Saint Dominic

Saint Dominic (8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221) was a Castilian Catholic priest and founder of the Dominican Order.

Quotes

Misattributed

• I believe, Most Blessed Father, that in order to reward Mr. Duca's ardent faith in some way, Your Holiness should have the kindness to confer upon him or his brother Don Rodrigo, canon of the cathedral of Toulouse, the sacred purple, which he has already earned through his expeditions, staining it with the accursed blood of those wretches.
  It is enough for his name to be heard in these countries for the Albigensian heretics to tremble from head to toe. His custom is to go around the courts, dispatching the most angry ones in one fell swoop. Those who fall into his hands are forced to profess our faith with the formula prescribed by Your Holiness. If they refuse, he has them beaten thoroughly while the stake is lit. Then he asks them if they are repentant and, upon hearing that they are not, concludes: “Either believe or die.” They are burned slowly to give them time to repent and earn eternal forgiveness.
  Some of these wretched souls, though very rarely, showed signs of retraction and horror at the death they deservedly suffered as they breathed their last; and I consoled myself in the Lord by observing those acts that could be signs of repentance. The more they struggled, the more we rejoiced in

the hope that those brief sufferings would bring them eternal joy, where we hope to find them safe in holy paradise when the Lord sees fit to call us to eternal rest. As for the others who were seduced, and therefore less guilty, it is not customary to condemn them immediately, but in order to exercise the charity that our Savior commands, their lives are spared at first, and instead certain torments are used which, although severe to the flesh, are infinitely lighter than those reserved for the spirit in eternal flames. Wheels, eculei, iron beds, stretchers, pincers, and other similar mortifications of the body are used, which, according to the law of our Lord Jesus Christ, must be macerated on earth in order to be glorified in eternal life.

• • From the letter written in Languedoc on April 7, 1217, and sent to Pope Honorius III. The saint refers to the fight against the Albigensian heresy. Quoted in Giuseppe Garibaldi (33rd degree Scottish Rite Freemason), ‘'Il governo dei preti’' (The Government of Priests), Edizioni Kaos, 2006

Quotes about Saint Dominic

• Dominic, who wished to found a religious Order of theologian-preachers, reminds us that theology has a spiritual and pastoral dimension that enriches the soul and life. Priests, the consecrated and also all the faithful may find profound "inner joy" in contemplating the beauty of the truth that comes from God, a truth that is ever timely and ever alive. Moreover the motto of the Friars Preachers contemplata aliis tradere helps us to discover a pastoral yearning in the contemplative study of this truth because of the need to communicate to others the fruit of one's own contemplation.
  • Benedict XVI, GENERAL AUDIENCE (3 February 2010)

• Per sapïenza in terra fue | di cherubica luce uno splendore. (Dante Alighieri, Divina Commedia XI, 37-39)