“Whoever
wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” Most
likely, we have heard this command that Jesus makes in today’s Gospel countless
times. We
know the words, but if we truly listen to them, then we realize that their
meaning is so radical, so revolutionary. In a
society that prides itself in individualism and accomplishments, denying
oneself and voluntarily taking up a cross is very revolutionary and goes
against what most people in our society want most.
St
Dominic followed Jesus and the path God chose for him in life. He surely denied himself many times and took
up the cross of Jesus. Dominic was born in Spain more than 800 years ago. He was named after St
Dominic of Silos. In fact, the
Benedictine Abbey of Santo Domingo de los Silos is located several miles from
where St Dominic was born; it is a place located not to far off the path of the
Camino de Santiago de Compostela. Many
pilgrims make a detour to visit this abbey. Though he started his religious life as a monk following the rule of St
Benedict, he ended up founding one of the Catholic Church’s great religious
congregations – the Order of Preachers, known as the Dominicans. This religious order quickly spread
throughout Europe and sent many missionaries throughout the world, especially
to places like the Philippines and China. I
found it interesting to learn that the rosary gained great popularity from the
preaching that Dominic did regarding it as a Catholic prayer devotion. Among his great quotes, this one made an
impression on me: “"Arm yourself with prayer rather than a sword; wear
humility rather than fine clothes." Two
of our Church’s greatest theologians were members of the Order of Preachers –
St Albert the Great, and his student, St Thomas Aquinas. Like
St Dominic, God calls us to serve him, to take up our crosses, to deny those
things that are keeping us from fully following God on our journey of
faith. May
his prayers and intercessions help us on our way.
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