HOMILY WEEK 18 02 – Year I
Growing in Faith:
Memorial of St. Dominic de Guzman
(Num 12:1-13; Ps 51; Mt 15:1-2, 10-14)
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Ron, who hailed from a French-Canadian family, married a Protestant English woman. His staunch French-Canadian aunt in Quebec was shocked and very upset, not because she was Protestant, but because she was English – the first English person in that particular family! Does that not sound a bit like what happened to Moses in the first reading?
Both readings today convey a message of faith, forgiveness and love.
In terms of faith and forgiveness, Moses in the first reading is an example for us. Maligned by of all people his own sister and Aaron because he had married a Cushite woman, and perhaps out of jealousy, they are invited into a kind of mediation session by God, in which their sin is pointed out to them. In all of this, Moses appears to be magnanimous and forgiving, praying immediately for Miriam’s healing. Such was the fruit of his close, intimate, contemplative prayerful relationship with God.
In the gospel, Jesus once again places the law of love above the Pharisees love for the law! Their concern is on external observances only, whereas Jesus is much more, and rightly so, concerned about what is going on in the hearts and minds of his listeners. Eventually, when we are not at peace with ourselves, our unrest will manifest itself in behaviour that will hurt others. As Richard Rohr puts it, we transmit the pain we don’t transform.
Thankfully the Church had individuals such as St. Dominic de Guzman who lived the law of love. Born in Caleruega, Spain, around 1172, he began his priestly life in Osma as a cathedral canon. In 1205, he and bishop Diego of Osman were sent to France to combat the Albigensian heresy. Dominic worked tirelessly to defend the truth of the Incarnation.
Dominic possessed great integrity and was strongly motivated by divine love. He was a man of great equanimity and grace, often moved to compassion and mercy. His profound spirituality was manifested by a joyful heart, kindness and a peaceful composure. Wherever he went he showed himself in word and deed to be a man of the Gospel. During the day, no one was more community-minded or pleasant toward his brothers and associates. During the night, no one was more persistent in every kind of vigil and supplication.
He prayed that that God would grant him a genuine charity to care for and obtain the salvation of others. He believed he would be truly a member of Christ only when he had given himself totally for the salvation of others, just as the Lord Jesus had offered himself completely for our salvation. So, for this work, after a lengthy period of careful and provident planning, he founded the Order of Friars Preachers, known as the Dominicans, in 1216.
Soon his new congregation had houses in all the university cities in Europe. The priests were highly educated and could be sent where the need was greatest, fighting heresy and preaching the importance of the sacraments. They saw the importance of education, stressed community life and valued poverty while being involved in the world, contrary to the rich Benedictine monasteries of the time. In his conversations and letters, Dominic often urged the members of the Order to study the bible constantly. He always carried with him the gospel according to Matthew and the epistles of Paul, that he almost knew from memory.
The Friars had a lasting impact on mediaeval Europe fighting heresy. They provided a well thought-out, rational response to the new learning that was appearing as Aristotle was becoming known again in the Christian West. Dominic himself walked from city to city, preaching and inviting vocations. Two or three times he was chosen bishop, but he always refused, preferring to live with his brothers in poverty. He desired to be scourged and cut to pieces, and so die for the faith of Christ. Of him Pope Gregory IX declared: “I knew him as a steadfast follower of the apostolic way of life. There is no doubt that he is in heaven, sharing in the glory of the apostles themselves.” He died at Bolognas in 1221, was canonized in 1234 and is a patron saint of the Dominican Republic, astronomers, scientists and the falsely accused.
The Eucharist brings faith, prayer and forgiveness all together. It is our greatest prayer and a profound act of faith, as well as an experience of God’s love as forgiveness and healing. May our celebration strengthen our faith in Jesus as Son of God, grant us forgiveness and healing, and motivate us to waste time with God in prayer, soaking up God’s love.