Vigils Reading – St Dominic

ST DOMINIC

And the History of the Order of Preachers

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Dominic possessed such great integrity and was so strongly motivated by

divine love, that without a doubt he proved to be a bearer of honor and grace.

And since a joyful heart animates the face, he displayed the peaceful composure

of a spiritual man in the kindness he manifested outwardly and by the

cheerfulness of his countenance.

Wherever he went he showed himself in word and deed to be a man of the

Gospel. During the day no one was more community-minded or pleasant

toward his brothers and associates. During the night hours no one was more

persistent in every kind of vigil and supplication. He seldom spoke unless it was

with God, that is, in prayer, or about God; and in this matter instructed his

brothers.

Frequently he made a special personal petition that God would deign to

grant him genuine charity in caring for and obtaining the salvation of others.

For he believed that only then would he be truly a member of Christ, when he

had given himself totally for the salvation of others, just as the Lord Jesus, the

Savior of all, had offered himself completely for our salvation. So, for this work,

after a lengthy period of careful and provident planning, he founded the Order

of Friars Preachers.

In his conversations and letters he often urged the brothers of the Order

to study constantly the Old and New Testaments. He always carried with him

the gospels according to Matthew and the epistles of Paul, and so well did he

study them that he almost knew them from memory.

Two or three times he was chosen bishop, but he always refused,

preferring to live with his brothers in poverty. Of him Pope Gregory IX

declared: “I knew him as a steadfast follower of the apostolic way of life. There

is no doubt that he is in heaven, sharing in the glory of the apostles themselves.”