Tag Archives: St. Dominic

Dominican Saints, Incorruptible, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Bl. Bertrand of Garrigua, Feast Day September 6

Quote September 9, 2016 Vicki Scheenstra Leave a comment

The feast day of Bl. Bertrand of Garrigua is celebrated on September 6. He was born in Garrigua, France in 1195. Bl. Bertrand was ordained a secular priest preaching with the Cistercians against the Albigenses. In the year 1216 he met St. Dominic. He soon joined St. Dominic helping him to found the Order of Preachers.

While St. Dominic was in Rome seeking approval of his new order he left Bertrand in charge. He was an important part in the founding of the Order of Preachers, becoming known as the “second Dominic”. He was known to be a traveling companion with St. Dominic.

Bl. Bertrand was known for continually weeping for his sins. St. Dominic convinced him that it would be better to pray for ht sins of others instead. Bertrand continued weeping, however, he was weeping for others sins instead of his own. After having a vision he also began to pray for the souls in purgatory.

Bl. Bertrand fell sick while preaching a mission in 1230 and died at the age of 35.

The body of Bl. Bertrand was found to be incorrupt in 1881, 23 years after his death.

Bl. Bertrand was beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1881.

A person who governs his passions is master of the world. We must either rule them or be ruled by them. It is better to be the hammer than the anvil.

Quote of St. Dominic; Feast Day August 8

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

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Dominican Saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Ingrid of Sweden, Feast Day September 2

Quote September 2, 2016 Vicki Scheenstra 4 Comments

St. Ingrid was born in Skanninge, Sweden in the 13th century. Her spiritual directer was Father Peter of Dacia, a Dominican priest.

Ingrid married young. However, she became a widow when her husband died. After a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, she gave all her possessions to God and became the first Dominican Nun in Sweden. She also founded the first Dominican cloister in Sweden.

St. Ingrid was known for her holiness. When she died in 1282, many miracles occurred, causing a cult to form calling for her to be named a saint. The canonization process was begun in 1405 but formal canonization never occurred. She is regarded a saint by many and has her feast day listed on the liturgical calendar.

Why should we mourn when those who have left us have suffered no loss, but have rather gained all? Instead of earthly life they have gained eternal life; they have exchanged a house on earth for a heavenly mansion; in place of the world they have found God.

Quote of Bl. Ildefonso Schuster

September is the Month of Our Sorrowful Mother

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Faith, Prayer, Spirituality

Praying the Rosary Brings You Closer to Jesus

Quote August 22, 2016 Vicki Scheenstra Leave a comment

The practice of praying the rosary has its historical roots with St. Dominic. St. Dominic founded the Order of Preachers or Dominicans. Monks in the monasteries recited the Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours) daily. This included all 150 Psalms. The lay people were unable to read so they substituted Ave Maria’s (Hail Mary’s) for the psalms. The first half of the rosary is found in the Bible.

“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.”

This statement was made by Archangel Gabriel (Luke 1: 26). The second part of the prayer is a prayer is a request that Mary pray for us at the time of death.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen.

By meditating on the life of Jesus, the rosary brings Jesus into our daily life. There are four sets of mysteries which we meditate on: The Joyful , The Glorious, The Sorrowful, and the Luminous

Each set has five mysteries.

The Joyful Mysteries: 1. Annunciation 2. Visitation 3. Birth of Jesus 4. Presentation in the Temple 5. Finding the Child Jesus

The Luminous Mysteries: 1. Christ’s Baptism I the Jordan 2. Wedding at Cana 3. Proclamation of the Kingdom 4. Transfiguration 5. Institution of the Eucharist

Sorrowful Mysteries: 1. Agony in the Garden 2. Scourging at the Pillar 3. Crowning with Thorns 4. Carrying of the Cross 5. Crucifixion

Glorious Mysteries: 1. Resurrection 2. Ascension into Heaven 3. Descent of the Holy Spirit 4. Assumption 5. Crowning of Our Blessed Lady

By meditating and pondering on the life of Christ we receive grace and guidance from the Holy Spirit. A popular saying is “to Jesus, through Mary”. Mary is our spiritual mother. She always guides us to her Son. After the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours, the Rosary is the most popular prayer of the church.

St. John Paul II added the Luminous Mysteries during his papacy.

Do Catholics actually worship Mary when they pray the rosary? Veneration and worship are two different things. To venerate is to honor. Jesus honored his mother. (Isn’t one of the commandments honor thy father and thy mother?) We are called to imitate Jesus. Why then would we pretend Mary doesn’t exist?

Worship is given to God alone (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). All Mary’s power comes from God, not from herself. But we can easily relate to Mary. She was given great responsibility. She was troubled, but her answer was

“Let it be done according to thy word.”

May we always imitate Mary when given an assignment by God!

The following website instructs on how to pray the rosary: ROSARY

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Dominican Saints, Faith, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Hyacinth of Poland, Feast Day August 17

Quote August 19, 2016 Vicki Scheenstra Leave a comment

St. Hyacinth of Poland Public Domain Image — St. Hyacinth of Poland

The feast day of St. Hyacinth of Poland is celebrated on August 17.

St. Hyacinth was born in 1185 to noble parents in Odrowacz, Poland. He was educated by his uncle who was a pious priest who eventually became the Bishop of Cracow. He was a very happy and pious child with an early calling to the religious life. He studied at Bologna earning the degree of Doctor of Canon Law and Divinity.

St. Hyacinth returned to Poland. On a trip to Rome with his uncle he met St. Dominic. He was one of the first to join the Order of Preachers, becoming a Dominican. He returned to Poland to establish the Dominican Order.

St. Hyacinth was a wonderful preacher. He converted many people and was able to build churches and convents. He visited the sick and was a friend to the poor. He became known for the many miracles which occurred. The most famous happened during the Tartars siege of the city of Kiev. Hyacinth had a tender devotion to the Mother of God. After celebrating Mass unaware of the siege occurring, he retrieved the Blessed Sacrament and a statue of Mary and fled with the community to the river Dnieper. Although the river was deep he led them across the river walking on the water. His footprints could be seen on the water for centuries.

The last years of St. Hyacinth’s life were lived in a convent at Cracow. On the feast of St. Dominic, he fell ill with a fever. He celebrated Mass on the Feast of the Assumption in spite of his illness. He was anointed at the Altar and died later that day on August 15, 1257.

St. Hyacinth was canonized by Pope Clement VIII in 1594.

The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.

Quote of Michelangelo

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Dominican Saints, Faith, patron saints, Prayer, Saint of the Day

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

Quote August 7, 2016 Vicki Scheenstra Leave a comment

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.