Word to the Wise
Saturday, November 7, 2020 - Saturday in the 31th Week in Ordinary Time
[Phil 4:10-19 and Luke 16:9-15][Philippians 4:10-19 and Luke 16:9-15. At Dominican locations, the scriptures are from Sirach 44:1-15 or 2 Corinthians 6:4-10 and Mark 10:28=30] "I know indeed how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance. In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need. I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me." [Philippians]
NOVEMBER 7 ALL SAINTS OF THE ORDER OF PREACHERS [DOMINICANS]
Although our Dominican liturgical calendar prescribes alternate scriptures for the feast of All Saints of the Order of Preachers, this feast is not on the Roman calendar followed by most of my Beloved Congregation. Nevertheless I find St. Paul's words in today's first scripture in the Roman lectionary to be apt for this feast day.
When I entered the Dominican Order back in 1964, the chapel of the novitiate had stained glass windows that depicted the major canonized saints of the Order. However, because of St. John Paul II's work, that number of saints has increased mightily. Many of the newcomers were missionary martyrs in Korea, Japan, Vietnam and China. Others were martyrs in the Spanish civil war. One that I identified with was an itinerant preacher in Spain (St. Francis Coll-Guitart, OP) during the 19th century when anti-clerical sentiment ran very high and he had to work in secret much of the time (not that I had to!). Then there is the beatified Dominican Layperson, Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, OPL who died in the 1920's, who is rapidly becoming a patron of those who work in youth and young adult ministry. All these newcomers take their places alongside St. Dominic, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Martin De Porres, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Albert the Great, St. Rose of Lima, Bl. Fra Angelico and other longtime Dominican heroes and heroines.
All of these holy figures learned, like St. Paul, to rely on God for their strength no matter what their circumstances may have been, and preached God's Word in those circumstances, whether in service to the poor (St. Martin De Porres, St. Rose of Lima), academic environment (St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Albert the Great), or missionary endeavors (St. Ignatius Delgado, St Lawrence Ruiz) or personal witness in contemporary youth culture (Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati). The variety is amazing and gives credence to the old expression in our Order: "When you've met one Dominican, you've met ONE Dominican." AMEN
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