In Australia today, we celebrate the feast day of St Dominic who was born to a noble family in Spain in 1170 and ordained a priest in 1194. St Dominic devoted his life to resisting heresy (the false teaching of beliefs) and was known for his mercy to those falsely accused of this crime.
St Dominic had a great devotion to Our Lady, and tradition tells us that she appeared to St Dominic while he was praying in the Prouille Abbey, discouraged that his preaching was not converting people from the heresy of the time. Our Lady told him his preaching would be fruitful if he preached the mysteries of salvation using the Psalter of Our Lady. This became the heart of what today is the devotion to the Rosary.
In 1216, St Dominic founded the Order of Preachers, which we know as the Dominicans, whose mission was to promote morality and faithfulness to the teachings of the Church with preaching and study the main work of the Order. Throughout his life, St Dominic travelled to preach to different communities; he was known for his simplicity, humility and constant prayerfulness.
O God
We pray that St Dominic assist your Church
by his merits and teaching.
May he who was an outstanding preacher of truth
become a most generous intercessor for us.
Amen
Main Image: St Dominic (from the Perugia Altarpiece), Fra Angelico, 1447-1448