Today is the first day of our Novena to St Dominic, and I have tried to base my reflection on the Mass readings for today, which actually fit quite well.

The Gospel for today (Mt 13:44-46) speaks of the Kingdom of Heaven as a “hidden treasure” or “pearl of great price”. The one who finds it “goes off happy” and “sells everything he owns and buys it.” Dominic was a man who was deeply aware that the Kingdom of Heaven was a priceless treasure, and this filled his life with joy.

Join us in our Novena to St Dominic as we prepare to celebrate his Feast Day on August 8.

"The foundation of Dominic’s spiritual and apostolic life was his disciplined life which he led from his earliest youth."

(Artwork: St Dominic, Detail from 'The Mocking of Christ' by Fra Angelico, Convent of San Marco, Florence, Italy)

Join us in our Novena to St Dominic as we prepare to celebrate his Feast Day on August 8.

"It belongs to our Dominican life that we dare to speak truthfully, with discretion and sensitivity and respect. This has nothing to do with being a scholar. It is seeking to live with the clarity of Dominic."

(Artwork: St Dominic, Detail from 'The Mocking of Christ' by Fra Angelico, Convent of San Marco, Florence, Italy)

Join us in our Novena to St Dominic as we prepare to celebrate his Feast Day on August 8.

"This year, our Province commemorates the 800th anniversary of the Dominican presence in Ireland, so I would like to share with you about the first Irish Dominican brother I met thirty-five years ago in in Minsk (Belarus), my friend Father Damian Byrne."

(Artwork: St Dominic, Detail from 'The Mocking of Christ' by Fra Angelico, Convent of San Marco, Florence, Italy)

Join us in our Novena to St Dominic as we prepare to celebrate his Feast Day on August 8.

"Any gardener will tell you that keeping roses is no small affair; from choosing the “right roots” to pruning judiciously, it is a labour of love and an arduous one. Of course, no one who has seen a well-tended rose garden in full bloom will argue that it is not well worth the effort..."

(Artwork: St Dominic, Detail from 'The Mocking of Christ' by Fra Angelico, Convent of San Marco, Florence, Italy)

Join us in our Novena to St Dominic as we prepare to celebrate his Feast Day on August 8.

"St Dominic was enterprising man, a tireless preacher, and the founder of the Order of Preachers. Yet, he was also a simple man with a deep inner life, great equanimity and compassion."

(Artwork: St Dominic, Detail from 'The Mocking of Christ' by Fra Angelico, Convent of San Marco, Florence, Italy)

Join us in our Novena to St Dominic as we prepare to celebrate his Feast Day on August 8.

"The genius of St Dominic was the inspiration to found an Order of Preachers, Friars, Nuns, Sisters and Laity who would by their lives, their prayer and their study, 'rekindle the fire of charity which was being extinguished in the world...'"

(Artwork: St Dominic, Detail from 'The Mocking of Christ' by Fra Angelico, Convent of San Marco, Florence, Italy)

Join us in our Novena to St Dominic as we prepare to celebrate his Feast Day on August 8.

"My reflection was originally going to be on something else entirely, but then I was struck by the text of today’s Mass Readings - the way they seem to be speaking of the current state of the Church and the world and also the links to how St Dominic responded to the crisis of his own time."

(Artwork: St Dominic, Detail from 'The Mocking of Christ' by Fra Angelico, Convent of San Marco, Florence, Italy)

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

"In her writings, St Catherine speaks eloquently of this union between Christ and each individual baptised person in the state of grace. She compares it to “the fish in the sea and the sea in the fish” and keeping our vessel in the fountain so that it will not be emptied while we drink."

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