Join us in our Novena to St Catherine of Siena as we prepare to celebrate her Feast Day on April 29.

"There is something wonderful about saints meeting saints. From time to time, these precious occurrences seem to capture the imagination until they grow into tremendous legends."

(Artwork: St. Catherine of Siena by Fr. Henry Flanagan, O.P., Monastery of St Catherine of Siena, Drogheda)

The feast of the Transfiguration is a celebration of God’s revelation. The glory of God that was veiled in the law and prophets - from Moses to Elijah - is now unveiled before the Church,to the apostles and us who receive their message.
‘Christ, during his earthly life, was always resplendent with the divine light, which remained invisible for most men.The Transfiguration was not a phenomenon circumscribed in time and space, no change took place in Christ at that moment, even in his human nature, but a change was produced in the consciousness of the apostles, who received for a moment the ability to see their Master as He was, resplendent in the eternal light of his divinity’. (V. Lossky)

One of the mottos of the Dominican Order is “Truth.” St Dominic founded the Order to preach the truth about the goodness and beauty of God’s creation and Christ’s saving Incarnation in response to the heresy of his time, which taught that the created physical world was evil and that abortion, murder and suicide were therefore good acts.

Dominic’s knowledge of the truth flowed from his intense prayer and contemplation of the Scriptures: “If you make my word your home you will indeed be my disciples; you will come to know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (Jn 8:31-32)

I would like to focus this reflection on St Dominic as a man of prayer.

Jordan of Saxony tells us in the Libellus that Dominic was familiar with Cassian’s Conferences, and that they were among his favourite reading. From Cassian we learn that humility, simplicity and charity are the foundations of all prayer. St. Dominic practised all these to a heroic degree.

An extract from the testimony of Bro. Buonviso, a witness in the canonization process of our Holy Father St Dominic.

The fourth sworn witness was brother Buonviso of the Order of Preachers. He was with the blessed Dominic, as he says, at Bologna, in the cloister of St. Nicholas, and at Rome and at Milan and he looked after him when he was ill. So he said that when the brethren left the church in the evening to go and rest, the blessed Dominic used to remain secretly in the church to pray,

One of the sayings of St Catherine of Siena, which is quite well known, is

“Be what you are called to be, and you will set the world on fire.”

It is unceasingly amazing that this Order of Preachers, enriched through many centuries by the wisdom and teaching of saints like Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, Catherine of Siena, Vincent Ferrer; the beauty of Blessed Angelico; the humility of St Martine de Porres – and countless others, known and known to God, was established by St Dominic, who left little behind by way of writing – little enough that he could so easily have passed into obscurity and been forgotten within a few generations of his death.

And yet he didn’t. By his life, his love and his understanding of the grace he received from God, he was truly a fire-starter.
Here we are, over 800 years later, thanking God for His gift to us of this simple man, who simply loved God and was utterly absorbed in Him.

Today is the 1st day of our novena to our Holy Father St Dominic and we know Dominic's answer to his brothers who were weeping and sad at his departing from them. he gave them the marvellous assurance that he would be more help to them from |Heaven than when here on earth. So during the next 9 days we can approach our Father Dominic with great confidence and trust that he will hear and answer our prayer.

Dominic's biographers tell us he imitated our Lord and our Lady in so many ways in his life, especially in his spirit of poverty. I will say a few words about that subject.

The Divine Office ...
“is a gift, not a burden, and many are the graces
that flow from this source:
Grace to praise God;
to comfort our hearts;
to brighten our path;
to renew our strength;
and to edify and sanctify
the faithful”

Dominic on his deathbed bequeathed to his brethren, as their rightful inheritance, his last will and testament saying: “have charity, guard humility and possess voluntary poverty.” This was the path which led him to holiness and he was and is inviting us his sons and daughters to imitate him as he imitated his Saviour, Christ Jesus.