Saint of the Day: St. Dominic

Priest (1170-1221)

His life

+ Dominic de Guzmán was born in Calaruega, Spain. After studying the theology and the arts, he became an Augustinian Canon.

+ Dominic successfully worked to combat heresy in France and became a successful preacher.

+ In order to provide for the education of children, he founded a community of nuns in Prouille, which later became the motherhouse of all communities of contemplative Dominican nuns.

+ In 1214, Dominic gathered together men who could assist him in his mission of preaching. The rule for this new community—the Order of Preachers—was approved in 1216.

+ Dominic died in Bologna, Italy, in 1221, and at his canonization in 1234, Pope Gregory IX called him a “man of the Gospel in the footsteps of the Redeemer.”

+ Saint Dominic is honored as the patron of the Dominican Republic and of astronomers. Today, the Dominican Family consists of the First Order of priests and brothers, the Second Order of contemplative nuns, and the Third Order, including both Dominican Sisters of numerous congregations around the world and lay women and men who have dedicated themselves to Saint Dominic’s spirituality and legacy.

For prayer and reflection

“This great Saint reminds us that in the heart of the Church a missionary fire must always burn. It must be a constant incentive to make the first proclamation of the Gospel and, wherever necessary, a new evangelization. Christ, in fact, is the most precious good that the men and women of every time and every place have the right to know and love!”—Pope Benedict XVI

Spiritual bonus

On August 8, we also remember the Martyrs of El Salder. These five religious sisters and educators—Blesseds Antonia Riba Mestres, Maria Baldillou Bullit, María Luisa Girón Romera, Nazaria Gómez Lezaun, Pascuala Gallén Martí—were members of the Sisters of the Pious Schools (a religious communitity inspired by the spirituality and vocation of Saint Joseph Calasanz) and were martyred together on August 8, 1936, in El Saler, Valencia, Spain. The Martyrs of El Saler were beatified in 2001.

Prayer

May Saint Dominic come to the help of your Church
by his merits and teaching, O Lord,
and may he, who was an outstanding preacher of your truth,
be a devoted intercessor on our behalf.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.