From The Desk of Deacon Judy
Dominic, Priest and Friar, 1221 (August 8)
You all know how much I love music and singing. I’ve often heard that singing is praying twice. I have thanked a couple of bishops who incorporate songs into their sermons for giving me permission to do the same from time to time.
Songs help us remember a message or remember a story.
And so it is with a song refrain that remains in my brain from my teen years. Perhaps some of you also had the album of The Singing Nun. Perhaps you too learned a bit of French while singing “Dominique”. At first I probably didn’t grasp the full meaning, but the melody was bright and easy to sing. As I reflected on all of the lyrics over the years, I realize this lovely song told Dominic’s story:
· How he founded the Order of Preachers, commonly known as the Dominicans.
· How he traveled throughout the south of France, preaching the Good News to challenge the Albigensian heretics who seemed pure and ascetic but held beliefs that the sacraments were evil.
· How he sold his possessions to help the poor during a famine and how he followed a simple life dedicated to feed souls by preaching the love of God.
Here is the refrain which captures the essence of this poor, singing, itinerant preacher who traveled highways and byways speaking only of the greatness of God:
Dominique, nique, nique S'en allait tout simplement Routier, pauvre et chantant En tous chemins, en tous lieux Il ne parle que du bon Dieu Il ne parle que du bon Dieu
Let us pray the prayer for Dominic:
O God of the prophets, you opened the eyes of your servant Dominic to perceive a famine of hearing the word of the Lord, and moved him, and those he drew about him, to satisfy that hunger with sound preaching and fervent devotion: Make your Church, dear Lord, in this and very age, attentive to the hungers of the world, and quick to respond in love to those who are perishing; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
God’s Peace,
Judy Q
