lesson 1

• St. Dominic was born in 1170 in Caleruega, Castile (Spain).
• St. Dominic died on August 6, 1221 in Bologna, Romagna (Italy).
• Canonization of St. Dominic: July 3, 1234
• Feast day of St. Dominic: August 8
• St. Dominic. He is the founder of the Order of Preachers.
• Father of St. Dominic: Felix De Guzman
• Mother of St. Dominic: Jane of Aza
• St. Dominic’s name comes from two Latin words “Domini” and “canis” which means hounds or dogs of the Lord
• St. Dominic's mother received a vision of a dog with a torch in its mouth leaping from her womb
• Second Journey: St. Dominic founded a convent of nuns at Prouille from a group of women converted from heresy.
• First Journey: St. Dominic experiences the danger of Albigensian heretics who were reviving and developing the Manichaean teaching.
• Manichaean teaching: the two supreme beings, Good and Evil, dominate spirit and power
• In the second journey - Since heretics believed that all body & everything we see is evil, St. Dominic showed them humility & moderation
• All Christians are called to live the virtues of poverty, chastity and obedience
• Dominican Spirituality is theocentric, Christological, contemplative, monastic, priestly, apostolic and doctrinal
• Monastic Element - The Dominican breaks with the world, commits himself to God, and promises to live a contemplative, penitential life seeking Christian perfection.
• Priestly element - The Dominican preaches the word of God and administers the sacraments.
• Dominic’s devotion - There is no dichotomy when it comes to devotion to Mary and devotion to Christ.
• Apostolic Element - He himself constantly and frequently preached and, in every way he could, urged the friars to preach, begging and advising them to be solicitous for the salvation of souls and sending them to preach.”
• By nature, Dominicans are missionaries to preach the word of God.
• Doctrinal Element - The Dominican cannot neglect the study of sacred truth without exposing his vocation. St Dominic “often admonished and exhorted the friars by word and letter to study constantly the Old and New Testament
• Four pillars of Dominican Spirituality: Prayer, Study, Community, Preaching
• Prayer: faithful response to the invitation of St Dominic, the solemn, common celebration of Mass and the liturgy of the hours remain the center of a Dominican’s daily life.
• Study: the primary object of Dominican study is the Word of God revealed through Scripture, Tradition, and the natural world, whose fullest manifestation is the very person of Christ himself
• Community: the communal dimension of Dominican life is a challenge to be of “one mind and one heart in God”. Profession into the Order of Preachers includes the promise to hold all things in common
• Preaching: Dominicans share in the ministry of bishops, the successors to the apostles. At their beginnings, the Dominicans were given authority to preach everywhere by Pope Honorius III.
• Felix De Guzman was lord of the manor in the village
• In 1203, the bishop of Osma, Diego de Acebo, was sent on a royal mission abroad and took Dominic with him
• December 22, 1216 - Pope Honorius III gave papal approval to St. Dominic to establish officially in the church the "Order of Preachers"
• Second journey marks the founding of convent of nuns
• Diego de Acebo is the bishop of Osma who, in 1203, was sent on a royal mission abroad and took St. Dominic with him.
• St. Dominic joined the canons regular (a religious community attached to the cathedral of a diocese) of Osma, and became the subprior (assistant to the superior) a few years after
• Only through such contemplative study can the friar gain the mastery he needs to preach the supernatural truths of faith with charity and zeal.
• St. Thomas Aquinas was born in 1225 in the Castle of Roccasecca, located in Sicily.
• St. Thomas Aquinas wrote Summa Theologica, which describes how Christ reconciles the relationship of human with God
• In the early life of St. Thomas there were two cause of power: emperor and pope
• Thomas joined the Friars Preachers or Dominicans
• St. Thomas had a lifelong fear of storms because his brother was killed by lightning one night while sleeping in the same room as him
• St. Thomas Aquinas was called the Dumb Ox
• Full name of Frassati: Pier Gieorgeo Michaelangelo Frassati