August 2008
Monthly Archive
Fourth Printing
Posted by Fr. Aquinas on 03 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: Miscellaneous
Earlier this week we learned that Praying with Saint Paul, edited by Fr. Peter John Cameron, OP, has entered its fourth printing. On sale for a little over a month, the Magnificat guide to the Year of St. Paul has already sold over 60,000 copies!
Be sure to get your copy soon, and pray through the Pauline Year with the best of Magnificat‘s authors. Copies are available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and the Magnificat bookstore.
As you may remember, Fr. Cameron helped us open the Year of St. Paul, for which we remain grateful.
Blessed Jane of Aza
Posted by Fr. Aquinas on 02 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: Dominican Saints, Liturgical Feasts
Dominicans worldwide celebrate today the feast of Blessed Jane of Aza, the mother of St. Dominic.
Her fame was widespread early on in the history of her son’s Order. From Rodrigo of Serrato’s Chronicle of the Saints:
God, who knows the future and desired to show the Church what the quality and grandeur of this blessed man would be, decided to manifest Dominic’s future by several revelations. Before conceiving him his mother saw herself in a dream bearing in her womb a young dog; it was holding a burning torch in its mouth and, once it had emerged from her womb, it seemed to set the whole world on fire. This was the announcement that she would give birth to an eminent preacher who, with his flaming torch of eloquence, would rekindle that fire of charity which was being extinguished in the world. This proved to be true by subsequent events. Dominic was able to reprove wickedness admirably, to fight against heresy, and to exhort the faithful with great zeal.
Rodrigo continues by describing Jane’s spiritual life. He calls her “virtuous, chaste, prudent, full of compassion for the poor and the afflicted.” He concludes, “Among all the women of the region she was outstanding for her good reputation.”
In celebrating today’s feast, we are reminded of the indispensable role families play in the transmission of the faith from one generation to the next. As the first school of faith, the family is a privileged place where Christian truth and love are born into human minds and hearts.
Lord our God, you filled Blessed Jane with the spirit of the Gospel. In that spirit she prepared her sons Dominic and Manes for the apostolic life. Awaken in us that same gospel spirit.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
St. Peter Julian Eymard
Posted by Fr. Aquinas on 02 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: Liturgical Feasts
Today we join the Blessed Sacrament fathers and brothers, our neighbors to the north, in celebrating the feast of their founder St. Peter Julian Eymard. For those who aren’t familiar with it, the Church of St. Jean Baptiste is the baroque wonder of the Upper East Side.
Click here for a short biography of St. Peter Julian. It chronicles his early life, his vocation as a Marist priest, and his founding of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament.
A friend recently sent me this link, which details the interesting friendship between today’s saint and the famous French sculptor Auguste Rodin.
Lord God, Gracious God of our ancestors, you led Saint Peter Julian Eymard, like Jacob in times past,on a journey of faith. Under the guidance of your gentle Spirit let us, like Peter Julian, continue to discover the gift of love in the Eucharist which your Son offered for the hungers of humanity. Grant that we may celebrate this mystery worthily, adore it profoundly, proclaim it prophetically share it generously until you return in glory.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Word to Life – August 1, 2008
Posted by Fr. Aquinas on 01 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: Word to Life
A priest, Buzz Aldrin, and the members of Black Sabbath (sans Ozzie) walk into a studio . . .
Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, right? Well, sometimes reality is stranger than fiction. This very scenario unfolded earlier today at the studio as I arrived for this afternoon’s show. Walking through the Sirius lobby, you can run into just about anyone. It’s the new areopagus. And in the middle of it all is The Catholic Channel.
On this afternoon’s show Br. Jerome Zeiler, OP, joined me to discuss the readings for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary time: Isaiah 55:1-3; Romans 8:35, 37-39; and Matthew 14:13-21. We examined the theme of divine providence that emerges from all three readings, and we tried to understand this mystery in light of the evil we sometimes suffer. Tune in . . . I think we may have given Christopher Hitchens a run for his money.
In the show’s last segment I spoke with Fr. Chad Partain, the pastor of St. Paul the Apostle Church in Mansura, Louisiana. Fr. Partain gave us an update on his parish’s new shrine to St. Philomena, and he also shared with us some thoughts for this Sunday’s homily.
