laudare, benedicere, praedicare TO PRAISE, TO BLESS, TO PREACH
December 2024
D E C E M B E R 2024
1 / FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT 2/ 3/ 4/ 5/ 6/ 7 / Saint Ambrose 8 / SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT 9 / THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY 10 / 11 / 12 / Our Lady of Guadalupe 13 / Saint Lucy 14 / Saint John of the Cross 15 / THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT 16 / 17 / Final Days of Advent 18 / 19 / 20 / 21 / 22 / FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT (Anniversary of the Approval of the Dominican Order, Dec. 22,1216) 23/ DEDICATION OF THE SAINT CECILIA MOTHERHOUSE CHAPEL 24 / 25 / NATIVITY OF THE LORD (Christmas) 26/ Saint Stephen 27 / Saint John 28 / The Holy Innocents 29 / Fifth Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord 30/ Sixth Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord Celebrations from the 31/ THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH Dominican calendar appear in italics.
Clothed in Heavenly Robes By Sister Mary Lucy, O.P.
T
he invocation to St. Dominic “Clothed in Heavenly Robes” brings to mind both his place of eternal beatitude as well as the gift of the holy habit, received as the legend tells, from our Blessed Mother. In St. John’s vision recorded in the Book of Revelation, the holy ones surround the Lamb seated upon the throne. They are the ones who have washed their garments in the blood of the Lamb, making them dazzling white. Jesus, the Lamb of God, won the victory of our salvation and the saints are those who received redemption through His blood. The brilliant white robes remind us of light, the splendor of heaven, where no dusk falls upon the eternal day. Those who were once called the light of the world now shine in the radiant light of heaven. The saints have been clothed, not taking salvation upon themselves, but receiving it as a gift. God initiates in the order of grace, but there is the act of receiving, being open to the gift, thus allowing oneself to be clothed.
In the Dominican rite of reception of the habit, each sister formally asks the community for “the mercy of God and yours, and to be received to the Holy Habit of Saint Dominic.” We speak of being received to the habit and of being clothed in the habit, and this passive phrasing is a reminder that our vocation is a gift of God. Receiving the gift, we also respond freely, following the example of Mary’s openness to grace. The habit will be an outward sign of our consecration, a sign that we are set apart for God and a sign of heaven. Through the living out of our religious vows, becoming wholly the Lord’s, we begin the life of heaven now. Dominic, too, was clothed in the habit. Before founding the Order, our Holy Father Dominic was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Osma, Spain. There he lived there as a Canon, performing priestly duties, caring for the poor, chanting the Divine Office in the cathedral choir with the other canons, and living according to the Rule of St. Augustine. Throughout Spain are found various depictions of St. Dominic dressed in the robes of a Canon or in the later Dominican habit. In the Monastery of La Vid, one even finds a unique statue of Dominic wearing in the monastic habit worn by the Praemonstratentians (pictured below), whose Constitutions influenced those of the early Dominican Order.
While accompanying Bishop Diego of Osma on a diplomatic mission, Dominic experienced firsthand the need for preaching. This inspired the founding of a new religious order in the Church dedicated to preaching and the salvation of souls. The Holy Spirit prompted Dominic to respond to the dire need for preachers who could speak of the redemptive grace of Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection, in order to reach those who would otherwise be lost. This new band of preachers went out in Gospel poverty, wearing a white habit made of simple, undyed wool, symbolic of innocence and purity, and a black mantle representing penance. The Dominican habit we know today, complete with its distinctive white scapular, was given as a gift from heaven. Legend tells us that Reginald of Orleans, a professor of Canon Law at the University of Paris, who met Dominic while passing through Rome. He asked to join the newly founded Order, then made profession in the hands of St. Dominic. Shortly thereafter, Reginald fell deathly ill with a violent fever. As he lay dying, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared
accompanied by St. Catherine of Alexandria and St. Cecilia. She anointed his body and prayed for his healing. Mary held out to Reginald the white habit for the Dominican Order, complete with a white scapular, a sign of her motherly protection. With that Reginald miraculously recovered, and Dominic, learning of the miraculous intervention of heaven, began to wear the habit given to Blessed Reginald by Our Lady. This is the habit received by the sons and daughters of St. Dominic to the present day–a habit of heavenly origin, pointing toward our heavenly goal. The Dominican Order strives to preach salvation through Jesus, to win hearts and souls for Him so that through conversion of heart, the grace of heaven will be received as a pledge of the glory to come. We desire to win souls to Christ who will be counted among those who have been washed clean by the blood of the Lamb and who will, we hope, one day surround him in glory, singing His praises in eternity. St. Dominic, clothed in heavenly robes, pray for us!
Blessed Reginald of Orleans by Butinone Bernardino, 1450 - 1507
Dominican Saints
Blessed Reginald By Sister Eva Marie, O.P.
Lord our God, with the help of Mary, the mother of your Son, our brother Reginald chose the way of Gospel poverty. Inspire us by your word and help us to take the path of generous service in your Church. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
Collect for the Optional Memorial of Blessed Reginald of Orleans
A
.....lthough not well-known outside the Order, Blessed ..........Reginald is one of the most cherished Dominican saints. Blessed Jordan of Saxony, the Order’s earliest historian, gives us a touching picture of Reginald’s zeal and devotion: Master Reginald was a man renowned for his knowledge and celebrated for his authority, especially in Canon Law, which he had skillfully taught at Paris for five years. In Rome he fell gravely ill and was visited a number of times by Master Dominic, who persuaded him to imitate the poverty of Christ and join the Order. The result was that he freely and fully bound himself by vow to enter this religious state. After that, he recovered from his serious illness, but only in virtue of a miracle occurring after his condition had become desperate. For during the height of one of his fevers the Queen of Heaven and Mother of Mercy, the Virgin Mary, visibly appeared to him and anointed his
eyes, nose, ears, mouth, chest, hands, and feet with a soothing ointment and said these words, “I anoint your feet with a holy oil in preparation for the gospel of peace.” Then she showed him the complete habit of this Order. At once he became well and so sudden was his cure that the physicians, who had almost given up all hope, were at a loss to explain his evident recovery. This miracle was later revealed by Master Dominic to many who are still living, and I myself was present when he once related it to a group assembled for a conference in Paris. Bl. Reginald of Orleans is remembered for his zeal in preaching and for his love of the Dominican habit. As Jordan relates above, Our Lady “showed him the complete habit,” that includes the scapular, the symbol of religious consecration, obedience, and the maternal protection of the Mother of God.
Ever since, Dominicans have cherished the scapular, glorying in Our Lady’s special care and tenderness. When we read that Reginald was a professor of canon law, we might be tempted to think of him as stuffy and pedantic, yet the early historical sources reveal him as a man with a great sense of humor. Towards the end of his long life, someone asked him if he regretted becoming a Dominican, and he immediately quipped, “I very much doubt if there is any merit in it for me, because I have always found so much pleasure in the Order.” Like Reginald, may we always rejoice in following God’s will for our lives. Bl. Reginald’s feast day is celebrated February 12.
Miraculous Healing of the Blessed Reginald of Orleans by Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664)
RECENT HAPPENINGS TOP / Our Sacred Heart Novitiate was reconsecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the Feast of Christ the King. The re-consecration included a Holy Hour, prayers of Consecration, an original hymn, and the blessing of the Novitiate. A new image featuring St. Catherine of Siena with the Sacred Heart was also enthroned in the Novitiate. LEFT / Novices prepare homemade Christmas gifts for our benefactors in gratitude for their generosity. BELOW / In honor of the 750th anniversary of the death of St. Thomas Aquinas, the relic of his skull is on tour in the U.S. Some of the sisters were able to venerate his relics at the church of St. Louis Bertrand in Louisville, KY.
“She who knew better than anyone how to wait attentively for the Lord guides us and shows us how to make more vital and active our journey to the Holy Night of Bethlehem. With her, we spend these weeks in prayer and, guided by her bright star, hasten to make the spiritual journey that will lead us to celebrate the mystery of the Incarnation with greater intensity.” Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception Pope St. John Paul II