From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   Discovering heavenly treasure   
      
      Discovering God's kingdom is like stumbling across a hidden   
   treasure or finding the one pearl of great price. When we discover the   
   kingdom of God we receive the greatest possible treasure--the Lord   
   himself. Selling all that we have to obtain this incomparable treasure   
   could mean many things--our friends, possessions, job, our "style of   
   life", what we do with our free time. Treasure has a special   
   connection to the heart, the place of desire and longing, the place of   
   will and focus. The thing we most set our heart on is our highest   
   treasure.   
      In this parable what does the treasure of the kingdom of heaven   
   refer to? It certainly refers to the kingdom of God in all its aspects   
   (a kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit--Romans   
   14:17). But in a special way, the Lord himself is the treasure we   
   seek. "If the Almighty is your gold and your precious silver, then you   
   will delight yourself in the Almighty" (Job 22:22-23).  Is the Lord   
   the treasure and delight of your heart?   
      
   <<>><<>><<>>   
    8 August – St Dominic de Guzman   
      
   Founder of the Dominican Order of Preachers – Priest, Founder,   
   Confessor, Teacher, Preacher, Mystic, Miracle-Worker, Apostle of the   
   Holy Rosary (1170 at Calaruega, Burgos, Old Castile – noon 6 August   
   1221 at Bologna, Italy).  He was Canonised on 13 July 1234 by Pope   
   Gregory IX at Rieti, Italy who declared, after signing the Bull of   
   Canonisation on 13 July, 1234, Pope Gregory IX declared that he no   
   more doubted the saintliness of Saint Dominic than he did that of   
   Saint Peter and Saint Paul.   
      
   Patronages – astronomers, astronomy, falsely accused people,   
   scientists, Dominican Republic, Batanes-Babuyanes, Philippines,   
   prelature of, Bayombong, Philippines, diocese of, Santo Domingo,   
   Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo Indian Pueblo, Valletta, Malta.   
   Attributes – chaplet, Dominican carrying a rosary and a tall cross,   
   Dominican holding a lily, Dominican with dog and globe, Dominican with   
   fire, Dominican with star shining above his head, dog with a torch in   
   its mouth, rosary, star.   
      
   Dominic de Guzman was born in Calaruega, Spain, son to noble parents   
   Felix Guzman and Blessed Joan of Aza. While only a boy, he   
   demonstrated great piety, spending his days in contemplation and   
   prayer, under the influence of his mother’s great love of the Lord. At   
   Dominic’s baptism, Blessed Joan saw a star shining from his chest,   
   which became another of his symbols in art, and led to his patronage   
   of astronomy.   
      
   Educated by his uncle, a priest, Dominic soon traveled to Palencia,   
   where he attended university and was eventually ordained a priest.   
   While at university, he demonstrated strict penances and rigorous   
   study but his teachers and classmates soon also noted the tenderest of   
   hearts and the gentlest of spirits. Dominic demonstrated great care   
   for those in need, practicing love and charity without judgment.   
      
   Following his ordination, Dominic was appointed the prior superior of   
   his Augustinian Order and strictly observed the Benedictine rule   
   prescribed. Selected as canon to the Bishop of Osma, he accompanied   
   Bishop Diego de Avezedo to Languedoc to join with the Cistercian Order   
   in their fight against heresy. It was here that the idea of founding   
   an order of preachers, committed to eradicating heresy, first occurred   
   to Dominic.   
      
   In 1215, Dominic established himself, with six followers, in a house   
   given by Peter Seila, a rich resident of Toulouse. Dominic saw the   
   need for a new type of organisation to address the spiritual needs of   
   the growing cities of the era, one that would combine dedication and   
   systematic education, with more organisational flexibility than either   
   monastic orders or the secular clergy. He subjected himself and his   
   companions to the monastic rules of prayer and penance;  and meanwhile   
   bishop Foulques gave them written authority to preach throughout the   
   territory of Toulouse. In the same year, the year of the Fourth   
   Lateran Council, Dominic and Foulques went to Rome to secure the   
   approval of the Pope, Innocent III. Dominic returned to Rome a year   
   later and was finally granted written authority in December 1216 and   
   January 1217 by the new pope, Honorius III for an order to be named   
   “The Order of Preachers” (“Ordo Praedicatorum”, or “O.P.,”   
   popularly   
   known as the Dominican Order).   
      
   It was not long thereafter that Dominic founded an institute for women   
   at and attached several preaching friars to it. During a subsequent   
   crusade against the Albigensian heresy, Dominic followed the papal   
   armies and preached to all who would listen. He had little success,   
   however and returned home to a castle bequeathed to him, where he   
   founded an order dedicated to the conversion of the Albigensians. The   
   order was canonically approved by the bishop of Toulouse the following   
   year and two years later received Pope Honorius III’s approval. The   
   Order of Preachers, the Dominicans, was founded.   
      
   Saint Dominic spent the remaining years of his life organising his new   
   order, traveling throughout Europe preaching and attracting new   
   members and establishing new houses. The new order, under his   
   direction, was astoundingly successful in conversion, based upon   
   contemplative and intellectual approaches, coupled with the   
   contemporary and popular needs of the people. His ideal, and that of   
   his Order, was to link organically a life with God, study and prayer   
   in all forms, with a ministry of salvation to people by the word of   
   God. His ideal: contemplata tradere: “to pass on the fruits of   
   contemplation” or “to speak only of God or with God.”   
      
   (Read the Nine Ways of Prayer of St Dominic here:   
   https://www.fisheaters.com/stdominic9ways.html)   
      
   There was a time that St Dominic became discouraged at the progress of   
   his mission. To him, it seemed that no matter how much he worked,   
   heresy remained. As he contemplated the future of his order, he   
   received a vision from Our Blessed Mother, who showed him a wreath of   
   roses, representing the Holy Rosary. Mary told him to say the Rosary   
   daily, to teach it to all who would listen and eventually the faith   
   would defeat heresies.  The spread of the Rosary, is attributed to the   
   preaching of Saint Dominic. The Rosary has for centuries been at the   
   heart of the Dominican Order. Pope Pius XI stated, “The Rosary of Mary   
   is the principle and foundation on which the very Order of Saint   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)