Feast of St. Dominic, Founder of the Dominican Order

God of Truth, you gave your church a new light in the life and preaching of our Father Dominic.
Give us the help we need to support our preaching by holy and simple lives.

Saint Dominic founded the Order of Preachers, known as the Dominican Order.

He was born in 1170 to Felix Guzman and Joanna of Aza. Little is known of Felix Guzman except that he was in every sense the worthy head of a family of saints. Joanna of Aza’s nobility of soul enshrined her in the popular veneration and in 1828 she was solemnly beatified by Leo XII. The example of such parents was not without its effect upon their children. Not only Saint Dominic but also his brothers, Antonio and Manes, were distinguished for their extraordinary sanctity. Antonio, the eldest, became a secular priest and, having distributed his patrimony to the poor, entered a hospital where he spent his life ministering to the sick. Manes, following in the footsteps of Dominic, became a Friar Preacher, and was beatified by Gregory XVI.

The life of St. Dominic was one of tireless effort in the, service of god. While he journeyed from place to place he prayed and preached almost uninterruptedly. While his charity was boundless he never permitted it to interfere with the stern sense of duty that guided every action of his life. If he abominated heresy and labored untiringly for its extirpation it was because he loved truth and loved the souls of those among whom he labored. He never failed to distinguish between sin and the sinner. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, if this athlete of Christ, who had conquered himself before attempting the reformation of others, was more than once chosen to show forth the power of God.

Saint Dominic died August 6, 1221.

After signing the Bull of canonization on July 13, 1234, Gregory IX declared that he no more doubted the saintliness of Saint Dominic than he did that of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. (wf-f.org)