The Lay Dominicans of the Queen of the Holy Rosary Group will be posting meditations for the fifteen Tuesdays leading up to the feast of our Father Dominic on August 8th.   See here for more information on the 15 Tuesdays devotion.

Note that Thursday May 24th is traditionally the celebration of the Translation of Our Holy Father St Dominic which was the event that associated Tuesdays with devotion to him.

Forty days after the birth of  Jesus, Our Blessed Mother went to  the Temple, to offer her first-born Son to God.  The first-born son was to be presented to the Lord in remembrance of the first-born of Israel who had been passed over when the eldest males of Egypt were struck down.  The Presentation of the Lord in the Temple is an epiphany, another step God’s self revelation to the world. Simeon says of Jesus that he is “a light to the revelation of the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel” (Luke 2:32).

Dominic too would be a light for people in the darkness of sin and confusion.  Before his birth, his mother had a vision of a hound who raced through the world spreading fire with a torch held in his mouth.  His two older brothers had already left for the Priesthood, but his mother and father unquestioningly presented another son to God.  St. Dominic became a Knight who embodied chastity in his service to God. Dominic drew others by the example of his life back toward God and away from heresy.  He brought the light of Truth to the Albigensians, in particular by showing them the goodness of creation and the way in which the body cooperates with the spirit.  .

Today we find ourselves in a similar battle.  There are many in the world today who not only deny the divinity Jesus, but  the goodness of existence. We must live chaste lives in defense of the Truth, giving witness to well ordered sexuality but also to purity of purpose.  We have the Sacrifice of the Mass and the Prayer of the Church to help guide us on this path. The Rosary is a shield which protects and serves as an example of the path toward the Truth.  We also reach out to others, both spiritually and temporarily, to build a sense of community, so all share the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We must become torches that ignite everything around us.

Dominic throughout his life was dedicated to Prayer, Preaching, Study and the building of Communities.  After 800 years his mission is continued through each one of us as we go about our daily lives. It is now fully our mission to share the Truth with a world in disarray and in need.