Word to the Wise
Friday, November 7, 2014 - Friday in the 31th Week in Ordinary Time
[Phil 3:17-4:1 and Luke 16:1-8]But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified Body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself. [Philippians]
NOVEMBER 7 ALL SAINTS OF THE ORDER OF PREACHERS
[Philippians 3:17 - 4:1 and Luke 16:1-8. Scriptures will vary at Dominican locales.]
I think all the saints of the Order of Preachers [Dominicans] would agree with St. Paul's words! This feast day does not appear on non-Dominican calendars, however! Nevertheless, we Dominicans do have a day when we honor our own heroes and heroines such as St. Dominic, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Rose of Lima, St. Martin De Porres, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and others. When I entered the order in the Fall of 1964, it was not difficult to recite the names of our canonized saints. They were all in the stained glass windows of the novitiate! Pope St. John Paul II made the task much more difficult by adding groups of Dominicans like St. Alphonse Navarrete and companions that we celebrated yesterday!
Like all the other canonized [and non-canonized] saints, our Dominican brothers and sisters took their baptismal vocation seriously and lived it as a member of the Order of Preachers, whether they were priest, brother, cloistered nun, apostolic sister or layperson. We can all be inspired by the lives of those who follow Jesus and strive for holiness. We Dominicans salute today our brothers and sisters who succeeded in this challenge, and we invite you to join us! All Saints of the Order of Preachers, pray for us! AMEN