Word to the Wise
Friday, August 8, 2025 - Friday in the 18th Week in Ordinary Time
[Deut 4:32-40 and Matt 16:24-28]"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, who whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?"
AUGUST 8 ST. DOMINIC GUZMAN, O.P., FOUNDER OF THE ORDER OF PREACHERS [DOMINICANS]
[Deuteronomy 4:32-40 and Matthew 16:24-28. These readings will vary at Dominican locales.[
Around the world today, Dominicans everywhere will celebrate the feast of St. Dominic Guzman, O.P., our holy founder. He lived from 1170 to 1221, a contemporary of St. Francis of Assisi. The two of them, separately and in different locations, revolutionized religious life by founding communities that were not confined to a single monastery but were mobile and flexible, allowing them to establish houses everywhere they went. They were referred to as "friars" to distinguish them from monks.
For St. Dominic, the purpose of establishing his order was to provide well-prepared preachers, living an apostolic lifestyle, to combat a major heresy in southern France. But he soon sent friars to Paris and Bologna, two major university centers to preach, teach and establish priories. The title, THE ORDER OF PREACHERS, was bestowed by Pope Honorius lll, when the order was founded in 1216. Hence Dominicans put the initials O.P. after their names! Other branches of the Order gradually developed: cloistered nuns, apostolic sisters, laity and other associated groups, all of whom seek to live life according to the Dominican charism of PREACHING, by living a life of prayer, study, community and ministry. The Word of God which we preach is central to our lives. St. Dominic carried with him copies of the Epistles of St. Paul and the Gospel According to Matthew, from which the ordinary gospel for today is taken.
I made my first profession of vows as a Dominican friar on August 16, 1965, Please pray for me and for our Southern Dominican Province of St. Martin De Porres that we may continue to faithfully represent St. Dominic and preach God's Word. AMEN
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