Matthew

Brother John of Spain tells us that Dominic “used to get great delight from anything untoward that happened to him on the way. For example, if he tripped over a stone his face would light up as he said, ‘This is doing penance!’”

With the recent ordination of five of our brothers to the priesthood of Jesus Christ, so many souls will encounter the mercy of Christ in the confessional, so many souls will receive the Eucharist at the Masses they celebrate, and so many souls will discover the riches of the Catholic intellectual tradition (especially the Thomist tradition) through their preaching!

This year we thank God for the ordination of five Dominican friars to the priesthood of Jesus Christ. Throughout their lives each of these men will preach the saving truth of Jesus Christ, baptize, absolve sins, and celebrate Mass for many thousands of souls.

Fr. Frassati said it goes a long way when someone speaks your language. “To be a priest who’s able to communicate in their language is to see that there is a care.”

Eucharistic procession through a city or any location is not just about publicly showing off, but has a deep spiritual meaning for each pilgrim, each disciple, to walk behind the Lord, to follow him to a life of blessedness.

Join the Dominican Friars and Sisters and thousands of pilgrims at the upcoming national Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage!

As he tells the story, it simply dawned on Fr. James Brent, O.P., one Christmas Octave several years ago that God wants to raise up contemplative souls in the Church—people who have truly heard, and take seriously, the universal call to contemplative prayer.

Saint Thomas Aquinas says that the sacrament of Holy Orders is necessary for the Church, for otherwise the people would collapse. The Ordination Mass demonstrates that the Church is strong!

Saint Catherine wrote thirty-seven of these fiery exhortations to Dominican friars. In them, she invites and implores her brethren to discover, to be immersed in, and to preach the transforming power of Christ’s Passion.

One particular grace that God gives to souls is a special love for the Eucharist. This special love goes beyond the ordinary love for the Blessed Sacrament to which God calls every Christian.

By baptizing people at the Easter Vigil, the Church is reminding us that, because of our own baptism, we participate in the same divine life that raised Jesus from the dead and that spiritually restores us after the death of sin.

For St. Thomas, the Eucharist was real, even the realest thing that could be had in this life. He lived his entire life in humble service of the Eucharistic mystery.