Blessings upon this blog in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ. May He wash over it with His Most Precious Blood, and may our Mother Mary cover it with the mantle of her love. All for you Jesus, through Mary, in union with St. Joseph, St. Michael, St. Raphael, St. Gabriel, St. Dominic, St. Catherine of Sienna, St. Catherine de Ricci, St. Martin de Pores, St. Rose of Lima, all the Dominican saints, and all the angels and saints, for the Glory of God the Father, by the Power of the Holy Spirit and in the Divine Will we act and pray. Amen
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Queenship of Mary
August 22nd, 2011
From Pope PiusXII - Ad caeli reginam
51. By this Encyclical Letter We are instituting a feast so that all may recognize more clearly and venerate more devoutly the merciful and maternal sway of the Mother of God. We are convinced that this feast will help to preserve, strengthen and prolong that peace among nations which daily is almost destroyed by recurring crises. Is she not a rainbow in the clouds reaching towards God, the pledge of a covenant of peace?[62] "Look upon the rainbow, and bless Him that made it; surely it is beautiful in its brightness. It encompasses the heaven about with the circle of its glory, the hands of the Most High have displayed it."[63] Whoever, therefore, reverences the Queen of heaven and earth - and let no one consider himself exempt from this tribute of a grateful and loving soul - let him invoke the most effective of Queens, the Mediatrix of peace; let him respect and preserve peace, which is not wickedness unpunished nor freedom without restraint, but a well-ordered harmony under the rule of the will of God; to its safeguarding and growth the gentle urgings and commands of the Virgin Mary impel us.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
August 20th - St. Bernard of Clairvaux
As we honor this holy Saint we remember a special prayer attributed to him.
The Memorare
St. Bernard of Clairvaux composed the famous prayer to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary known as The Memorare.
REMEMBER, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to thee do I come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.
MEMORARE, O piissima Virgo Maria, non esse auditum a saeculo, quemquam ad tua currentem praesidia, tua implorantem auxilia, tua petentem suffragia, esse derelictum. Ego tali animatus confidentia, ad te, Virgo Virginum, Mater, curro, ad te venio, coram te gemens peccator assisto. Noli, Mater Verbi, verba mea despicere; sed audi propitia et exaudi. Amen.
The Writing from St. Bernard on Blessed Virgin Mary.
"In dangers, in doubts, in difficulties, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let not her name depart from your lips, never suffer it to leave your heart. And that you may more surely obtain the assistance of her prayer, neglect not to walk in her footsteps. With her for (your) guide, you shall never go astray; while invoking her, you shall never lose heart; So long as she is in your mind, you are safe from deception; while she holds your hand, you cannot fall; under her protection you have nothing to fear; if she walks before you, you shall not grow weary; if she shows you favor, you shall reach the goal."
Friday, August 12, 2011
August 15th - Feast of the Assumption of Mary
DEFINING THE DOGMA OF THE ASSUMPTION
Munificentissimus DeusApostolic Constitution of Pope Pius XII issued November 1, 1950
On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII, exercising papal infallibility, declared in "Munificentissimus Deus" that it is a dogma of the Church "that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory." As a dogma, the Assumption is a required belief of all Catholics; anyone who publicly dissents from the dogma, Pope Pius declared, "has fallen away completely from the divine and Catholic Faith."
Monday, August 8, 2011
O Lumen
Light of the Church,
teacher of truth,
rose of patience,
ivory of chastity,
you freely poured forth the waters of wisdom;
preacher of grace, unite us
with the blessed.
V.Blessed Father, Dominic, pray for us.
R.That we may be worthy of the promises of Christ.
teacher of truth,
rose of patience,
ivory of chastity,
you freely poured forth the waters of wisdom;
preacher of grace, unite us
with the blessed.
V.Blessed Father, Dominic, pray for us.
R.That we may be worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray:
Grant we beseech you, almighty God, that we who are weighed down by the burden of our sins, may be relieved through the patronage of the blessed Dominic, your confessor and our father. Through Christ, our Lord.R. Amen.
The Last Will and Testament of St. Dominic
“My dearest children, I have no earthly goods to leave you, because, as you know well, I have renounced all things; but I leave you something of greater worth, that is to say, the blessing of God and my own. I pray you, and as far as possible, command you to love one another and to remain always united having your hearts and wills conformable to that which Our Savior has taught you and which our Holy Rule imposes upon you and of which our Constitutions remind you. Do not allow yourselves to be made vain by any grace whatsoever God may bestow on you, whether temporal or spiritual, but with profound humility seek to recognize the obligation under which His benefits place you, which with the same humility you should endeavor to preserve…
The goods which I leave you, oh my children, are not gold and silver, treasures or other temporal wealth. They are the treasures of eternal salvation; the wealth of heaven; divine merchandise and an inheritance which ends not at death.
I leave you first, Charity, the eldest daughter of the grace of God. With this gift, you will be zealous in the service of God, ardent in promoting the salvation of your neighbor, and never among yourselves will discords and dissensions arise. Charity will unite you to God, and you will receive there from those favors which the true friends of God are accustomed to enjoy. In persecutions you will be intrepid, and many of you will not hesitate to shed your blood for the faith.
I leave you, secondly, Humility. She is so pleasing to God that for her He descended to earth and enclosed Himself in the Virgin’s womb, beholding “the humility of His handmaiden.” With this gift, if it continues with you, you shall be well pleasing to God and He will bestow on you His grace. By this virtue you will endear yourselves also to those around you, who, seeing in you that gentleness and patience which are the fruits of humility and considering the many services that you render them, will, in return, be unable to do less than love and assist you. Humility will remove from your heart all false pretension, free from all proud ambitions and relieve them of the heavy weight of temporal dignities. Through her you will become receptive of much divine light whereby to obtain a true understanding of the Holy Scriptures and great freedom and finally, you will enjoy great tranquility and peace, since he who is humble performs more willingly the will of another than his own. Cultivate, therefore, this holy virtue.
Lastly, I leave you Voluntary Poverty, that which, although she may indeed appear less comely outwardly, yet is the more fair and precious interiorly and well endowed with spiritual wealth, since it is certain that her merit cannot be paid with the price of this earth, and therefore is the Kingdom of Heaven assigned as her reward. By this virtue you will be liberated from all the entanglements of worldly interests and set loose towards all cares of this earth and towards all temporal affections. By her aid you will be exemplary in preaching and in the ministry of the Church. By her will you be loosed from earth and tend upward toward the sky. Be not disturbed if through poverty you shall find yourselves in manifest necessities, because the Heavenly Father, Who loves you more than any father whatsoever, will soon provide with generous hand nor will He who feeds the humblest beast of the earth suffer them to die of hunger who faithfully serve Him.
In closing, I remind you of your obedience to the Roman Church and to the Vicar of Christ, whom both, all you and those who shall succeed you are to love, honor and obey.” So ends my Testament.
Editor’s Note: Critical evaluation of the early documents of the Order do not include the Last Will and Testament of St. Dominic. Authorities have conflicting views on the authenticity, attribution, and utility of the document. We believe that its contents are worthy of reflection. This testament is taken from a manuscript in the Dominican Monastery of San Tomaso, Porta S. Angelo, Perugia, Italy.
Used with permission of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph.
Feast of St. Dominic - Our Inaugural Posting
Thus, this is the inaugural posting on the new blog for the Lay Dominicans del Espiritu Santo in Tallahassee, Florida. Please subscribe to our blog and follow us using the provided link in the column to the right. We will endeavor to make your time reading our work stimulating.
For general information on St. Dominic (including notes about the star and dog in most images), please navigate to these sites:
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=178
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05106a.htm
http://curia.op.org/en/index.php/eng/about-us/history-a-more/st-dominic
http://www.op-stjoseph.org/hist-dom1.html
Let us pray: May the Blessed Virgin Mary, all the Dominican saints, and most especially St. Dominic pray for the success of our efforts on this blog, for it is done to glorify Our Lord through the Dominican tradition of preaching. Through their intercessions, may the blessings of the Lord come to rest upon our works. For it is in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ that we pray, as he lives and reigns with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, one god, forever and ever. Amen.
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