Wednesday, December 9, 2015

         How our first lay Dominicans sought to perform ‘works of mercy’
The sons and daughters of Saint Dominic are blessed with the opportunity to celebrate two jubilees. The first started last month with the launch of activities marking the 800th anniversary of the Order of Preachers. The second began this week, when Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica to commence the Jubilee of Mercy.
For Dominicans – particularly for lay Dominicans – the timing of these celebrations is auspicious. The jubilee praising 800 years of Dominican life in the world urges the Order of Preachers to renew itself in the spirit of our Holy Father Dominic and to re-nourish our Gospel witness. To Pope Francis, the upcoming year also is a time to “rediscover the infinite mercy of the Father who welcomes everyone and goes out personally to encounter each of them.”
The earliest assemblies of the Dominican laity can show us how to bring each of these missions together. In fact, the first documents we have on record from the Order of Penance – the precursor to today’s Dominican laity – and from the various confraternities that formed in the spirit of Saint Dominic looked toward God’s mercy as a source of salvation.
This is most explicitly stated in the Statutes of the Congregation of Our Lady, Arezzo, 1262, written just 41 years after the death of Dominic. This lay fraternity of St. Mary of Mercy gathered in the Tuscan city of Arezzo “on the advice and encouragement of certain sensible friars of the [Order of Preachers]” in order to perform “works of mercy” so that its members “might obtain God’s mercy in this present world and in the world to come …”
The preamble to these statutes, which are reproduced in the Simon Tugwell-edited Early Dominicans (Paulist Press), abounds in its praise of mercy:
The Lord, who is compassionate and merciful, whose compassion is on all that he has made and whose mercy fills the earth, wanting no one to perish, but to bring everyone back to the way of truth, decreed lovingly in the law of his gospel and established it as an inviolable precept forever, that anyone who wants to obtain his marvelous mercy in this world and in the world to come must follow his most sacred example with regard to mercy, in this time which he has granted for the salvation of men, and must love mercy and devote himself zealously to the works of mercy.
With God’s mercy as its foundation, this congregation of pioneering lay Dominicans sought to “relieve the various needs especially of the embarrassed poor, and of widows and orphans and also, in times of urgent distress, to help religious houses, poor monasteries, hospices and recluses, to foster charity and love and harmony …”
In other words, their Gospel witness and their reason for joining the family of Saint Dominic was in answer to the call to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and care for the sick and imprisoned (Matthew 25:35-36). This animated the Dominican vocation to “bring everyone back to the way of truth,” as written in the preamble above, while responding to the call of our Lord to be “merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36).

Let this witness inspire our apostolate today as well. May the Blessed Saint Dominic and all the Dominican saints intercede for us so that we might obtain, and bring others to, God’s mercy.

Written by: Mr. Adam Emerson - Candidate for Lay Dominicans del Espiritu Santo

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Our Lady of the Holy Rosary - October 7th

St. Benedict Rosary w. Beautiful Wood Beads – RW51

Pray, and Preach, the Rosary Every Day - submitted by: Adam Emerson

On Sunday, October 4, I joined in spirit with who I can only guess were many thousands of people who recited the Supplication to the Queen of the Holy Rosary. In this prayer, written 132 years ago in Italy by the “Apostle of the Rosary,” Blessed Bartolo Longo, the petitioner humbly pours out his affection to the Virgin Mary and places himself at her mercy through the “sweet chain which unites us to God.” In these early days of October, a month ordinarily given to the Rosary, I share these words not simply to adore this sweet chain, but to promote it.

The promulgation of the Rosary has been, and continues to be, an apostolate of the Order of Preachers. And all members of the Dominican family are encouraged to preach it. Bartolo Longo, in fact, was a Dominican tertiary who was beatified by Pope Saint John Paul II in 1980 distinctly for his work in leading the poor of 19th-century Pompeii to Jesus and Mary through a divine love of the Rosary. In the 21st century, the longing for the fruits of the Rosary is just as deep, and Lay Dominicans are uniquely positioned to help fulfill it.

As a newly minted lay candidate to the Order of Preachers, I won’t pretend to have the answer as to how to promote this. I can only testify to its presence in my life. But for me, it already has borne fruit.

The Rosary was perhaps the greatest surprise to me during my year of inquiry into the Dominican Order. I was born a Catholic and educated at Catholic schools, but until last year I hadn’t picked up a Rosary – much less prayed one – since I was a young boy. I was a cerebral sort who was initially drawn to the regular practice of scriptural and spiritual study within the Order. Through an excellent period of formation, however, it became clear that my prayer life needed tending.

I needed a guide, and I found one initially in the Magnificat Rosary Companion, a richly illustrated and beautifully written compendium of meditations on the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries. This had, indeed, helped to light a path to prayer, opening my heart to the Living Gospel and my intellect to other reflections on the Rosary, not the least of which included the Secret of the Rosary by Saint Louis Grignion de Montfort, the Mystery of the Rosary, by Marc Tremeau, O.P., and – most especially – Rosarium Virginis Mariae, the esteemed apostolic letter of John Paul II.

With John Paul II, I read the words that would alter the very fabric of my home. “The family that recites the Rosary together,” the Holy Father wrote, “reproduces something of the atmosphere of the household of Nazareth: its members place Jesus at the centre, they share his joys and sorrows, they place their needs and their plans in his hands, they draw from him the hope and the strength to go on.”

For the first few months of my inquiry as a Lay Dominican, I had been praying the Rosary privately, in another room while my young children slept or while my wife knitted. Upon reading these words of John Paul, I asked, “Why am I keeping this to myself?” My 5-year-old, after all, had been gazing at the beads I had wrapped around my hands from time to time. I asked her if she wanted her own.  She said yes.

My wife and I found her a colorful, oversized Rosary that seemed to suit her and asked our parish priest to bless it. But I didn’t want her to just finger the beads. I wanted her to pray them with me. Admittedly, I had low expectations of a kindergartner until I showed her the same Magnificat rosary guide that aided my prayers. I thought she would like the illustrations. I never would have guessed just how much she would like them.

Every night, she would insist on opening up that guide, finding the picture she liked best that day and joining me in saying one decade of the Rosary. At first, I said most of the Hail Marys, asking her to recite with me just the first and the tenth of them. Within a few weeks, she was saying them all with me.

One night, she slipped out of her room after bedtime while I was saying Evening Prayers. Before I could say with frustration that it was past time for bed, she said, “Daddy, I have questions. What does it mean that Jesus rose from the dead?”

At that moment, I praised God and I gave myself to the Virgin Mary and asked for the grace to be an apostle in my own home, for the wisdom to be the teacher of the faith to my two daughters, and for the fortitude to remain on the path that my Lord has lit for me. A more cynical person might have told me that my 5-year-old was just postponing bedtime, but that child is the one who first reaches for the Rosary guide every night.

Moreover, the sight of her husband and daughter praying the Rosary nightly also led my wife to join us. Even our 2-year-old wanted in on the act, so we got her a “junior” Rosary for her to finger. That one decade, that one mystery – whichever we decide we will pray that day – has become for our household a family prayer.

I am not foolish to believe that it will be all downhill from here. I know that it will take effort to maintain my daughter’s interest in and commitment to this prayer. That’s why every day, I ask Our Lady to intercede for our family so that we stay on this path. And I ask all the Dominican Blesseds and Saints for their prayers as well. Among them, Blessed Bartolo Longo, who saw in the beads a chain that links us to God.

It was John Paul II who in Rosarium Virginis Mariae turned his audience to the words Longo wrote in his Supplication of the Queen of the Holy Rosary, ending his letter with the words that are just as fitting on this October 7 Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary:

“O Blessed Rosary of Mary, sweet chain which unites us to God, bond of love which unites us to the angels, tower of salvation against the assaults of Hell, safe port in our universal shipwreck, we will never abandon you. You will be our comfort in the hour of death; yours our final kiss as life ebbs away. And the last word from our lips will be your sweet name, O Queen of the Rosary of Pompeii, O dearest Mother, O Refuge of Sinners, O Sovereign Consoler of the Afflicted. May you be everywhere blessed, today and always, on earth and in heaven.”

May these words inspire all the sons and daughters of this great Dominican family to preach the Rosary!

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Fr. Dominic's Last Will and Testament

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.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Televised Schedule for Pope Francis
Available on EWTN
(times shown are Eastern Standard Time)
http://www.ewtn.com/papaltravels/

Papal Events
POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA - ARRIVAL IN WASHINGTON
Pope Francis arrives in Washington D.C., beginning his first papal visit to the United States of America.
Tuesday
09/22/2015
03:45 PM
CC TV-G
Papal Events
POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA - VISIT TO THE WHITE HOUSE
Pope Francis travels to the White House to meet with the President and other political leaders of the United States. Live.
Wednesday
09/23/2015
08:45 AM
CC TV-G
Papal Events
POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA - MEETING WITH BISHOPS
Pope Francis meets with American Bishops. Live.
Wednesday
09/23/2015
11:00 AM
CC TV-G
Papal Events
POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA - MASS AND CANONIZATION OF BLESSED JUNIPERO SERRA BY POPE FRANCIS
Pope Francis celebrates Holy Mass and presides over the canonization of Blessed Junipero Serra. Live.
Wednesday
09/23/2015
03:30 PM
CC TV-G
Papal Events
POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA - ADDRESS TO CONGRESS
Pope Francis delivers his address to Congress. Live.
Thursday
09/24/2015
09:00 AM
CC TV-G
Papal Events
POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA - VISIT TO ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH AND HOMELESS SHELTER
Pope Francis visits St. Patrick’s Church and the homeless of the surrounding area. Live.
Thursday
09/24/2015
11:00 AM
CC TV-G
Papal Events
POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA - DEPARTURE
Live coverage of Pope Francis’ departure from Washington D.C.
Thursday
09/24/2015
03:45 PM
00:30
CC TV-G
Papal Events
POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA - POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA: ARRIVAL
Live coverage of the Holy Father’s arrival to New York City.
Thursday
09/24/2015
05:00 PM
CC TV-G
Papal Events
POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA - VESPERS WITH CLERGY AND RELIGIOUS
Pope Francis celebrates vespers alongside the clergy and other religious vocations. Live.
Thursday
09/24/2015
06:15 PM
CC TV-G
Papal Events
POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA - ADDRESS TO THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Pope Francis delivers his address to representatives at the United Nations. Live.
Friday
09/25/2015
08:00 AM
CC TV-G
Papal Events
POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA - POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA: INTERRELIGIOUS SERVICE AT GROUND ZERO
Pope Francis leads an interreligious service at the site of the September 11th attack in New York City. Live.
Friday
09/25/2015
11:30 AM
CC TV-G
Papal Events
POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA - POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA: VISIT TO EAST HARLEM SCHOOL
Pope Francis visits school children in their schoolhouse in East Harlem. Live.
Friday
09/25/2015
03:45 PM
CC TV-G
Papal Events
POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA - POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA: MASS AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
Pope Francis celebrates Holy Mass in Madison Square Garden in New York City. Live.
Friday
09/25/2015
05:15 PM
CC TV-G
Papal Events
POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA - POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA: ARRIVAL
Live coverage of the Holy Father’s arrival to Philadelphia.
Saturday
09/26/2015
CC TV-G
Papal Events
POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA - POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA: HOLY MASS WITH BISHOPS, CLERGY AND RELIGIOUS
Pope Francis celebrates vespers alongside the clergy and other religious vocations. Live.
Saturday
09/26/2015
10:00 AM
CC TV-G
Papal Events
POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA - POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA: MEETING FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM WITH THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY
Pope Francis speaks with Hispanic Communities at the Meeting for Religious Freedom. Live.
Saturday
09/26/2015
04:00 PM
CC TV-G
Papal Events
POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA - POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA: PRAYER VIGIL AT THE FESTIVAL OF FAMILIES
Pope Francis attends the prayer vigil at the Festival of Families. Live

Saturday
09/26/2015
07:00 PM
CC TV-G
Papal Events
POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA - POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA: MEETING WITH BISHOPS
Pope Francis’ meeting with American Bishops. Live.
Sunday
09/27/2015
09:00 AM
CC TV-G
Papal Events
POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA - POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA: VISIT TO THE CURRAN-FROMHOLD CORRECTIONAL FACILITY
Pope Francis visits the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. Live.
Sunday
09/27/2015
10:45 AM
CC TV-G
Papal Events
POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA - POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA: MOTORCADE
Live coverage of the Holy Father’s motorcade.
Sunday
09/27/2015
03:15 PM
CC TV-G
Papal Events
POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA - POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA: HOLY MASS CONCLUDING THE WORLD MEETING OF FAMILIES
Pope Francis presides over the Concluding Mass for the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Sunday
09/27/2015
04:00 PM
CC TV-G
Papal Events
POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA - POPE FRANCIS IN AMERICA: FAREWELL CEREMONY
Crowds gather to bid farewell to Pope Francis as he prepares to depart from the United States.
Sunday
09/27/2015
07:00 PM
CC TV-G

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Dominican Martyrs of Florida


If you are interested in the history of the Catholic church in the New World and how the faith was brought to La Florida I encourage you to read this article:

http://www.martyrsoflafloridamissions.org/martyrs/hearing-divine-call

Here is the written text:

HEARING A DIVINE CALL

FRAY LUIS CÁNCER, OP AND COMPANIONS, PROTOMARTYRS OF FLORIDA

[Companions: Fray Diego de Tolosa, OP; Brother Esteban Fuentes, OP 
(first lay brother martyr)]
On June 20 and 26, 1549, near Tampa Bay…
Father Luis was a Dominican priest from Spain – gentle and merciful, courageous and wise – 
and an amazing missionary. Zeal for the salvation of souls filled his heart. Father Luis was also 
a tireless advocate for the rights of the indigenous people. He is remembered as the ‘apostle of 
Puerto Rico,’ and as the missionary who brought the Gospel to the natives of Guatemala in their 
own language – through song! Thousands became baptized and loved this white-robed missionary 
who sang to them about the Son. Father Luis Cáncer longed to go to the land of La Florida and help 
the native people to know, love and serve the Lord.
Father Cáncer’s prayer was answered: he and his Dominican companions set sail for Florida. 
Against Father Luis’s direction, the ship’s captain landed where the native people had suffered 
greatly from Hernando de Soto’s expedition – now Tampa Bay.
This band of Dominicans came with no weapons but prayer. The Indians greeted them warmly at 
first and participated as they prayed. Father Diego and Brother Fuentes responded to a divine call 
to go inland and stay with the Indians who welcomed them. Father Cáncer remained hopeful that 
the missionaries were safe until he learned the tragic news – Father Diego and Brother Fuentes
had been killed.
The captain insisted on sailing away, yet Father Luis insisted on staying. He had long thought that 
the cost of conversion may be the blood of martyrs, and, after the martyrdom of his friends, he was 
determined to go ashore… either to begin evangelization or to offer his life as a martyr.
Despite the protests of the others, he left the ship and waded through the water in his long white 
robes. Forgetting his cross on the boat, he hesitated, but continued. He would not go back. 
Fray Luis Cáncer walked onto the shore, knelt on the beach, and prayed. A native man embraced 
him, but then he and others dragged the great missionary up a nearby hill and there clubbed him 
to death.
Father Luis Cáncer, your blood, shed on our land, has borne great fruit. Thank you, Father, for 
giving us this foundation of courage and love. Help us to be willing to sacrifice generously for love 
of Him, Who gave all for us. You forgot your cross, but instead, your body became the cross. The 
gift of your life was your evangelization. Please help us to persevere in the Lord’s work with holy 
zeal and great determination regardless of the challenges or risks.

Friday, May 22, 2015

A Dominican Prayer at Perpetual Promise


On the Occasion of Pentecost and
the Anniversary of the Translation of Our Holy Father St. Dominic

My most wise and giving Lord, thank you for guiding me to the Order of Preachers.  On this day where I make perpetual commitment to the Order, open my soul to the Holy Spirit.  By your grace, instill in me the attributes of my Dominican predecessors whose intercessions I entreat on this day:
Like Holy Father St. Dominic, give me endurance to be a preacher of the Word;
Like St. Catherine of Siena, give me the audacity to speak Truth;
Like St. Thomas Aquinas, give me the solace of study shared with others;
Like St. Martin de Porres, give me compassion for those in need;
Like St. Rose of Lima, give me humility and true penitence;
Like St. Vincent Ferrer, give me a voice to reach the people;
Like St. Albert the Great, give me the gift to teach others;
Like St. Hyacinth, give me true zeal for evangelization;
Like St. Agnes de Montepulciano, give me over to unceasing prayer;
Like St. Pius V, give me true devotion to the Holy Rosary;
Like St. Louis de Montfort, give me vision to find the Son through His Blessed Mother;
Like Bl. Jordan of Saxony, give me commitment to the Rule of the Order;
Like Bl. Margaret of Castello, give me inner-strength to meet difficulties;
Like Bl. Pier-Giorgio Frassati, give me true love for life;
Like all Dominican martyrs for the faith, give me the will to be a true Christian.
While I kneel before your altar, give me focus on the promises I make.  As I live my life, give me the fortitude to be ever vigilant in keeping those promises.  Draw me closer to you through my promises and make my life an instrument of the Word.  These things I humbly pray, through Jesus Christ my Lord, the Word Incarnate. Amen.

A prayer written by Mr. Lee Bowersox, O.P. prior to Perpetual Promise on Pentecost 2015.