ST. DOMINIC, PRIEST and FOUNDER of DOMINICANS
At the end of the twelfth
century the Church in France was ravaged by the Albigensian heresy, a doctrine
which was not only entirely unchristian but which, in addition, constituted a
social evil. Effective measures were required to be taken to combat it. Where
others had failed, a Spanish canon, Dominic Guzman, succeeded. He was notable
for his learning and love of poverty. The Order of Friars Preachers, which he
founded about the year 1215, was endowed by him with these two characteristics;
instead of manual labor, as practiced by the Cistercian monks, he required his
friars to work with their minds by preaching and teaching.
St.
Dominic
The Martyrology gives the following: "At Bologna (upper Italy) the holy
confessor Dominic, the saintly and learned founder of the Order of Preachers.
He preserved his virginity inviolate and gained for himself the grace of raising
three dead persons to life. By his word he crushed heresy in the bud and led
many souls to piety and to religious life."
Born about
1175 in Castile (Spain), Dominic hailed from the illustrious Guzman family.
First he was a canon regular at Osma; then he
founded the Dominican Order, which
was approved in 1216. Alongside the Franciscans, it became the most
powerful Order in medieval times, giving the Church illustrious preachers --
St.
Vincent Ferrer, and contemplatives,
Sts. Thomas of Aquinas and Pius V -- and
contribut
ing immeasurably to maintaining the purity of the faith. Through
the example of apostolic poverty and the preaching of the word of God the Friar
Preachers were to lead men to Christ.
To St. Dominic is attributed
the origin and spread of the holy rosary.
The two contemporaries, Dominic and Francis, effected a tremendous spiritual rejuvenation through their own spiritual personalities and through their religious foundations. Of the two, Dominic was the realist who surpassed the other intellectually and in organizational talent. His spirit of moderation, clarity of thought, and burning zeal for souls have become the heritage of the Dominican Order. Legend has contributed the following rare anecdote as preserved in the Breviary: "During pregnancy, Dominic's mother dreamed she was carrying in her womb a little dog that held a burning torch between its teeth; and when she had given birth, it set the whole world on fire. By this dream it was made manifest beforehand how Dominic would inflame the nations to the practice of Christian virtue through the brightness of his holy example and the fiery ardor of his preaching." He died at Bologna on August 6, 1221. He died upon hearing the liturgy's prayer for the dying: "Come, ye saints of God, hasten hither, ye angels!" His friend, Gregory IX, canonized him three years later.
Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.
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Life of St. Dominic - Founder of
Order of Preachers
