ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN DECEMBER
Saints celebrated on the 20th of December
Prayer to the Angels and the Saints
Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.
In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.
Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.
Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.
ST DOMINIC OF SILOS, ABBOT AND CONFESSOR
Saint Dominic, the Benedictine Abbot, celebrated on account of the many miracles that he performed, was born at Canas, a village in Spain, of indigent but virtuous parents. In his youth, he guarded his father’s sheep, and led a very innocent life, occupying much of his time in prayer and devout meditation.
Thus the desire grew slowly on him to leave all temporal affairs and serve the Almighty in a desert.
In consequence of this, he left his home, chose a convenient place, built a small hut and there passed some time in great peace and calmness of heart.
HE LEFT THE SOLITUDE
God, however, inspired him with the thought that it would be much more beneficial for his soul, if others were to guide him in the path of virtue which he had resolved to pursue.
Hence Dominic left his solitude, went to the monastery of St Aemilian, where he was received into the Order of St Benedict. In a few years, he made so much progress, both in virtue and learning, that he was ordained priest, and some time later was elected Abbot of the monastery.
He administered his functions most perfectly, until the despotism of an avaricious king banished him from Navarre.
THE THOUGHTS OF TREASURES OF THE CHURCH DID NOT LEAVE HIM
The occasion of this was as follows: The treasures of this monastery, or rather of its church, had so dazzled the king’s eyes, that he was continually occupied with the thought how to get them into his possession.
At first, he demanded them with civility of Dominic as the Superior. Seeing however, that he could not prevail on him, he began to threaten. Dominic remained unmoved, and declared publicly that he would rather give his life than permit anything consecrated to God to be so unjustly taken away.
The king was so violently enraged at this, that he banished the Abbot and some other religious from the country, and took undisturbed possession of the monastery.
Dominic went to the king of Aragon and Castile, Ferdinand I, who joyfully received him, having heard much of his virtues and holiness.
THE MONASTERY OF SILOS
He gave him the monastery of Silos, which, having formerly enjoyed a great reputation, then stood empty on account of the unfavorable times.
The holy Abbot repaired the monastery and church as well as he could, and occupied it with his religious, in the name of the Lord. God sent him several persons, partly youths, partly men of riper years, who desired to lead a religious life. Dominic led them to perfection, not only by instructions, but much more by his example.
HE WAS ABBOT FOR TWENTY-THREE YEARS
For twenty-three years he governed this monastery as Abbot, and all who knew him, honoured and admired in him, a most perfect example of all virtues.
The fame of his holiness spread over all Spain, and the Almighty increased it by several miracles. Not to mention the blind whom he restored to sight, the dumb to whom he gave speech, the deaf to whom he gave hearing, he had an especial gift to free captives.
At that period, many Christians were held in captivity by the Moors, and their miserable condition was an object of great compassion to the holy Abbot, not so much for the hardships they endured, as for the danger in which they were to abandon their faith.
MANY HOLY MASSES WERE OFFERED
Many prayers, holy Masses, and penances did he offer to the Lord on their behalf; and he was greatly rejoiced, whenever he was able to assist in their liberation.
Some of these captives had known the holy Abbot before their captivity, and had seen or heard of his miracles; others became acquainted with him through what the former told them.
THEY HAD GREAT CONFIDENCE IN HIS INTERCESSION
All these captives had great confidence in his intercession with God, and invoked him, although he was still alive and far away, to redeem them from their captivity. Others represented to the Almighty the services of this His faithful servant, and prayed humbly to be released by his merits. After such prayers, though the captives were ever so closely watched, and far from him, they were freed by divine power, and without knowing how it came to pass, they found themselves before the gates of the monastery of Silos. Almost daily some of them were seen to joyfully cast themselves at the feet of the Saint, giving thanks to God and to him for their liberty, and hanging the chains, with which they had been bound, in the church, as an eternal remembrance of the miracle. The walls of the church were entirely covered, even in the lifetime of the Saint, with these tokens.
SEVERAL EYEWITNESSES
After his death, this miracle continued, and many churches and chapels, erected in honour of the Saint, were adorned with the chains of captives who had invoked him. One of these is yet to be seen at this day, not far from Loranca de Tajuna. This account may seem incredible; but it is attested by numerous persons who were eye-witnesses of the miraculous occurrences.
HE HELD HIS CRUCIFIX
The Almighty desired to make His faithful servant glorious in a special and unusual manner. The hour of his death was revealed to him long before it came. The Saint prepared himself for this supreme moment with great fervour, exhorted those under him to constancy in virtue, foretold many future events, and calmly expired, in the year of our Lord 1073.
In his last sickness, he held the crucifix, which during life he had always desired to have before him, almost constantly in his hands, and while devoutly embracing it, he fell asleep in the Lord.
A MOTHER'S PRAYERS
It is noteworthy that the mother of another Saint Dominic, who was to be the founder of the Dominican Order, went to the tomb of our Saint, before the birth of her child, to implore his protection The holy Abbot appeared to her. and assured her that his prayer would be granted. In gratitude for this favour, she called her son Dominic, a name which, in later years, gave such splendor to the whole church of Christ.
(From Fr Weninger's Lives of the Saints - 🎨 Ferdinand welcomes Domingo de Silos by Bernat and Bermejo, 1477-79)
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