CATHOLIC FAITHWATCH: “Saint Dominic Guzmán – Audience of Pope Benedict XVI, 3 February 2010” – vatican.va

August 9, 2018 Catholic News Wire - Faith Central - Steve Welsh Catholic, Catholic Faith, Faithwatch, Headlines, Pope Benedict XVI, Saints & Blesseds

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“… [A] Saint … who made a fundamental contribution to the renewal of the Church of his time: St Dominic, the Founder of the Order of Preachers, also known as Dominican Friars. … [born in Spain, ca. 1170], distinguished himself … for his interest in the study of Sacred Scripture and … love of the poor …. * * * [T]he Pope … asked Dominic to devote himself to preaching to the Albigensians, a heretical group which upheld a dualistic conception of reality …. Dominic … devoted the rest of his life to [the] mission of preaching the Good News. … This great Saint reminds us that in the heart of the Church a missionary fire must always burn. … a constant incentive to make the first proclamation of the Gospel and, wherever necessary, a new evangelization. Christ, in fact, is the most precious good that the men and women of every time and every place have the right to know and love! … [With] the Order of Preachers …. Dominic … used the ancient Rule of St Augustine, adapting it to the needs of apostolic life that led him and his companions to preach as they traveled from one place to another but then returning to their own convents and places of study, to prayer and community life. Dominic wanted to give special importance to two values he deemed indispensable for the success of the evangelizing mission: community life in poverty and study. First of all Dominic and the Friars Preachers presented themselves as mendicants … without vast estates …. Secondly … Dominic wanted his followers to acquire a sound theological training [including academic study] …. Dominic, who wished to found a religious Order of theologian-preachers, reminds us that theology has a spiritual and pastoral dimension that enriches the soul and life. … find[ing] profound ‘inner joy’ in contemplating the beauty of the truth that comes from God, a truth … ever timely and ever alive. … a pastoral yearning in the contemplative study of this truth because of the need to communicate to others the fruit of one’s own contemplation. * * * Marian devotion … he fostered tenderly …. his spiritual sons … in the history of the Church, have had the great merit of disseminating the prayer of the Holy Rosary … rich in Gospel values: a true school of faith and piety. … Dominic … believed unquestioningly in the value of prayers of intercession for the success of the apostolic work. …. Dear brothers and sisters, may the life of Dominic de Guzmán spur us all to be fervent in prayer, courageous in living out our faith and deeply in love with Jesus Christ. Through his intercession, let us ask God always to enrich the Church with authentic preachers of the Gospel. …”