Category Archives: Prayer

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Dominic, Feast Day August 8

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The feast day of St. Dominic is celebrated on August 8th. He was born in 1170 to Felix Guzman and Blessed Joan of Aza in Caleruega, Spain. After studying at the University at Palencia he was ordained a priest at the age of 25. St. Dominic was known for self-denial, holiness, piety and apostolic zeal. He refused to eat meat or sleep on a bed. He also renounced wealth.  Because of his love of learning and teaching, St. Dominic is known as the patron of astronomers.

In 1215. St. Dominic founded an order of Dominican Nuns. Their mission was to care for young girls. This was followed by the founding of the Order of Preachers, which became known as the Dominicans. The purpose of the order was to preach the Word of God. They were also known as the “Black Friars”. The rule followed the Rule of St. Augustine. Their focus was on liturgical prayer and lifelong study.

The primary heresy the Dominicans preached against was Albigensianism. This was the belief that there are two dueling principles, good and evil, and that all matter was regarded as evil. They also taught that the devil is the creator of the material world.

A devotion which St. Dominic helped to spread is the Rosary. a Marian devotion, which combines meditation on the life of Christ, with memorized prayer. Tradition tells us that when Dominic became discouraged with the slow progress of his work of preaching against the Abligensian heresy, the Blessed Virgin appeared to him with a beautiful wreath of roses. She asked him to say the Rosary every day and to teach the people to say the Rosary. Soon the heresy began to disappear. The devotion of the rosary continues today.

After forming his order Dominic had a dream vision in which he met another person, a beggar. The next day, Dominic recognized this man when he came into his church. It was St. Francis of Assisi the future founder of the Franciscan Order. Dominic embraced him saying,

“You are my companion and must walk with me. For if we hold together, no earthly power can withstand us.”

St. Dominic and St. Francis were lifelong friends. Their orders celebrate their meeting on the feast day of their saint.

The motto of St. Dominic is: “To praise, to bless, to preach”. St. Dominic once said;

“Arm yourself with prayer, rather than a sword; wear humility rather than fine clothes.”

St. Dominic died on August 6, 1221 from a fever.   St. Dominic was canonized on July 13, 1234, by Pope Gregory IX, three years following his death. Pope Gregory said that he no more doubted the sanctity of St. Dominic, than he did that of St. Peter and St. Paul.

Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you

after my death and I shall help you then

more effectively than during my life.

Quote of St. Dominic

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

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Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Dominic, Feast Day August 8

El_Greco,_St_Dominic_in_Prayer Public Domain Image

The feast day of St. Dominic is celebrated on August 8th. He was born in 1170 to Felix Guzman and Blessed Joan of Aza in Caleruega, Spain. After studying at the University at Palencia he was ordained a priest at the age of 25. St. Dominic was known for self-denial, holiness, piety and apostolic zeal. He refused to eat meat or sleep on a bed. He also renounced wealth.

In 1215 he founded an order of Dominican Nuns. Their mission was to care for young girls. This was followed by the founding of the Order of Preachers, which became known as the Dominicans. The purpose of the order was to preach the Word of God. They were also known as the “Black Friars”. The rule followed the Rule of St. Augustine. Their focus was on liturgical prayer and lifelong study.

The primary heresy the Dominicans preached against was Albigensianism. This was the belief that there are two dueling principles, good and evil, and that all matter was regarded as evil. They also taught that the devil is the creator of the material world.

A devotion which St. Dominic helped to spread is the Rosary. a Marian devotion, which combines meditation on the life of Christ, with memorized prayer. Tradition tells us that when Dominic became discouraged with the slow progress of his work of preaching against the Abligensian heresy, the Blessed Virgin appeared to him with a beautiful wreath of roses. She asked him to say the Rosary every day and to teach the people to say the Rosary. Soon the heresy began to disappear. The devotion of the rosary continues today.

After forming his order Dominic had a dream vision in which he met another person, a beggar. The next day, Dominic recognized this man when he came into his church. It was St. Francis of Assisi the future founder of the Franciscan Order. Dominic embraced him saying,

“You are my companion and must walk with me. For if we hold together, no earthly power can withstand us.”

St. Dominic and St. Francis were lifelong friends. Their orders celebrate their meeting on the feast day of their saint.

The motto of St. Dominic is: “To praise, to bless, to preach”. St. Dominic once said;

“Arm yourself with prayer, rather than a sword; wear humility rather than fine clothes.”

St. Dominic died on August 6, 1221 from a fever. Because of his love of learning and teaching, St. Dominic is known as the patron of astronomers.

 

Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you

after my death and I shall help you then

more effectively than during my life.

 

Quote of St. Dominic

St. Dominic in Art

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

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Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Alphonsus Liguori, Feast Day August 1




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St. Alphonsus Liguori

The feast day of St. Alphonsus Liguori is celebrated on August 1. Alphonsus was born in 1696 near Naples, Italy. His father was a captain in the Royal Navy. He is the patron saint of confessors and theologians.

At the age of 16, St. Alphonsus Liguori received a doctorate in civil an canon law. At the age of 18 he joined the Confraternity of Our Lady of Mercy which cared for the sick, devoting himself to works of mercy. He became a lawyer by the age of 20. However, the work proved to be unfulfilling. After losing an important case, Alphonsus left his career as a lawyer to enter the priesthood. He was ordained in 1726.

As a priest St. Alphonsus ministered to the poor working to the point of exhaustion. In 1732 he decided to dedicate himself completely to the poor and abandoned. He founded the Congregation of the Holy Redeemer which became known as the Redemptorists.

St. Alphonsus was a gifted preacher who reached many people.The Redemptorists led mission revivals in the countryside preaching to anyone who would listen. They traveled from town to town. St. Alphonsus focused on three images; Jesus as an infant in the crib, Jesus crucified on the cross, and Jesus vibrantly alive and filled with love for everyone in the Eucharist. He also had a great devotion to Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer.

St. Alphonsus was an artist, composer and a writer. He wrote music which he composed on a harpsichord. It spread throughput the countryside. He wrote over 100 books including “Prayer, the Great Means of Salvation.” He was given the title “Doctor of Prayer”.  St. Alphonsus believed that if you pray your salvation is secure.

St. Alphonsus was troubled by illness most of his life. His final years, he suffered from severe arthritis which kept him in a wheelchair. St. Alphonsus died at the age of 91 after a night of prayer. He was canonized in 1839 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1871.

We must love God in a way that pleases Him,

and not just in a way that suits ourselves.

God wishes people to empty themselves

of everything and to be filled with is divine love.

Quote of St. Alphonsus Liguori

 

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

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Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. John Boste, Feast Day July 24




St. John Boste

St. John Boste is one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.  Their feast day is celebrated together on October 25.   The Feast Day of St. John Boste is celebrated on July 24, the anniversary of his death.

St. John Boste was born in Dufton Westmoreland in 1544.  He attended Queen’s College, Oxford.  He became the first headmaster to serve under Queen Elizabeth l.  He converted to Catholicism and was received into the Church in 1576.  After leaving England he was ordained a priest in Rheims in 1581.

St. John Boste returned to England as a missionary priest.  He evaded arrest for ten years.  After a betrayal, he was finally arrested.  He was found hiding behind a fireplace after celebrating a forbidden Mass.  He was taken to the Tower of London and interrogated on the rack.  He was then hung, drawn and quartered while reciting the Angelus prayer.

 

My function is to invade souls, not to meddle in temporal invasions.

Quote of St. John Boste

 

July is the Month of the Most Precious Blood

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Five Famous Hymns Written by St. Thomas Aquinas




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St. Thomas was was born in Sicily in the year 1225. He died in 1274. The feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas is celebrated on Jan. 28. He is considered the patron saint of students and universities.

At the age of five he was placed in the care of the Benedictines of Monte Casino.

He became a Dominican priest against his families wishes. His brothers followed careers in the military. In an attempt to end his desires to become a Dominican, his brothers hired a prostitute to seduce him. According to legend, two angels appeared to Thomas to strengthen him and increase his determination to remain celibate. He thus became known as the “Angelic Doctor”.

St. Thomas studied at Cologne under St. Albert the Great. He was called “the dumb-ox” because he was so shy and quiet. He was also of a very large stature. Actually, he was quite brilliant, eventually being declared a Doctor of the Church.

After becoming a priest he was sent to Paris. In Paris he became a friend of the King, St. Louis, dining with him frequently. He was asked to teach at the age of 22. He has published many writings. The most well known are Summa Theologica and Summa Contra Gentiles.  He also wrote Hymns of Adoration which are well known today.  The belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is very evident in his hymns of praise and adoration.

His well known hymns are the following:

1. Panis Angelicus (Bread of Angels)  sung by Andre Bocelli

2. Adore te Devote (Humbly I adore thee)…Gregorian Chant

3. O Salutaris hostia (O saving victim)   Gregorian Chant

4. Pange Lingua Corperis (Now, my tongue, the mystery telling)  Gregorian Chant

5. Tantum Ergo Sacramentum (Come Adore)…sung by Daughters of Mary

 

St. Thomas Aquinas Public Domain Image
St. Thomas Aquinas

Panis Angelicus (Bread of Angels)

Holy and living bread,

Wondrous food from heaven sent,

God’s sacrifice foretold,

now in our hands we hold.

Sign and reality, challenge for us to be

Humble servants to all the poor.

God, Holy Three in One,

through this off’ring of your Son

All now on earth can see what we are called to be:

Hope for a world in need, signs that love can succeed

Where true justice and peace endure.

O Salutaris Hostia ( O Saving Victim)

O saving Victim, open wide

The gate of heav’n to us below,

Our foes press on from ev’ry side;

Your aid supply your strength bestow.

To your great name be endless praise,

Immortal Godhead, One in Three;

O grant us endless length of days

In our true native land with thee.

Amen

St. Thomas Aquinas Public Domain Image
St. Thomas Aquinas

Zion, to thy Savior; singing

Zion, To Thy Savior Singing
Zion, to Thy Savior singing,

To thy Prince and Shepherd bringing,
Sweetest hymns of love and praise,
Thou wilt never reach the measure
Of His worth, by all the treasure
Of thy most ecstatic lays.

Of all wonders that can thrill thee,
And, with adoration fill thee,
What than this can greater be,
That Himself to thee He giveth?
He that eateth ever liveth,
For the Bread of Life is He.

Fill thy lips to overflowing
With sweet praise, His mercy showing
Who this heav’nly table spread:
On this day so glad and holy,
To each longing spirit lowly
Giveth He the living Bread.

Here the King hath spread His table,
Whereon eyes of faith are able
Christ our Passover to trace:
Shadows of the law are going,
Light and life and truth inflowing,
Night to day is giving place.

Lo, this angels’ food descending
Heavenly love is hither sending,
Hungry lips on earth to feed:
So the paschal lamb was given,
So the manna came from Heaven,
Isaac was His type indeed.

O Good Shepherd, Bread life giving,
Us, Thy grace and life receiving,
Feed and shelter evermore;
Thou on earth our weakness guiding,
We in Heaven with Thee abiding,
With all saints will Thee adore.

Adore te Devote (Humbly I adore thee)

Humbly I adore thee, Verity unseen,
who thy glory hiddest ‘neath these shadows mean;
low, to thee surrendered, my whole heart is bowed,
tranced as it beholds thee, shrined within the cloud.

Taste and touch and vision to discern thee fail;
faith, that comes by hearing, pierces through the veil.
I believe whate’re the Son of God hath told;
what the Truth hath spoken, that for truth I hold.

O memorial wondrous of the Lord’s own death;
living Bread that givest all thy creatures breath,
grant my spirit ever by thy life may live,
to my taste thy sweetness never failing give.

Jesus, whom now hidden, I by faith behold,
what my soul doth long for, that thy word foretold:
face to face thy splendor, I at last shall see,
in the glorious vision, blessed Lord, of thee.

 

St. Thomas Aquinas Public Domain Image
St. Thomas Aquinas

Tantum Ergo Sacramentum (Come Adore)

Come adore this wondrous presence,

Bow to Christ the source of grace.

Here is kept the ancient promise

of God’s earthly dwelling place.

Sight is blind before God’s glory,

Faith alone may see his face.

Glory be to God the Father,

Praise to his co-equal Son.

Adoration to the Spirit,

Bond of love, in God-head one.

Blest be God by all creation

Joyously while ages run.


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Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Josemaria Escriva, Feast Day June 26




St. Josemaria Escriva Public Domain Image
St. Josemaria Escriva

The feast day of St. Josemaria Escriva is celebrated on June 26.

St. Josemaria Escriva was born in Barbastro, Spain on Jan. 9, 1902. He was the second of six children and attended Catholic schools. At an early age he learned the meaning of suffering when three of his younger sisters died.

After reflecting on footprints in the snow from a discalced Carmelite, he became aware that he had a religious calling. He decided to study for the priesthood and was ordained a priest in 1925. Within three years in 1928, he was inspired to found Opus Dei which was dedicated to all people following Christ. Married people and non Catholics were allowed to join. Their ministry included working among the poor in schools and hospitals. He also founded the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross. Opus Dei spread to many countries throughout the world.

St. Josemaria is also an author of three popular books: The Way, Furrow and The Forge.

On June 26, 1975, St. Josemaria died in his office suddenly at the age of 73. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2002.

 

It’s not enough to be good, you need to show it.

What would you say of a rose bush which produced only thorns?

Quote of St. Josemaria Escriva

 

June is the Month of the Sacred Heart.

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