachers
http://www.op.org/DomCentral/people/vocations/s-dom.htm

Saint Dominic Adoring the Crucifixion
http://gallery.euroweb.hu/html/a/angelico/sanmarco/corridor/domenico.html

FRA ANGELICO, Fra (b. cca. 1400, Vicchio nell Mugello, d. 1455) Roma)
Manuscript painting of St. Dominic by Taddeo Crivelli Italian, Ferrara, about 1469
http://www.getty.edu/art/collections/objects/o4119.html

Fra Angelico Mocking of Christ with the Virgin and Saint Dominic
1439-1443 Fresco 73 5/8 x 59 1/2 in (187 x 151 cm) Cell 7, Convent of San Marco, Florence
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/F/fra_angelico/angelico_convent7.jpg.html

Saint Dominic Founder of the Friars Preachers, Confessor
Taken from "Lives of Saints", Published by John J. Crawley & Co., Inc.
http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/DOMINIC.HTM

Fra Angelico: The Glorification of Saint Dominic
http://sunsite.icm.edu.pl/cjackson/angelico/p-angelic2.htm

Saint Dominic Reviving Napoleone Orsini, Nephew of the Cardinal of Fossanova,
1516 oil on panel Accademia Carrara di Belle Arti, Bergamo
http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/lotto/realsp/73f.htm

Santo Domingo de Guzman, by Blessed Fra. Angelico
The Nine Ways of Prayer of St. Dominic from the Fish Eaters website.


UPDATE
From the Medieval Saints Yahoo Group:

St. Dominic de Guzman, confessor, founder of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans)
Also Domingo de Guzman
Died August 4,1221 at Bologna
Canonized July 1234 by Pope Gregory IX
Commemorated August 8 (also August 3 or 4)

Patronage: astronomers, astronomy, Dominican Republic, falsely accused people, scientists

In art: Portrayed as a Dominican carrying a rosary and a tall cross; Dominican holding a lily; Dominican with dog and globe; Dominican with dog carrying a torch in its mouth; Dominican with fire; Dominican with star shining above his head; rosary; star

SAINT DOMINIC, Founder (1170-1221)
http://magnificat.ca/cal/engl/08-04.htm

Saint Dominic de Guzman was born in Spain in 1170. As a student, he sold his books to feed the poor during a famine, and offered himself to ransom a slave. At the age of twenty-five, after taking the religious habit he became acting Superior of the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine in Osma, and was soon offered an episcopal chair at Compostella. He answered as afterward he also answered many times: "God has not sent me to be a bishop, but to preach." He accompanied his prelate to southern France on a commission for the king of Castille. There his heart was well-nigh broken by the ravages of the Albigensian heresy, a variant of ancient Manicheanism, and the source of devastating wars in southern France. His life from that time on was devoted to the conversion of heretics and the defense of the Faith.

In the year 1199, while he was still a Canon Regular of Saint Augustine and was preaching near the Spanish coasts, he was taken captive, with all his audience and a Brother in religion, by a band of pirates. They placed the prisoners in their galleys at the oars. When a furious storm broke, the young Saint exhorted the disciples of Mohammed to think seriously of their souls, to open their eyes to the truth of Christianity, and above all, to invoke the Mother of God. They did not listen until his third exhortation, at a moment when it was clear the ship and passengers could not be saved. They swore to him then that if the God of Christians preserved them by the intercession of His Holy Mother, they would dedicate themselves to their service. Immediately the storm ceased, and the pirates kept their word.

When in his 46th year, and with six companions, he began the great Order of preaching Friars, this Order with that of the Friars Minor, founded by his contemporary friend Saint Francis of Assisi, was the chief means God employed to renew Christian fervor during the Middle Ages. In addition, Saint Dominic founded his Second Order for nuns for the education of Catholic girls, and his Third Order, or Tertiaries, for persons of both sexes living in the world. God abundantly blessed the new Order, and France, Italy, Spain, and England welcomed the Preaching Friars. Our Lady took them under Her special protection. During a debate with the heretics, a book by the Saint, defending Her Immaculate Conception, was thrown into the flames along with one by the heretics, to see whether one might be spared. Saint Dominic's was not injured, and many heretics were converted.

It was in 1208, while Saint Dominic knelt in the little chapel of Notre Dame de La Prouille, and implored the great Mother of God to save the Church, that Our Lady appeared to him and gave him the Rosary, bidding him to go forth and preach it. During the famous battles in southern France against the Albigensians, with his rosary in hand he revived the courage of the Catholic armies, led them to victory against overwhelming numbers, and finally subdued the heresy. His nights were spent in prayer; and, though all beheld him as an Angel of purity, before morning broke he would scourge himself to blood. His words rescued countless souls, and three times raised the dead to life. At length, on August 6, 1221, at the age of fifty-one, he gave up his soul to God.


------------------

A man who governs his passions is master of his world. We must either command them or be enslaved by them. It is better to be a hammer than an anvil.
- Saint Dominic

------------------

More on St. Dominic at:
http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/DOMINIC.HTM
http://www.op-stjoseph.org/dominic/
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05106a.htm
http://www.op.org/DomCentral/trad/ixtrad.htm#dominic
http://www.dominicans.org/~kniehoff/stdominic.htm
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=178
http://www.stthomasirondequoit.com/SaintsAlive/id287.htm

"Be Who God Meant You to Be and You Will Set the World on Fire." - Feast of St. Catherine of Siena, 29 April

Today is the feast day of the Dominican tertiary who dared to tell a Pope to get off his duff and do his job, St. Catherine of Siena - a fact of which the Anglican Bishop of London took full notice today in joining an arguably better-known Catherine to the future King of England:

LONDON: Bishop of London's Sermon at the Royal Wedding of William and Kate

April 29, 2011

"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire."

So said St Catherine of Siena whose festival day this is. Marriage is intended to be a way in which man and woman help each other to become what God meant each one to be, their deepest and truest selves.

Many are full of fear for the future of today's world but the message of the celebrations in this country and far beyond its shores is the right one - this is a joyful day. It is good that people in every continent are able to share in the celebrations because this is, as every wedding day should be, a day of hope.

In a sense every wedding is a royal wedding with the bride and groom as king and queen of creation, making a new life together so that life can flow through them to the future.

William and Catherine, you have chosen to be married in the sight of a generous God who so loved the world that he gave himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ.

In the Spirit of this generous God, husband and wife are to give themselves to one another.

Spiritual life grows as love finds its centre beyond ourselves. Faithful and committed relationships offer a door into the mystery of spiritual life in which we discover that the more we give of self, the richer we become in soul; the more we go beyond ourselves in love, the more we become our true selves and our spiritual beauty is more fully revealed. In marriage we are seeking to bring one another into fuller life.

It is of course hard to wean ourselves away from self-centredness. People can dream of such a thing but the hope will not be fulfilled without a solemn decision that, whatever the difficulties, we are committed to the way of generous love.

You have both made your decision today - "I will" - and by making this new relationship, you have aligned yourselves with what we believe is the way in which life is spiritually evolving, and which will lead to a creative future for the human race.

We stand looking forward to a century which is full of promise and full of peril. Human beings are confronting the question of how to use wisely the power which has been given to us through the discoveries of the last century. We shall not be converted to the promise of the future by more knowledge, but rather by an increase of loving wisdom and reverence, for life, for the earth and for one another.

Marriage should transform, as husband and wife make one another their work of art. This transformation is possible as long as we do not harbour ambitions to reform our partner. There must be no coercion if the Spirit is to flow; each must give the other space and freedom. Chaucer, the London poet, sums it up in a pithy phrase:

"Whan maistrie [mastery] comth, the God of Love anon, Beteth his wynges, and farewell, he is gon." As the reality of God has faded from so many lives in the West, there has been a corresponding inflation of expectations that personal relations alone will supply meaning and happiness in life. This is to load our partner with too great a burden. We are all incomplete: we all need the love which is secure, rather than oppressive, and mutual forgiveness, to thrive.

As we move towards our partner in love, following the example of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is quickened within us and can increasingly fill our lives with light. This leads to a family life which offers the best conditions in which the next generation can practise and exchange those gifts which can overcome fear and division and incubate the coming world of the Spirit, whose fruits are love and joy and peace.

I pray that every one present and the many millions watching this ceremony and sharing in your joy today will do everything in their power to support and uphold you in your new life. I pray that God will bless you in the way of life you have chosen, a way which is expressed in the prayer that you have written together in preparation for this day:

God our Father, we thank you for our families; for the love that we share and for the joy of our marriage. In the busyness of each day keep our eyes fixed on what is real and important in life and help us to be generous with our time and love and energy. Strengthened by our union help us to serve and comfort those who suffer. We ask this in the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

---The Rt. Rev. Richard Chartres is the Bishop of London

The Dominican Friars' Inspiring New Vocations Video

(Hat tip: Creative Minority Report)




The priest speaking at the very beginning of the video, Fr. Brian Mulcahy, O.P., is the Prior Provincial of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph. 7 years ago, when he was pastor at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Charlottesville, Virginia, Fr. Brian brought Sarah and me into the Catholic Church.

My 9-year-old son, Jamie, wants to be a Dominican priest, and nothing would make his mother and father more proud.

Our family just spent a fair amount of time among the Dominicans of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Charlottesville during Holy Week while we were back visiting family in The Old Dominion. In addition to outstanding liturgies and providing an orthodox Catholic presence at the University of Virginia, here is what the Dominicans in C'ville are up to these days.

A New Play About the Founder of the Knights of Columbus

From the blog of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph:

The Knights of Columbus recently asked Father Peter John Cameron O.P., to direct a play about their founder, Father Michael J. McGivney. The Catholic Transcript interviews Father Cameron about his own vocation.

"Author, editor, journalist, playwright, theatrical artistic director, professor of homiletics, preacher, retreat master - the list of Father Cameron's titles, interests and vocational activities is extensive. The common thread is his vocation. "My priesthood and my evangelizing ... my preaching is first," he said in an interview with The Catholic Transcript. "I'm a priest so that others can meet Jesus Christ," he said. "I met him and I realized that life doesn't make sense without him. Every need and longing of our heart has an answer, and he's the answer. When Christ gazes at you, your life changes. His gaze is on everyone, just waiting for our answer.""

Read the full article here.

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Father Michael J. McGivney: A Saint for America

Decree on Heroic Virtues of Fr. Michael McGivney, Founder of Knights of Columbus

New Prior Provincial for the Dominican Province of Saint Joseph

The Very Rev. Brian Martin Mulcahy, O.P. - a fellow alumnus of the University of Virginia, a friend, and the priest who brought Sarah and me into the Catholic Church exactly 6 years ago today - is the new Prior Provincial of the Dominican Province of Saint Joseph.

A big Pro Ecclesia congratulations to Father Mulcahy. My best wishes and prayers for God's blessings on his new endeavors.

Exactly 6 years ago today - 13 June 2004,
Father Brian Mulcahy, O.P., conferred the sacraments of
Baptism, Confirmation, and First Holy Communion to Sarah,
and the sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion to me,
at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Charlottesville, VA.

Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas - 28 January

From the Medieval Saints Yahoo group:

St. Thomas Aquinas, priest, confessor, Doctor of the Church
Also known as Doctor Angelicus; Doctor Communis; Great Synthesizer; The "Dumb Ox"; The Universal Teacher

Died 1274 at Fossanuova near Terracina of apparent natural causes; relics at Saint-Servin, Toulouse, France

Canonized in 1323 by Pope John XXII and named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius V in 1567

Commemorated January 28

Patronage: academics, against storms, against lightning, apologists, book sellers, Catholic academies, Catholic schools, Catholic universities, chastity, colleges, learning, lightning, pencil makers, philosophers, publishers, scholars, schools, storms, students, theologians, universities, University of Vigo

In art, he is shown as a portly Dominican friar, carrying a book; or with a star on his breast and rays of light coming from his book; or holding a monstrance with Saint Norbert. At times he may be shown: (1) with the sun on his breast; (2) enthroned with pagan and heretic philosophers under his feet; (3) at a teacher's pulpit or desk, with rays coming from him; (4) with a chalice and host; (5) listening to a voice speaking to him from the Crucifix; (6) as angels bring him a girdle; or (7) in a library with Saint Bonaventure who points to the crucifix


St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church, Patron of Catholic Schools
http://www.op.org/domcentral/people/vocations/Thomas.htm

Thomas the Apostle challenged the story that the Lord was risen, and his unbelief brought froth a glowing testimony of the reality of the Resurrection. Twelve centuries later, his namesake, Thomas of Aquino, questioned; without doubting; the great truths of faith, and demonstrated for all time the relationship of faith and reason.

As the first Thomas found by experiment: "Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hands into His side"; that the Man who stood in the midst of them was none other than Jesus Christ, so Thomas, the Angelic Doctor, proved for all time that there is no quarrel between reason and revelation.

Thomas, son of the count of Aquino, (b. 1225-d. 1274) was first trained at the Benedictine abbey of Montecassino, and here, even in childhood, his great mind was wrestling with theological questions, "Master, tell me--what is God?" In order to better to train the boy's mind, his father sent him at an early age to the University of Naples. There he studied under Peter of Ireland and, undisturbed by the noise and wickedness of the great university city, proceeded rapidly on his quest for God.

Meeting the Dominicans, he was strongly attracted by their apostolic life and petitioned to be received as one of them. While recognizing the gifts of the young student, the friars refused him admittance to the Order until he was eighteen. Acting deliberately, without a backward glance at the power and wealth he was leaving, Thomas, at eighteen, joyfully put on the habit of the new Order.

Like many gifted young men, Thomas was bitterly opposed by his family when he attempted to become a religious. When both threats and persuasion failed, he was kidnaped by his brothers and locked in a tower for more than a year. His sisters were sent to influence him, and he proceeded to convert them to his own way of thinking. A woman was sent to tempt him; but he drove her from the room with a burning brand from the fire; afterwards, angels came to gird him with the cincture of perpetual chastity. When captivity failed to break his determination, his brothers relaxed their guard, and Thomas, with the help of his sisters, escaped from the tower and hurried back to his convent.

Thomas was given the finest education available in his day. He studied first at Cologne and later at Paris, under the Master, Albert the Great. This outstanding Dominican teacher and saint became his lifelong friend and loyal defender. They taught at Cologne and became a mutual influence for good in one of the most beautiful friendships in Dominican history.

For the rest of his life, Thomas was to teach and preach with scarcely a day of rest. What makes the amount of writing he did remarkable, was the great deal of traveling that he undertook. Death found him in a familiar place, on the road, where he was bound for the Council of Lyons in obedience to the pope's command. He died at the Cistercian Abbey of Fossanova, in a borrowed bed, obscurity hardly fitting the
intellectual light of the Order, but perfectly suited to the humble friar that Thomas had always been.

Overheard in a colloquy with the Master he served so well with heart and mind and pen, Thomas was heard to ask as his reward from the Lord, "Thyself, 0 Lord, none but thyself!" St. Thomas Aquinas is a Doctor of the Church and is honored as the patron of Catholic Schools. He is celebrated in the Church Calendar on January 28th.

-----------------------------

Saint Thomas experienced visions, ecstasies, and revelations. He stopped writing the Summa theologiae because of a revelation he experienced while saying Mass on the feast of Saint Nicholas 1273. He confronted the consternation of his brethren saying, "The end of my labors is come. All that I have written appears to be as so much straw after the things that have been, revealed to me." Nevertheless, the work became the basis of modern Catholic theology. (full article at http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0128thom.htm#thom )

-----------------------------

More on St. Thomas Aquinas at:
http://www.nd.edu/Departments/Maritain/etext/stthomas.htm
http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0128thom.htm#thom
http://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j063sdThomasAquinas_3-10.htm

My Comments:
St. Thomas Aquinas is of special significance to me, as Sarah and I were received into the Catholic Church at St. Thomas Aquinas parish in Charlottesville, VA.

The Apotheosis of St. Thomas Aquinas by Francisco Zurbarán

Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas - 28 January

From the Medieval Saints Yahoo group:

St. Thomas Aquinas, priest, confessor, Doctor of the Church
Also known as Doctor Angelicus; Doctor Communis; Great Synthesizer; The "Dumb Ox"; The Universal Teacher

Died 1274 at Fossanuova near Terracina of apparent natural causes; relics at Saint-Servin, Toulouse, France

Canonized in 1323 by Pope John XXII and named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius V in 1567

Commemorated January 28

Patronage: academics, against storms, against lightning, apologists, book sellers, Catholic academies, Catholic schools, Catholic universities, chastity, colleges, learning, lightning, pencil makers, philosophers, publishers, scholars, schools, storms, students, theologians, universities, University of Vigo

In art, he is shown as a portly Dominican friar, carrying a book; or with a star on his breast and rays of light coming from his book; or holding a monstrance with Saint Norbert. At times he may be shown: (1) with the sun on his breast; (2) enthroned with pagan and heretic philosophers under his feet; (3) at a teacher's pulpit or desk, with rays coming from him; (4) with a chalice and host; (5) listening to a voice speaking to him from the Crucifix; (6) as angels bring him a girdle; or (7) in a library with Saint Bonaventure who points to the crucifix


St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church, Patron of Catholic Schools
http://www.op.org/domcentral/people/vocations/Thomas.htm

Thomas the Apostle challenged the story that the Lord was risen, and his unbelief brought froth a glowing testimony of the reality of the Resurrection. Twelve centuries later, his namesake, Thomas of Aquino, questioned; without doubting; the great truths of faith, and demonstrated for all time the relationship of faith and reason.

As the first Thomas found by experiment: "Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hands into His side"; that the Man who stood in the midst of them was none other than Jesus Christ, so Thomas, the Angelic Doctor, proved for all time that there is no quarrel between reason and revelation.

Thomas, son of the count of Aquino, (b. 1225-d. 1274) was first trained at the Benedictine abbey of Montecassino, and here, even in childhood, his great mind was wrestling with theological questions, "Master, tell me--what is God?" In order to better to train the boy's mind, his father sent him at an early age to the University of Naples. There he studied under Peter of Ireland and, undisturbed by the noise and wickedness of the great university city, proceeded rapidly on his quest for God.

Meeting the Dominicans, he was strongly attracted by their apostolic life and petitioned to be received as one of them. While recognizing the gifts of the young student, the friars refused him admittance to the Order until he was eighteen. Acting deliberately, without a backward glance at the power and wealth he was leaving, Thomas, at eighteen, joyfully put on the habit of the new Order.

Like many gifted young men, Thomas was bitterly opposed by his family when he attempted to become a religious. When both threats and persuasion failed, he was kidnaped by his brothers and locked in a tower for more than a year. His sisters were sent to influence him, and he proceeded to convert them to his own way of thinking. A woman was sent to tempt him; but he drove her from the room with a burning brand from the fire; afterwards, angels came to gird him with the cincture of perpetual chastity. When captivity failed to break his determination, his brothers relaxed their guard, and Thomas, with the help of his sisters, escaped from the tower and hurried back to his convent.

Thomas was given the finest education available in his day. He studied first at Cologne and later at Paris, under the Master, Albert the Great. This outstanding Dominican teacher and saint became his lifelong friend and loyal defender. They taught at Cologne and became a mutual influence for good in one of the most beautiful friendships in Dominican history.

For the rest of his life, Thomas was to teach and preach with scarcely a day of rest. What makes the amount of writing he did remarkable, was the great deal of traveling that he undertook. Death found him in a familiar place, on the road, where he was bound for the Council of Lyons in obedience to the pope's command. He died at the Cistercian Abbey of Fossanova, in a borrowed bed, obscurity hardly fitting the
intellectual light of the Order, but perfectly suited to the humble friar that Thomas had always been.

Overheard in a colloquy with the Master he served so well with heart and mind and pen, Thomas was heard to ask as his reward from the Lord, "Thyself, 0 Lord, none but thyself!" St. Thomas Aquinas is a Doctor of the Church and is honored as the patron of Catholic Schools. He is celebrated in the Church Calendar on January 28th.

-----------------------------

Saint Thomas experienced visions, ecstasies, and revelations. He stopped writing the Summa theologiae because of a revelation he experienced while saying Mass on the feast of Saint Nicholas 1273. He confronted the consternation of his brethren saying, "The end of my labors is come. All that I have written appears to be as so much straw after the things that have been, revealed to me." Nevertheless, the work became the basis of modern Catholic theology. (full article at http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0128thom.htm#thom )

-----------------------------

More on St. Thomas Aquinas at:
http://www.nd.edu/Departments/Maritain/etext/stthomas.htm
http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0128thom.htm#thom
http://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j063sdThomasAquinas_3-10.htm

My Comments:
St. Thomas Aquinas is of special significance to me, as Sarah and I were received into the Church at St. Thomas Aquinas parish in Charlottesville, VA.

The Apotheosis of St. Thomas Aquinas by Francisco Zurbarán

Feast of St. Dominic - 8 August

(Originally posted 8 August 2006)

St. Dominic in Prayer, by El Greco
From the Patron Saints Index:

Dominic de Guzman

Memorial
8 August

Profile
Born of wealthy Spanish nobility. Son of Blessed Joan of Aza. When she was pregnant, his mother had a vision that her unborn child was a dog who would set the world on fire with a torch it carried in its mouth; a dog with a torch in its mouth became a symbol for the order which he founded, the Dominicans. At Dominic's baptism, Blessed Joan saw a star shining from his chest, which became another of his symbols in art, and led to his patronage of astronomy.

Studied philosophy and theology at the University of Palencia. Priest. Canon of the cathedral of Osma. Augustinian. Worked for clerical reform. Lifelong apostolate among heretics, especially Albigensians, and especially in France. Worked with Blessed Peter of Castelnau. Founded the Order of Friars Preachers (Dominicans) in 1215, a group who live a simple, austere life, and an order of nuns dedicated to the care of young girls. Friend of Saint Amata of Assisi.

At one point Dominic became discouraged at the progress of his mission; no matter how much he worked, the heresies remained. But he received a vision from Our Lady who showed him a wreath of roses, representing the rosary. She told him to say the rosary daily, teach it to all who would listen, and eventually the true faith would win out. Dominic is often credited with the invention of the rosary; it actually pre-dates him, but he certainly spread devotion to it, and used it to strengthen his own spiritual life.

Reported miracle worker who brought four people back from the dead. Legend says that Dominic received a vision of a beggar who, like Dominic, would do great things for the Faith. Dominic met the beggar the next day. He embraced him and said, "You are my companion and must walk with me. If we hold together, no earthly power can withstand us." The beggar was Saint Francis of Assisi.

Born
1170 at Calaruega, Burgos, Old Castile

Died
4 August 1221 at Bologna

Canonized
13 July 1234 by Pope Gregory IX at Rieti, Italy

Name Meaning
belonging to God

Patronage
astronomers; astronomy; prelature of Batanes-Babuyanes, Philippines; diocese of Bayombong, Philippines; Dominican Republic; falsely accused people; Santo Domingo Indian Pueblo; scientists

Prayers
Prayer I to...
Prayer II to...

Representation
chaplet, Dominican carrying a rosary and a tall cross; Dominican holding a lily; Dominican with dog and globe; Dominican with fire; Dominican with star shining above his head; rosary; star

Images
Gallery of images of Saint Dominic [50 images, 713 kb]

Storefront
Commercial Links related to Saint Dominic

Additional Information
Google Directory
New Catholic Dictionary
Fausto Appetente Die: On Saint Dominic, by Pope Benedict XV

Readings
A man who governs his passions is master of his world. We must either command them or be enslaved by them. It is better to be a hammer than an anvil.
- Saint Dominic
-------------------
Dominic possessed such great integrity and was so strongly motivated by divine love, that without a doubt he proved to be a bearer of honor and grace. And since a joyful heart animates the face, he displayed the peaceful composure of a spiritual man in the kindness he manifested outwardly and by the cheerfulness of his countenance.

Wherever he went he showed himself in word and deed to be a man of the Gospel. During the day no one was more community-minded or pleasant toward his brothers and associates. During the night hours no one was more persistent in every kind of vigil and supplication. He seldom spoke unless it was with God, that is, in prayer, or about God; and in this matter he instructed his brothers.

Frequently he made a special personal petition that God would deign to grant him genuine charity in caring for and obtaining the salvation of men. For he believed that only then would he be truly a member of Christ, when he had given himself totally for the salvation of men, just as the Lord Jesus, the Savior of all, had offered himself completely for our salvation. So, for this work, after a lengthy period of careful and provident planning, he founded the Orders of Friars Preachers.

In his conversations and letters he often urged the brothers of the Order to study constantly the Old and New Testaments. He always carried with him the gospel according to Matthew and the epistles of Paul, and so well did he study them that he almost knew them from memory.

Two or three times he was chosen bishop, but he always refused, preferring to live with his brothers in poverty. Of him Pope Gregory IX declared: "I knew him as a steadfast follower of the apostolic way of life. There is no doubt that he is in heaven, sharing in the glory of the apostles themselves."

- from various writings on the history of the Order of Preachers

St. Dominic Receiving the Rosary from Our Blessed Lady
Also, St. Dominic Web Links from www.op.org:

Pierre Mandonnet, O.P.: St. Dominic and His Work
http://www.op.org/domcentral/trad/domwork/default.htm

New "St. Dominic Page" on the St. Joseph Province website
http://www.op-stjoseph.org/hist-dom1.html

The Life of St. Dominic by fr. Gregory Anderson, OP
http://www.op.org/domcentral/trad/dominic1.htm

St. Dominic: Biographical Documents, ed. by Francis C. Lehner, O.P.
http://www.op.org/domcentral/trad/domdocs/default.htm

The First Disciples of St. Dominic, Adapted and Enlarged From Father Anthony Touron's Histoire Abrégée des Premiers Disciples de saint Dominique By The Very Rev. Victor F. O'Daniel, O.P., S.T.M., Litt.D.
http://www.op.org/domcentral/trad/disciples/default.htm

St. Dominic Clip-Art
http://www.op.org/domcentral/album/dominic/default.htm

St. Dominic and His Symbols
http://www.dominicos.org/hrosary/english/history/domsymbols.htm

Litany of St. Dominic
http://www.opthird.com/litany.htm

Father Paul A. Duffner, O.P. IN DEFENSE OF A TRADITION: St. Dominic and the Rosary
The Rosary Light & Life - Vol 49, No 5, Sep-Oct 1996
http://www.rosary-center.org/ll49n5.htm

Who's Who in Medieval History: St. Dominic
http://historymedren.about.com/library/who/blwwdominic.htm

Catholic Encyclopedia: ST. DOMINIC
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05106a.htm

St. Dominic from The Penguin Dictionary of the Saints
http://www.op.org/domcentral/trad/stdom.htm

St. Dominic and the Rosary by Robert Feeney
http://www.catholic.net/RCC/Periodicals/Faith/0910-96/articl11.html

The Nine Ways of Prayer of St. Dominic
http://www.op.org/DomCentral/places/stjude/NineWays.html
http://www.users.csbsju.edu/~eknuth/nineways/nwintro.html

Biography & Readings for St. Dominic, August 8, according to the Episcopal Church
http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Dominic.htm

Patron Saints Index: Dominic de Guzman
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintd02.htm

ST. DOMINIC Founder of the Order of Friars Preachers
http://www.op.org/DomCentral/people/vocations/s-dom.htm

Saint Dominic Adoring the Crucifixion
http://gallery.euroweb.hu/html/a/angelico/sanmarco/corridor/domenico.html

FRA ANGELICO, Fra (b. cca. 1400, Vicchio nell Mugello, d. 1455) Roma)
Manuscript painting of St. Dominic by Taddeo Crivelli Italian, Ferrara, about 1469
http://www.getty.edu/art/collections/objects/o4119.html

Fra Angelico Mocking of Christ with the Virgin and Saint Dominic
1439-1443 Fresco 73 5/8 x 59 1/2 in (187 x 151 cm) Cell 7, Convent of San Marco, Florence
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/F/fra_angelico/angelico_convent7.jpg.html

Saint Dominic Founder of the Friars Preachers, Confessor
Taken from "Lives of Saints", Published by John J. Crawley & Co., Inc.
http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/DOMINIC.HTM

Fra Angelico: The Glorification of Saint Dominic
http://sunsite.icm.edu.pl/cjackson/angelico/p-angelic2.htm

Saint Dominic Reviving Napoleone Orsini, Nephew of the Cardinal of Fossanova,
1516 oil on panel Accademia Carrara di Belle Arti, Bergamo
http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/lotto/realsp/73f.htm

Santo Domingo de Guzman, by Blessed Fra. Angelico
The Nine Ways of Prayer of St. Dominic from the Fish Eaters website.


UPDATE
From the Medieval Saints Yahoo Group:

St. Dominic de Guzman, confessor, founder of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans)
Also Domingo de Guzman
Died August 4,1221 at Bologna
Canonized July 1234 by Pope Gregory IX
Commemorated August 8 (also August 3 or 4)

Patronage: astronomers, astronomy, Dominican Republic, falsely accused people, scientists

In art: Portrayed as a Dominican carrying a rosary and a tall cross; Dominican holding a lily; Dominican with dog and globe; Dominican with dog carrying a torch in its mouth; Dominican with fire; Dominican with star shining above his head; rosary; star

SAINT DOMINIC, Founder (1170-1221)
http://magnificat.ca/cal/engl/08-04.htm

Saint Dominic de Guzman was born in Spain in 1170. As a student, he sold his books to feed the poor during a famine, and offered himself to ransom a slave. At the age of twenty-five, after taking the religious habit he became acting Superior of the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine in Osma, and was soon offered an episcopal chair at Compostella. He answered as afterward he also answered many times: "God has not sent me to be a bishop, but to preach." He accompanied his prelate to southern France on a commission for the king of Castille. There his heart was well-nigh broken by the ravages of the Albigensian heresy, a variant of ancient Manicheanism, and the source of devastating wars in southern France. His life from that time on was devoted to the conversion of heretics and the defense of the Faith.

In the year 1199, while he was still a Canon Regular of Saint Augustine and was preaching near the Spanish coasts, he was taken captive, with all his audience and a Brother in religion, by a band of pirates. They placed the prisoners in their galleys at the oars. When a furious storm broke, the young Saint exhorted the disciples of Mohammed to think seriously of their souls, to open their eyes to the truth of Christianity, and above all, to invoke the Mother of God. They did not listen until his third exhortation, at a moment when it was clear the ship and passengers could not be saved. They swore to him then that if the God of Christians preserved them by the intercession of His Holy Mother, they would dedicate themselves to their service. Immediately the storm ceased, and the pirates kept their word.

When in his 46th year, and with six companions, he began the great Order of preaching Friars, this Order with that of the Friars Minor, founded by his contemporary friend Saint Francis of Assisi, was the chief means God employed to renew Christian fervor during the Middle Ages. In addition, Saint Dominic founded his Second Order for nuns for the education of Catholic girls, and his Third Order, or Tertiaries, for persons of both sexes living in the world. God abundantly blessed the new Order, and France, Italy, Spain, and England welcomed the Preaching Friars. Our Lady took them under Her special protection. During a debate with the heretics, a book by the Saint, defending Her Immaculate Conception, was thrown into the flames along with one by the heretics, to see whether one might be spared. Saint Dominic's was not injured, and many heretics were converted.

It was in 1208, while Saint Dominic knelt in the little chapel of Notre Dame de La Prouille, and implored the great Mother of God to save the Church, that Our Lady appeared to him and gave him the Rosary, bidding him to go forth and preach it. During the famous battles in southern France against the Albigensians, with his rosary in hand he revived the courage of the Catholic armies, led them to victory against overwhelming numbers, and finally subdued the heresy. His nights were spent in prayer; and, though all beheld him as an Angel of purity, before morning broke he would scourge himself to blood. His words rescued countless souls, and three times raised the dead to life. At length, on August 6, 1221, at the age of fifty-one, he gave up his soul to God.


------------------

A man who governs his passions is master of his world. We must either command them or be enslaved by them. It is better to be a hammer than an anvil.
- Saint Dominic

------------------

More on St. Dominic at:
http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/DOMINIC.HTM
http://www.op-stjoseph.org/dominic/
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05106a.htm
http://www.op.org/DomCentral/trad/ixtrad.htm#dominic
http://www.dominicans.org/~kniehoff/stdominic.htm
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=178
http://www.stthomasirondequoit.com/SaintsAlive/id287.htm

Fr. Brian J. Shanley, O.P.: Catholic Colleges in Service to Truth

(Hat tip: The Curt Jester)

Stuff like this piece by Providence College president Fr. Brian Shanley, O.P., is why Providence should definitely be on your list of Catholic colleges and universities that you wouldn't mind seeing your kids attend:

WHEN POPE Benedict XVI asked to address Catholic educators during his recent visit to the United States, there was much speculation that he would scold Catholic college presidents for failing to remain true to the mission of their institutions. As all of America learned, however, the Holy Father is not a scold. He is a teacher of hope who believes that “the noble goals of scholarship and education, founded on the unity of truth and in service of the person and the community, become an especially powerful instrument of hope.” I returned from my encounter with him filled with hope for Providence College and convinced that it is realizing his vision — and the vision of our Dominican Friar founders — for Catholic education.

Many of the themes addressed by Pope Benedict in his remarks resonate deeply with the mission of Providence College and remind us of the unique place that a Catholic college or university occupies in higher education. For example, Pope Benedict considers one of the church’s roles in the world as a service (diakonia) of truth. In a time where there is widespread doubt about objective truth, a Catholic college such as Providence College (whose motto is veritas, or truth) is seen as countercultural, based on the optimistic proposition that the human mind has been created by God to know the ultimate truth. In opposition to the view that there are only perspective-based points of view, we believe that students can integrate what they learn into a unified view of the whole; we reject the popular assumption that all claims to knowledge are fragments that do not fit together.

Pope Benedict further articulated that knowledge of the truth leads to an appreciation of the good, and that true freedom is not the aimless pursuit of novelty or personal satisfaction, but choosing to embrace the truth about the dignity of the human person as made in the image and likeness of God. Catholic colleges do not focus on students’ intellect alone but equally on their moral character. We explicitly help our students to come to know the good and recognize the dignity of the human person through studies in ethics and moral philosophy and through participation in meaningful community service.

[More]

New Blog: Dominican Liturgy

(Hat tip: Mark Shea)

Fr. Augustine Thompson, O.P., (professor of Religion at my alma mater, The University of Virginia) has a new blog titled Dominican Liturgy.

Check out the site's resources, including the downloadable books of Dominican Gregorian Chant in pdf format.

Fr. Aidan Nichols, OP, Says: Convert England to Catholicism

(Hat tip: Dave Hartline at The Catholic Report)

Fr. Z comments on a Catholic Herald (U.K.) article on English Dominican theologian Fr. Aidan Nichols' proposed program for re-converting England to Catholicism.

As the article notes, Fr. Nichols is regarded as a potential candidate to become the next Archbishop of Westminster. His new book is titled The Realm: An Unfashionable Essay on the Conversion of England.

For more on Fr. Aidan Nichols, OP, see his website Christendom Awake (also listed in my sidebar).


UPDATE (8 February)
See "The Conversion of England" by Fr. Richard John Neuhaus at First Things.

The Curt Jester: "Liturgical Dancing with the Stars"

If you haven't already, you simply must see the post on "Liturgical Dancing with the Stars" over at The Curt Jester.


Prominently featured in Jeff's post is Br. Angel Mendez, OP, pictured above (be sure to click on the photo to get the full effect).

I know Br. Angel! He used to be at the University of Virginia, where he was doing PhD work in philosophical theology or some such. When Sarah and I were going through RCIA at the Dominican parish in Charlottesville, Br. Angel taught the session on the Gospels.

When I happened to disagree with his take that the Gospels were written a couple of centuries after Christ, and I suggested instead that the Gospels might actually have been authored by those to whom the Church had always credited them, he branded my view as "fundamentalist".

Feast of St. Dominic - 8 August

(Originally posted 8 August 2006)


From the Patron Saints Index:

Dominic de Guzman

Memorial
8 August

Profile
Born of wealthy Spanish nobility. Son of Blessed Joan of Aza. When she was pregnant, his mother had a vision that her unborn child was a dog who would set the world on fire with a torch it carried in its mouth; a dog with a torch in its mouth became a symbol for the order which he founded, the Dominicans. At Dominic's baptism, Blessed Joan saw a star shining from his chest, which became another of his symbols in art, and led to his patronage of astronomy.

Studied philosophy and theology at the University of Palencia. Priest. Canon of the cathedral of Osma. Augustinian. Worked for clerical reform. Lifelong apostolate among heretics, especially Albigensians, and especially in France. Worked with Blessed Peter of Castelnau. Founded the Order of Friars Preachers (Dominicans) in 1215, a group who live a simple, austere life, and an order of nuns dedicated to the care of young girls. Friend of Saint Amata of Assisi.

At one point Dominic became discouraged at the progress of his mission; no matter how much he worked, the heresies remained. But he received a vision from Our Lady who showed him a wreath of roses, representing the rosary. She told him to say the rosary daily, teach it to all who would listen, and eventually the true faith would win out. Dominic is often credited with the invention of the rosary; it actually pre-dates him, but he certainly spread devotion to it, and used it to strengthen his own spiritual life.

Reported miracle worker who brought four people back from the dead. Legend says that Dominic received a vision of a beggar who, like Dominic, would do great things for the Faith. Dominic met the beggar the next day. He embraced him and said, "You are my companion and must walk with me. If we hold together, no earthly power can withstand us." The beggar was Saint Francis of Assisi.

Born
1170 at Calaruega, Burgos, Old Castile

Died
4 August 1221 at Bologna

Canonized
13 July 1234 by Pope Gregory IX at Rieti, Italy

Name Meaning
belonging to God

Patronage
astronomers; astronomy; prelature of Batanes-Babuyanes, Philippines; diocese of Bayombong, Philippines; Dominican Republic; falsely accused people; Santo Domingo Indian Pueblo; scientists

Prayers
Prayer I to...
Prayer II to...

Representation
chaplet, Dominican carrying a rosary and a tall cross; Dominican holding a lily; Dominican with dog and globe; Dominican with fire; Dominican with star shining above his head; rosary; star

Images
Gallery of images of Saint Dominic [50 images, 713 kb]

Storefront
Commercial Links related to Saint Dominic

Additional Information
Google Directory
New Catholic Dictionary
Fausto Appetente Die: On Saint Dominic, by Pope Benedict XV

Readings
A man who governs his passions is master of his world. We must either command them or be enslaved by them. It is better to be a hammer than an anvil.

- Saint Dominic
-------------------
Dominic possessed such great integrity and was so strongly motivated by divine love, that without a doubt he proved to be a bearer of honor and grace. And since a joyful heart animates the face, he displayed the peaceful composure of a spiritual man in the kindness he manifested outwardly and by the cheerfulness of his countenance.

Wherever he went he showed himself in word and deed to be a man of the Gospel. During the day no one was more community-minded or pleasant toward his brothers and associates. During the night hours no one was more persistent in every kind of vigil and supplication. He seldom spoke unless it was with God, that is, in prayer, or about God; and in this matter he instructed his brothers.

Frequently he made a special personal petition that God would deign to grant him genuine charity in caring for and obtaining the salvation of men. For he believed that only then would he be truly a member of Christ, when he had given himself totally for the salvation of men, just as the Lord Jesus, the Savior of all, had offered himself completely for our salvation. So, for this work, after a lengthy period of careful and provident planning, he founded the Orders of Friars Preachers.

In his conversations and letters he often urged the brothers of the Order to study constantly the Old and New Testaments. He always carried with him the gospel according to Matthew and the epistles of Paul, and so well did he study them that he almost knew them from memory.

Two or three times he was chosen bishop, but he always refused, preferring to live with his brothers in poverty. Of him Pope Gregory IX declared: "I knew him as a steadfast follower of the apostolic way of life. There is no doubt that he is in heaven, sharing in the glory of the apostles themselves."

- from various writings on the history of the Order of Preachers

Also, St. Dominic Web Links from www.op.org:

Pierre Mandonnet, O.P.: St. Dominic and His Work
http://www.op.org/domcentral/trad/domwork/default.htm

New "St. Dominic Page" on the St. Joseph Province website
http://www.op-stjoseph.org/hist-dom1.html

The Life of St. Dominic by fr. Gregory Anderson, OP
http://www.op.org/domcentral/trad/dominic1.htm

St. Dominic: Biographical Documents, ed. by Francis C. Lehner, O.P.
http://www.op.org/domcentral/trad/domdocs/default.htm

The First Disciples of St. Dominic, Adapted and Enlarged From Father Anthony Touron's Histoire Abrégée des Premiers Disciples de saint Dominique By The Very Rev. Victor F. O'Daniel, O.P., S.T.M., Litt.D.
http://www.op.org/domcentral/trad/disciples/default.htm

St. Dominic Clip-Art
http://www.op.org/domcentral/album/dominic/default.htm

St. Dominic and His Symbols
http://www.dominicos.org/hrosary/english/history/domsymbols.htm

Litany of St. Dominic
http://www.opthird.com/litany.htm

Father Paul A. Duffner, O.P. IN DEFENSE OF A TRADITION: St. Dominic and the Rosary
The Rosary Light & Life - Vol 49, No 5, Sep-Oct 1996
http://www.rosary-center.org/ll49n5.htm

Who's Who in Medieval History: St. Dominic
http://historymedren.about.com/library/who/blwwdominic.htm

Catholic Encyclopedia: ST. DOMINIC
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05106a.htm

St. Dominic from The Penguin Dictionary of the Saints
http://www.op.org/domcentral/trad/stdom.htm

St. Dominic and the Rosary by Robert Feeney
http://www.catholic.net/RCC/Periodicals/Faith/0910-96/articl11.html

The Nine Ways of Prayer of St. Dominic
http://www.op.org/DomCentral/places/stjude/NineWays.html
http://www.users.csbsju.edu/~eknuth/nineways/nwintro.html

Biography & Readings for St. Dominic, August 8, according to the Episcopal Church
http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Dominic.htm

Patron Saints Index: Dominic de Guzman
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintd02.htm

ST. DOMINIC Founder of the Order of Friars Preachers
http://www.op.org/DomCentral/people/vocations/s-dom.htm

Saint Dominic Adoring the Crucifixion
http://gallery.euroweb.hu/html/a/angelico/sanmarco/corridor/domenico.html

FRA ANGELICO, Fra (b. cca. 1400, Vicchio nell Mugello, d. 1455) Roma)
Manuscript painting of St. Dominic by Taddeo Crivelli Italian, Ferrara, about 1469
http://www.getty.edu/art/collections/objects/o4119.html

Fra Angelico Mocking of Christ with the Virgin and Saint Dominic
1439-1443 Fresco 73 5/8 x 59 1/2 in (187 x 151 cm) Cell 7, Convent of San Marco, Florence
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/F/fra_angelico/angelico_convent7.jpg.html

Saint Dominic Founder of the Friars Preachers, Confessor
Taken from "Lives of Saints", Published by John J. Crawley & Co., Inc.
http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/DOMINIC.HTM

Fra Angelico: The Glorification of Saint Dominic
http://sunsite.icm.edu.pl/cjackson/angelico/p-angelic2.htm

Saint Dominic Reviving Napoleone Orsini, Nephew of the Cardinal of Fossanova,
1516 oil on panel Accademia Carrara di Belle Arti, Bergamo
http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/lotto/realsp/73f.htm

The Nine Ways of Prayer of St. Dominic from the Fish Eaters website.


UPDATE
From the Medieval Saints Yahoo Group:

St. Dominic de Guzman, confessor, founder of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans)
Also Domingo de Guzman
Died August 4,1221 at Bologna
Canonized July 1234 by Pope Gregory IX
Commemorated August 8 (also August 3 or 4)

Patronage: astronomers, astronomy, Dominican Republic, falsely accused people, scientists

In art: Portrayed as a Dominican carrying a rosary and a tall cross; Dominican holding a lily; Dominican with dog and globe; Dominican with dog carrying a torch in its mouth; Dominican with fire; Dominican with star shining above his head; rosary; star

SAINT DOMINIC, Founder (1170-1221)
http://magnificat.ca/cal/engl/08-04.htm

Saint Dominic de Guzman was born in Spain in 1170. As a student, he sold his books to feed the poor during a famine, and offered himself to ransom a slave. At the age of twenty-five, after taking the religious habit he became acting Superior of the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine in Osma, and was soon offered an episcopal chair at Compostella. He answered as afterward he also answered many times: "God has not sent me to be a bishop, but to preach." He accompanied his prelate to southern France on a commission for the king of Castille. There his heart was well-nigh broken by the ravages of the Albigensian heresy, a variant of ancient Manicheanism, and the source of devastating wars in southern France. His life from that time on was devoted to the conversion of heretics and the defense of the Faith.

In the year 1199, while he was still a Canon Regular of Saint Augustine and was preaching near the Spanish coasts, he was taken captive, with all his audience and a Brother in religion, by a band of pirates. They placed the prisoners in their galleys at the oars. When a furious storm broke, the young Saint exhorted the disciples of Mohammed to think seriously of their souls, to open their eyes to the truth of Christianity, and above all, to invoke the Mother of God. They did not listen until his third exhortation, at a moment when it was clear the ship and passengers could not be saved. They swore to him then that if the God of Christians preserved them by the intercession of His Holy Mother, they would dedicate themselves to their service. Immediately the storm ceased, and the pirates kept their word.

When in his 46th year, and with six companions, he began the great Order of preaching Friars, this Order with that of the Friars Minor, founded by his contemporary friend Saint Francis of Assisi, was the chief means God employed to renew Christian fervor during the Middle Ages. In addition, Saint Dominic founded his Second Order for nuns for the education of Catholic girls, and his Third Order, or Tertiaries, for persons of both sexes living in the world. God abundantly blessed the new Order, and France, Italy, Spain, and England welcomed the Preaching Friars. Our Lady took them under Her special protection. During a debate with the heretics, a book by the Saint, defending Her Immaculate Conception, was thrown into the flames along with one by the heretics, to see whether one might be spared. Saint Dominic's was not injured, and many heretics were converted.

It was in 1208, while Saint Dominic knelt in the little chapel of Notre Dame de La Prouille, and implored the great Mother of God to save the Church, that Our Lady appeared to him and gave him the Rosary, bidding him to go forth and preach it. During the famous battles in southern France against the Albigensians, with his rosary in hand he revived the courage of the Catholic armies, led them to victory against overwhelming numbers, and finally subdued the heresy. His nights were spent in prayer; and, though all beheld him as an Angel of purity, before morning broke he would scourge himself to blood. His words rescued countless souls, and three times raised the dead to life. At length, on August 6, 1221, at the age of fifty-one, he gave up his soul to God.


------------------

A man who governs his passions is master of his world. We must either command them or be enslaved by them. It is better to be a hammer than an anvil.
- Saint Dominic

------------------

More on St. Dominic at:
http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/DOMINIC.HTM
http://www.op-stjoseph.org/dominic/
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05106a.htm
http://www.op.org/DomCentral/trad/ixtrad.htm#dominic
http://www.dominicans.org/~kniehoff/stdominic.htm
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=178
http://www.stthomasirondequoit.com/SaintsAlive/id287.htm