Dominican blessing for the Feast of St Dominic

St Dominic de Guzman

DOMINICAN BLESSING FOR THE FEAST OF ST DOMINIC

Happy Feast day to my readers.  Today is the feast of St Dominic in Australia and 8th for the rest of the universal church.  St Dominic as you know is my favourite saint so I love his feast day.

Perhaps one thing I should clarify is that when I am talking about St Dominic, I mean, St Dominic de Guzman (founder of the Order of Preachers- Dominicans)  not Dominic Salvio. Still I have to say, anyone who is called Dominic is a favourite with me.

Anyway, on this feast of St Dominic, I just wanted to share the Dominican blessing.

DOMINICAN BLESSING.

May God the Father bless us,

May God the Son heal us.

May God the Holy Spirit enlighten us

and give us eyes to see with,

ears to hear with,

hands to do the work of God with,

feet to walk with

 and a mouth to preach the word of salvation.

The angel of peace to watch over us

and lead us at last by our Lord's gift to the kingdom. 

I obviously go to Mass on St Dom's feast, but I do love to celebrate with the Dominican community the Office- Evening Prayer. It is such a privilege to be there with them.  I also love to have a special meal on his feast day.  I had my special meal at lunch time today as tonight I also have choir rehearsal. Our parish is celebrating this coming weekend so the choir need to be in good voice.

May you all have a blessed feast day of St Dominic. 

Happy Feast Day- St Dominic.

 FEAST DAY OF ST DOMINIC.

Many of us have our favourite saint.  My favourite saint is St Dominic, who has a very special place in my heart. His feast day is today- 7 August in Australia, whilst the universal church celebrates it on 8th August. You might wonder why his feast day is different from the universal church. Mary McKillop's feast day falls on the 8th August in Australia.

So when it comes to books about St Dominic, I have to say that I am always keen to have a read.  I never tire of learning and discovering more about my favourite saint.

The authoress Catherine Beebe has presented the life of St Dominic in the popular Vision Books series of saints.  The key story about this wonderful saint which is often told in Dominican parishes is that Dominic as a young priest sat all night at a wooden table in a village tavern, and preached the truths of the Church to an embittered inn-keeper. The next day, the inn-keeper was converted and St Dominic joyfully received him into the Faith.
Of course, it is important to understand the times that St Dominic lived and worked since heresies were rife. It is in this context that St Dominic was able to bring the Church to the people and preach the truths of the Church

This charming paperback book of 161 pages is a delightful read, not only to those who may be unaware of the life of St Dominic and wish to glean a picture of his life, but also to those like myself who are familiar with the story of his life. I always enjoy reading something more about my favourite saint, and this book certainly energizes my novena to St Dominic.  There are other charming books to read as well which I have read and nurtured my faith.

St Dominic is also strongly connected with the Rosary. Tradition tells us that our Blessed Mother Mary, presented St Dominic with the Rosary, and since that time, the Rosary has been part of the Dominican way of life.  In my parish church, the stain glass window depicts magnificently St Dominic receiving the rosary from Our Lady.

Perhaps if you were looking for a precious gift, these beautiful items shown would be warmly received delighting both the giver and the receiver.

May we all continue to grow in our faith and like St Dominic teach the truths of the Church by the way we live and act.