BIG C CATHOLICS

(In 2018, this feast is superseded by the Sunday liturgy.) From 2017: December 7th is the optional memorial of Saint Raymond of Peñafort (1175-1275), a 13th century Dominican priest and theologian who, as a contemporary of Saint Thomas Aquinas, worked to help Christian captives during the period of the Crusades and added greatly to Canon Law, the Church’s legal code. A brilliant evangelist, in his writings, utterances and example, St. Raymond won numerous souls for Christ. Over 10,000 Muslims converted as a result of his efforts. Named the Superior General of the Dominican Order, he retired after only two years due to his advanced age. (Following this, he lived another 35 years during which he skillfully advanced the Good News.) His most notable work, the Summa Casuum , concerns the importance and correct administration of the Sacrament of Penance. He was born into a Spanish noble family, with ties to the royal house of Aragon, at the castle of Pennafort, in the Catalonian reg

On November 24th the Church celebrates the memorial of Saint Andrew Dung-Lac, a 19th century Vietnamese priest and companions, who lost their lives for the Faith. St. Andrew was one of 117 people who were martyred in Vietnam between 1820 and 1862. The last of these martyrs were 17 laypersons, one of them a 9-year-old, executed in 1862. The suffering they endured was barbaric. Christianity came to Vietnam through the Portuguese. Jesuits opened the first permanent mission at Da Nang in 1615. They ministered to Japanese Catholics who had been driven from Japan. The emperor Minh-Mang, banned all foreign missionaries and commanded Vietnamese Catholics to renounce their religion by trampling on a crucifix. Their churches were destroyed and catechesis forbidden. Christians were branded on the face with the words ta dao (false religion) and Christian families and villages were destroyed. Like the priest holes in Ireland during English persecution, many Catholics were offered sanctuary

On November 15th, the Church celebrates the optional memorial of Saint Albert the Great. The son of a German nobleman, he was studying at Padua when the Master General of the Dominicans, Jordan of Saxony, succeeded in attracting him to that Order. He was to become one of the Dominicans' greatest glories. After taking his degrees at the University of Paris, he taught philosophy and theology at Paris and then in Cologne. Saint Thomas Aquinas was among his pupils. St. Albert, the "light of Germany," called the Great because of his encyclopedic knowledge, was born in 1193 at Lauingen, Donau. He joined the newly-founded Order of Preachers in 1223. Soon he was sent to Germany where he taught in various cities. In 1248 he received the honor of Master in Sacred Theology at Paris. Throngs attended his lectures, drawn by his piety and towering intellect. In 1254, Albert was chosen provincial of his Order in Germany. For a time, he lived at the court of Pope Alexander II, who

November 3rd is the optional memorial of Saint Martin de Porres, (1579 – 1639) the 17th century, Dominican lay brother, who lived a life of heroic self-denial, prayer and penance, in imitation of Christ. Juan Martin de Porres Velázquez was born in Lima, Peru, the son of Spanish nobleman, Don Juan de Porres, and Ana Velázquez, a freed slave from Panama, of mixed descent. His father abandoned the family two years later, after the birth of Martin’s sister, Juana, leaving them impoverished. His mother did laundry to support the family. When his mother could no longer support him, Martin briefly attended a residential primary school, before apprenticing with a skilled barber/surgeon from whom he learned the medical arts. He would spend hours a night in prayer, a practice he continued for the remainder of his life. In, 1590, at age 11, Martin joined the Holy Rosary Dominican priory in Lima as a servant. Peruvian law forbid those of African and Indian heritage from becoming full members o

Fr. Philip N. Powell OP, PhD Church of the Incarnation, Univ of Dallas Priest of the Archdiocese of New Orleans ( Click here for today’s readings ) (Delivered in 2005. Edited to reflect the current Church calender.) Wow. I know of no other way of expressing my amazement at today’s readings…. One from the prophet Malachi, delivering a dire warning from the Lord to his priests: “If you do not listen, if you do not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name…I will send a curse upon you and of your blessing I make a curse. You have turned aside from the way, and have caused many to falter by your instruction.” Again, I say, Wow! We have another from Paul describing his apostolic work among the Thessalonians: “We were gentle among you…with such affection for you, we were determined to share with you [the gospel and our very selves] so dearly beloved had you become to us…Working night and day in order not to burden any of you, we proclaimed to the gospel of

On September 28th, the Church celebrates the optional memorial of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz and Companions. Ruiz was born in Manila, around the year 1600, the son of a Chinese father and a Tagala mother, both devout Catholics. His spiritual formation included serving as an altar boy and sacristan in the Dominican run parish church of Saint Gabriel in Binondo. Educated by Dominican friars, Ruiz earned the title of escribano (calligrapher) due to his expert penmanship. He spoke Chinese, Tagalog and Spanish [the latter he learned from the Dominicans]. He married Rosario, a native, and they had two sons and a daughter. Ruiz was a member of the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary. He is the first Filipino saint. In 1636, his life was altered abruptly when he was falsely accused of killing a Spaniard while working as a clerk. Little else is known about the charge except the testimony of two Dominican priests that "he was sought by the authorities on account of a homicide to which he wa

According to the 1962 Missal of Saint John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, August 17th is the feast of Saint Hyacinth of Poland. He is called the “Apostle of the North” because he spread the Dominican Order to the northern countries of Russia, the Balkans, Prussia and Lithuania. St. Hyacinth preached the crusade against the Prussians. He died on the feast of the Assumption, 1257. ________________________________________ While a canon at the cathedral of Cracow, Hyacinth journeyed to Rome, was impressed by the preaching and miracles of St. Dominic, and from the hand of Dominic himself received the habit of the newly-founded Order. Upon returning to his native land (1219), he established monasteries of his Order beyond the Alps at Friesach, Prague, Olmiitz, and Cracow. From the Breviary we have this miracle. With three companions Hyacinth had arrived at the banks of the river Weichsel during their journey to Vischegrad, where they were expected to preach. B

Memorial – August 8th The Martyrology gives the following: "At Bologna (upper Italy) the holy confessor Dominic, the saintly and learned founder of the Order of Preachers. He preserved his virginity inviolate and gained for himself the grace of raising three dead persons to life. By his word he crushed heresy in the bud and led many souls to piety and to religious life." He was notable for his learning and love of poverty. Born about 1175 in Castile (Spain), Dominic hailed from the illustrious Guzman family. First he was a canon regular at Osma; then he founded the Dominican Order, which was approved in 1216. Alongside the Franciscans, it became the most powerful Order in medieval times, giving the Church illustrious preachers — St. Vincent Ferrer, and contemplatives, Sts. Thomas of Aquinas and Pius V — and contributing immeasurably to maintaining the purity of the faith. Through the example of apostolic poverty and the preaching of the word of God the Friar Preacher

April 5th, is the optional memorial of Saint Vincent Ferrer, the 14th century Dominican priest who was instrumental in helping end the Western Schism or Papal Schism. Throughout her history, the Church has weathered many crises, and 600 years ago, St. Vincent Ferrer found himself in the midst of a major divide. The Church, and the papacy in particular, was going through a time of unprecedented upheaval, governed for 36 years by two and sometimes three "popes," with immense confusion as to who the true successor of Peter was. St. Vincent was born in Valencia, Spain in 1350. Against his parent’s wishes, he entered the Dominican Order at the age of 19, and was later ordained. A great scholar and master theologian, he knew the entire Bible by heart. He was also a renowned homilist, preaching throughout Europe. Jews, infidels and heretics were converted by his sermons on the true faith. The most obdurate sinners embraced a life of holiness. The favorite topic of his sermons w

One of the most brilliant minds in the history of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas was born in 1225 at the castle of Roccasecca, in the present day Lazio region of Italy, the youngest of nine children. Thomas’ father was a man of means and nobility. Thomas's mother would try to prevent Thomas from joining the Dominican Order. His family expected him to enter the Benedictine Abbey where his uncle was the abbot. Thomas Aquinas dedicated his life to creating a complete synthesis of Catholic philosophy and theology. In honor of his feast day, [January 28] here are twelve things every Catholic should know about the Angelic Doctor. 1. Before Aquinas was born, a holy hermit told his mother that her son would be a great learner and achieve unrivaled sanctity. From, Saint Thomas Aquinas of the Order of Preachers , by Fr. Placid Conway, OP, comes this account of the holy hermit’s prediction concerning the unborn Aquinas’ future life and accomplishments: "The future holiness of the

December 7th, is the optional memorial of Saint Raymond of Peñafort (1175-1275), a 13th century Dominican priest and theologian who, as a contemporary of Saint Thomas Aquinas, worked to help Christian captives during the period of the Crusades and added greatly to Canon Law, the Church’s legal code. A brilliant evangelist, in his writings, utterances and example, St. Raymond won numerous souls for Christ. Over 10,000 Muslims converted as a result of his efforts. Named the Superior General of the Dominican Order, he retired after only two years due to his advanced age. (Afterward, he lived another 35 years during which he skillfully advanced the Good News of Christ.) His most notable work, the Summa Casuum , concerns the importance and correct administration of the Sacrament of Penance. He was born into a Spanish noble family, with ties to the royal house of Aragon, at the castle of Pennafort, in the Catalonian region of present-day Spain. The future saint received a world class edu

From the tenth century onwards veneration for St. Catherine of Alexandria has been widespread in the Church of the East, and from the time of the Crusades this saint has been popular in the West, where many churches have been dedicated to her and her feast day kept with great solemnity, sometimes as a holy-day of obligation. She is listed as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers of mankind among the saints in Heaven; she is the patroness of young women, philosophers, preachers, theologians, wheelwrights, millers, and other workingmen. She was said to have appeared with Our Lady to St. Dominic and to Blessed Reginald of Orleans; the Dominicans adopted her as their special protectress. Hers was one of the heavenly voices heard by St. Joan of Arc. Artists have painted her with her chief emblem, the wheel, on which by tradition she was tortured; other emblems are a lamb and a sword. Her name continues to be cherished today by the young unmarried women of Paris. She is the patron saint of a

November 3, is the optional memorial of Saint Martin de Porres, (1579 – 1639) the 17th century, Dominican lay brother, who lived a life of heroic self-denial, prayer and penance, in imitation of Christ. Juan Martin de Porres Velázquez was born in Lima, Peru, the son of Spanish nobleman, Don Juan de Porres, and Ana Velázquez, a freed slave from Panama, of mixed descent. His father abandoned the family two years later, after the birth of Martin’s sister, Juana, leaving them impoverished. His mother did laundry to support the family. When his mother could no longer support him, Martin briefly attended a residential primary school, before apprenticing with a skilled barber/surgeon from whom he learned the medical arts. He would spend hours a night in prayer, a practice he continued for the remainder of his life. In, 1590, at age 11, Martin joined the Holy Rosary Dominican priory in Lima as a servant. Peruvian law forbid those of African and Indian heritage from becoming full members of

On September 28th, the Church celebrates the optional memorial of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz and Companions. Ruiz was born in Manila, around the year 1600, the son of a Chinese father and a Tagala mother, both devout Catholics. His spiritual formation included serving as an altar boy and sacristan in the Dominican run parish church of Saint Gabriel in Binondo. Educated by Dominican friars, Ruiz earned the title of escribano (calligrapher) due to his expert penmanship. He spoke Chinese, Tagalog and Spanish [the latter he learned from the Dominicans]. He married Rosario, a native, and they had two sons and a daughter. Ruiz was a member of the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary. He is the first Filipino saint. In 1636, his life was altered abruptly when he was falsely accused of killing a Spaniard while working as a clerk. Little else is known about the charge except the testimony of two Dominican priests that "he was sought by the authorities on account of a homicide to which he wa

August 8th, is the Memorial of Saint Dominic (1170-1221). He was born in Caleruega, Spain to a prestigious, noble family. His father was the royal warden of Caleruega. His mother, Bessed Joan of Aza, from whom Dominic received his devotion to God, was deeply religious. Dominic was educated in Palencia, where he excelled in the study of theology. Throughout his life, his concern for the poor compelled him to sacrifice, even to the point of selling his personal belongings, to buy them necessities. When criticized for selling his academic manuscripts to feed the indigent, he told his astonished classmates, "Would you have me study off these dead skins, when men are dying of hunger?" Near the end of the 12th century, the Church in France was threatened by the Albigensian heresy. It held that there were two gods: the god of light/spirit (represented by Jesus in the New Testament) and the god of darkness/matter, (typically associated with Satan) the "God of the Old Testame

June's blog of note, Domine mihi hanc aquam! , has long been a fixture of the Catholic blogosphere. Since November, 2005, Fr. Philip Neri Powell, a Dominican seminary professor, formation advisor and parish priest, has preached and commented about Christ, the Church, popular culture and events of consequence. Featured are Fr. Powell's thought provoking homilies through which readers know and love the mind of Christ. The wide ranging scope of HA's subject matter is reflected in a quote from Pope Benedict XVI displayed on the blog's masthead: "A [preacher] who does not love art, poetry, music and nature can be dangerous. Blindness and deafness toward the beautiful are not incidental; they are necessarily reflected in his [preaching]." In addition to faithful homiletics, readers are just as likely to see advice for discerning a religious vocation , a presentation of original paintings or a polemic against the "Culture of Death." Domine mihi hanc