COLLECT: “MAY SAINT DOMINIC COME TO THE HELP OF YOUR CHURCH BY HIS MERITS AND TEACHING, O LORD, AND MAY HE, WHO WAS AN OUTSTANDING PREACHER OF THE TRUTH, BE A DEVOTED INTERCESSOR ON OUR BEHALF. THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, YOUR SON, WHO LIVES AND REIGNS WITH YOU IN THE UNITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, GOD, FOR EVER AND EVER. AMEN”.
Hab 1:12-2:4; Ps 9:8-13 and Mt 16:24-28
Saint Dominic de Guzman was born in Old Castile in Spain. He became a diocesan Priest with thoughts of missionary work in northern Europe. But then he saw the dangers of the Cathar or Albigensian heresy sweeping through southern France. This heresy advocated heretical doctrines such as the dual principle of ‘good spirit’ and ‘evil matter’ and that Christ was not really born of Mary. Dominic, moved by pity and forbearance, lived and preached in evangelical poverty, and he was able to reconcile innumerable heretics to the faith and restore religion and morals among people. He gathered other people around him and thus founded the Order of Preachers (called the Dominicans). He also converted 1000s of unbelievers not only by his burning eloquence, but also by his personal charm, which radiated his holiness by spreading the Rosary devotion and by his miracles (he raised a dead man to life). Also, his love for the truth and his acute sense of duty were tempered by a tender love for the soul of the sinner. He always lived in humble and ascetic simplicity, and his happy spirit frequently broke out in song. St. Dominic once said that: “A man who governs his passions is master of the world”; otherwise, the world will master you. Really?? Bam!!!!.
If one is not firmly rooted in faith, it will not be possible for one to declare that God should do whatever he pleases with him/her, and that he/she is God’s and no longer his/her own. Faith is paramount in Christianity. Without faith, the Christian life is as useless as a perforated or leaking water container. Nothing stays there. The word of God comes in and out; it is gone, leaving such a person frail, weak and vulnerable. It is worse for such a person when he/she encounters challenges in life. However, with and in faith, even as little as anything in the world, mighty impossible things take place. The one who possesses faith is often described as the just man, in biblical terms.
Today, in the Gospel, Jesus declares, “If you have faith ….. nothing will be impossible”. This is about faith in Jesus, the Son of God, which is known as Biblical Faith. This encompasses belief in the Lord, trusting and loving him, as well as being committed to him. This should be the Christian life. Indeed, the one who lives in faith, trusting and loving the Lord, and is committed to him, is the one Habakkuk also describes in the first reading as “The just man, who, because of his faith, shall live”. Let us pray that the Lord may always increase our faith in him. May Saint Dominic intercede for us. Stay blessed and happy feast to all who bear the name Dominic.
PRAYER: “MAY YOUR CHURCH, O LORD, RECEIVE WITH WHOLEHEARTED REVERENCE THE POWER OF THIS HEAVENLY SACRAMENT, BY WHICH WE HAVE BEEN NOURISHED ON THE COMMEMORATION OF SAINT DOMINIC, AND MAY YOUR CHURCH, HAVING FLOURISHED BY MEANS OF HIS PREACHING, BE HELPED THROUGH HIS INTERCESSION. WHO LIVES AND REIGNS FOR EVER AND EVER. AMEN.”
Rev. Fr. Aloysius Kpiebaya, Catholic Diocese of Wa, UW/R, Ghana. (00233) 0207867239/0545462863. Email: aloybaya20@yahoo
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