- Psalm 40:1-5 -
I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.
Blessed is the man
who makes the LORD his trust,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.
Many, O LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done.
The things you planned for us
no one can recount to you;
were I to speak and tell of them,
they would be too many to declare.
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Waiting for God to help us is not easy, but David received four benefits
from
waiting: God (1) lifted him out of his despair, (2) set his feet on a
rock, (3)
gave him a firm place to stand, and (4) put a new song of praise in his
mouth.
Often blessings cannot be received unless we go through the trial of
waiting.
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December 20th - Saint Dominic of Silos, Abbot, Mystic
(d. 1073)
Saint Dominic, a Saint of the eleventh century, was given the surname of
Silos because of his long sojourn in the monastery of that name. He was of
the line of the ancient kings of Navarre. He undertook on his own to study
his religion, having virtually no teacher but the Holy Spirit. Ordained a
priest, he entered a monastery of the Order of Saint Benedict, where his
sanctity soon placed him in the first ranks as its Abbot.
The monastery of Silos had greatly declined from its former glory and
fervor. The monk Licinian, who was deploring this situation, was offering
Holy Mass on the day when Dominic entered the church. By a special
permission of God, when the priest turned towards the people at the
Offertory to chant: Dominus vobiscum, he said instead: Behold, the
restorer
cometh! and the choir responded: It is the Lord who has sent him! The
oracle
was soon to be visibly fulfilled. The charity of the Saint was not
concentrated only in his monastery, but was extended to all who suffered
afflictions. His gift of miracles drew to the convent the blind, the sick,
and the lame; and it was by the hundreds that he cured them, as is still
evident today from the ex-votos of the chapel where his relics are
conserved. The balls-and-chains, iron handcuffs and the like, which are
seen
suspended from the vault there, attest also to his special charity for the
poor Christians held captive by the Spanish Moors. He often went to
console
them and pay their ransom, thus preluding the works of the Order of Our
Lady
of Ransom, founded in 1218, 145 years after his death.
After many years of good works, Dominic felt the moment of the recompense
approaching, and was advised of it by the Blessed Virgin. "I spent the
night
near the Queen of Angels," he said one day to his religious. "She has
invited me to come in three days where She is; therefore I am soon going
to
the celestial banquet to which She invites me." In effect, he fell ill for
three days, and then his brethren saw his soul rise in glory to heaven.
At his tomb Saint Joan of Aza, mother of Saint Dominic of Guzman, Founder
of
the Order which bears his name, later obtained the birth of her son,
baptized under the name of his holy patron.
Source: Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, by Abbé L. Jaud
(Mame: Tours, 1950).
Saint Quote:
We must begin with a strong and constant resolution to give ourselves
wholly
to God, professing to Him, in a tender, loving manner, from the bottom of
our hearts, that we intend to be His without any reserve, and then we must
often go back and renew this same resolution.
-St. Francis de Sales
Bible Quote
40 In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin.
(Ecclesiasticus 7:40)
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Divine precepts we must live by:
The Eleven Moral Virtues
Prudence - Justice - Fortitude - Temperance - Filial Piety -Obedience -
Veracity - Liberality - Patience - Humility - Chastity or Purity
The Seven Spiritual Works of Mercy
Admonish the sinner - Instruct the ignorant - Counsel the doubtful -
Comfort the sorrowful - Bear wrongs patiently - Forgive all injuries -
Pray for the living and the dead
The Seven Corporal Works of Mercy
Feed the hungry - Give drink to the thirsty - Clothe the naked -
Visit the imprisoned - Shelter the homeless -
Visit the sick - Bury the dead
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