LITURGICAL CALENDAR FOR AUGUST

THE LITURGICAL CALENDAR FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST

02, AUGUST Blessed Jane of Aza

At Caleruega, in Spain, Blessed Jane of Aza, Mother of Saint Dominic and Blessed Mannes

Blessed Jane was born of the prominent Aza family and married Felix de Guzman, a man “rich and revered among his people”. Three of their children spent their lives in the service of the Church: Anthony, Blessed Mannes and St. Dominic.

According to the earliest and most reliable source, it describes Blessed Jane  as “virtuous, chaste, prudent, and full of compassion for the poor and the afflicted; among all the women of the region she was outstanding for her good reputation.” She died at Caleruega, Spain, at the beginning of the thirteenth century. Her relics were now kept at the Dominican Monastery at Caleruega. Pope Leo XII confirmed her cult in 1828.

Liturgical note: “Memoria optativa”

03 AUGUST Blessed Augustine Kazotic

At Lucera in Italy, Blessed Augustine Kazotic , friar and bishop of the Order of Preachers.

Blessed Augustine was born at Trogir in Dalmatia (Yugoslavia) about 1260 and entered the Dominican Order at an early age. He completed his studies at the University of Paris and returned to his own country where he was earned a reputation as an eloquent preacher. In 1303 the Dominican Blessed Benedict XI appointed him Bishop of Zagreb where for fourteen years. he successfully restored order in the aftermath of the Tartar invasions.

So successful was he in this task that in 1317, at the request of the King of Sicily, he was transferred to the See of Lucera in southern Italy, where he labored with his zeal, prayer and preachers and sound administration, to restore peace after the Moslem withdrawal and completely reformed the diocese. He died there on August 3, 1323 and was beatified by Pope Clement XI in 1702.

08 AUGUST

Our Holy Father Dominic

At Bologna, in Italy, Our Father Saint Dominic de Guzman, priest and founder of the Order of Preachers.

Dominic de Guzman was born at Caleruega, Spain, around 1172-1173. After completing his studies at Palencia, he was ordained a priest and became a Canon Regular in the Cathedral Chapter of Osma. But soon he was called from this hidden life of liturgy and contemplation to the more active ministry of combating the onslaught of Albigensian heresy which at that time was rife in southern France.  While on a diplomatic mission with his bishop, Diego de Acebedo, he experienced first-hand the scourge of heretical error and ignorance of the Gospel which was at that time widespread in southern France. From that time on he determined to dedicate his life to the ministry of preaching and to live a life of simplicity. He spent more than ten years travelling the countryside, begging from door to door, preaching indefatigably. Eventually he was supported in his work by a monastery of nuns at Prouille which he had directed from its foundation in 1206.

He became convinced of the need for a group of trained preachers who would spread the truth of the gospel by their preaching and teaching and would live in apostolic poverty, in 1215 at Toulouse Dominic organized his fellow preachers into a new religious Order which was formally approved by Pope Honorius III on December 22, 1216.

On August 15, 1217, he dispersed this small band throughout Europe and from such beginnings the Order grew.

St. Dominic was essentially a man of prayer and study, with a burning zeal for the salvation of souls,. And these are the characteristics which he indelibly impressed upon his Order.  For these qualities stem others easily associated with them: his love for silence, his compassion for sinners, his joyous spirit, his singular purity of life and delicacy of conscience. But Dominic was also a leader, an innovator, a founder and his traits admirably suited to this dimension of his life: the ability to grip the essence of a problem and its most apt solution, a capacity for organization bordering on genius, a boundless truest in the capability and good will of his collaborators. He also had a special grace for ministering to women and for associating women in his ministry, which resulted not only in three monasteries of nuns established during his lifetime, but also in the precious recollections of many devout lay women who cared for his needs during the years in southern France.

St. Dominic died in Bologna on August 6, 1221 and was buried as he wished “beneath the feet of his brethren”. His close friend Pope Gregory IX canonized him in 1234.

Liturgical note: “Solemnitas” for the whole Dominican family.

09 AUGUST Blessed John of Salerno

At Florence, in Italy, Blessed John of Salerno, friar and priest of the Order of Preachers.

Blessed John was born in Salerno, Italy around 1190, and was ordained a priest. While pursuing studies at the University of Bologna he was attracted to the Order by the preaching of Blessed Reginald.  Saint Dominic himself received him and then sent him to Florence to establish the priory of Santa Maria Novella. He also established a monastery of Dominican nuns at the nearby city of Ripoli. He was an eloquent preacher and Pope Gregory IX commissioned him to deal with the heretical sect known as the Patarines. He died at Florence in 1242. His cult was confirmed in 1783.

14 AUGUST Blessed Aimo Taparelli

At Savigliano,in Italy, Blessed Aimo Taparelli, friar and priest of the Order of Preachers.

Blessed Aimo of the noble Taparelli family was born at Savigliano in Piedmont, Italy in 1395. He had been married before entering the Order and upon his reception was sent to study at the University of Turin where he later taught. Much of his life was devoted to preaching and in 1466 he was appointed inquisitor for Liguria and Lombardy, replacing Blessed Bartholomew Cerverio who had been martyred.  For more than thirty years he carried out this difficult task with courage and skill. Finally he retired to the priory of Savigliano where he died on August 15, 1495, in his one-hundredth year. Pope Pius IX approved his cult in 1854.

17 AUGUST Saint Hyacinth Odrowaz of Poland

At Krakow, in Poland, Saint Hyacinth, friar and priest of the Order of Preachers.

Saint Hyacinth (Jacek) Odrowaz was born near Wroclaw (Breslau) in Upper Silesia, Poland around 1185. He was ordained and became a canon of the cathedral of Krakow. On a journey to Rome in 1220 he was attracted to the Order by the holiness and preaching of Saint Dominic.  In 1221 he was sent with Henry of Moravia to establish the Order in Poland. The priory of Krakow was established in 1222 and the Province of Poland in 1225. Saint Hyacinth labored many years in this region and established priories at Gdansk and at Kiev. He is also known to have preached in Bohemia, Moravia, Russia and Prussia, at the time when Tatar invasions was at their height and when missionaries of other Orders who had arrived there first were jealously striving to protect their rights.  Aside from his reputation for gentleness, humility and courtesy, like so many saints of the Order he was devoted to Mary, the Mother of God.  He died in Krakow on August 15, 1257 and was canonized by Pope Clement VIII in 1594. He is the patron of all Dominican missionaries.

Liturgical note: “Memoria”

18, AUGUST Blessed Mannes de Guzman

At Caleruega, Spain, Blessed Mannes de Guzman, friar and priest of the Order of Preachers and Brother of Saint Dominic

Blessed Mannes, an older brother of Saint Dominic, was born at Caleruega, Spain, about 1170. He was among his younger brother’s first followers and later assisted in establishing the priory of Saint Jacques at Paris in 1217. In 1219 he was entrusted with the care of the Dominican nuns at Madrid. According to an early source he was “a contemplative and holy man, meek and humble, joyful and kind, and a zealous preacher.” He died at the Cistercian monastery of San Pedro at Gumiel de Izan (Spain) about the year 1235. Pope Gregory XVI confirmed his cult in 1833.

Liturgical note: “Memoria  optativa”

18, AUGUST Blessed John George Thomas Rehm

At Rochefort (La Rochelle), in France, Blessed George Thomas Rehm, friar and priest of the Order of Preachers. Martyr

Blessed John George Thomas Rehm was born in 1752 in Katzenthal, Upper Rhine and entered the Order in Paris. At the height of the French revolution, he refused to take the schismatic oath and when the convent was destroyed, he moved to La Meurthe, where he continued to preach the Catholic faith. In 1793 he was arrested and condemned to be deported and was imprisoned by the Revolutionary Committee in Nancy and later moved with others to Rochefort, near La Rochelle. From May until August 1794 he remained a prisoner on an old boat and due to the ill treatment he received he died on August 11. He was solemnly beatified together with sixty three other martyrs of La Rochelle by Pope John Paul II in 1995.

19, AUGUST Blessed Jordan of Rivalto or of Pisa

At Piacenza, Italy, Blessed Jordan of Pisa, friar and priest of the Order of Preachers.

Blessed Jordan was born near Pisa around 1260 and entered the Order there. He served as lector in several houses of the Order and was known for his eloquent preaching throughout the region of Pisa and Florence. His preaching ministry was all the more remarkable in that he used the Tuscan dialect rather than the customary Latin. While he was on his way from Pisa to Paris, he fell ill at Piacenza and died August 19, 1311.

23 AUGUST Saint Rose of Lima

At Lima, in Peru, Saint Rose Flores of Lima, sister and virgin of the Order of Preachers.

Isabel Flores, commonly known as Rose, was born in Lima, Peru in 1586, and became the first canonized saint of the Western Hemisphere.  She made a vow of virginity at an early age and only with great difficulty overcame the objections and misunderstanding of her family to her way of life. At the age of twenty she became a Dominican tertiary and lived in a hermitage which she had set up in her family’s garden. She practiced severe penances for the salvation of sinners and for the missionary efforts of the Church in the Indies. Her great love for Christ manifested itself by her care of and concern for the poor and sick. She had a special devotion to Christ in the Eucharist and to Mary, the Mother of God. Her desire to teach others the secret of prayer made her a zealous promoter of the rosary. She died at Lima on August 24, 1617.  She is the patroness of the Americas and of the Philippines.

Liturgical note: “Memoria” for the whole Dominican Family; In Latin America her “Festum” is celebrated on the 30 August.

26 AUGUST Blessed James Bianconi of Bevagna

At Bevagna, Blessed James Bianconi, friar and priest of the Order of Preachers.

Blessed James was born at Bevagna, Italy in 1220 and entered the Order in Spoleto. In time he returned to Bevagna to establish a priory there. He was sent to preach against the Nicolaitan heretics who at that time were playing havoc with the faith in Umbria. He was successful in converting one of its leaders who made a public repudiation of his heresy at Orte. Once during a period of spiritual dryness and doubt, blood spurted from the crucifix before which Blessed James was praying and he heard Christ saying: “This blood is the sign of your salvation.” He died at Bevagna August 22, 1301. His cult was confirmed in 1672.

28, AUGUST Saint Augustine of Hippo

At Hippo in Africa, Saint Augustine, eminent Father and Doctor of the Church.

Saint Augustine was born at Tagaste in what is now Algeria around the year 354. After a youth spent in moral licentiousness and intellectual groping, he receiving the grace of conversion through the prayers and tears of his mother Saint Monica and was baptized by St. Ambrose in Milan on 387.  Some years later, he was ordained to the priesthood and in 396, became the bishop of Hippo in North Africa.  As bishop he preached and wrote indefatigably becoming thereby the greatest of the Latin Fathers of the Church.  He died on August 28, 420 and has always been regarded as a great saint by Christians of both the East and the West.

St Augustine is held in high esteem by the Dominican family not only for his doctrine but more especially for his Rule which forms the basis of all Dominican life and legislation.

Many pages have been written and re-written in an effort to determine the precise origins of the Rule but this much is known for certain: that its authorship is ascribed to him. His Regula ad Servos Dei, originally composed for a community of women, was adopted by the canons regular in the twelfth century. It was considered at that time to be the rule par excellence, for clerics , its allusion to the example of the first Christians in Jerusalem, its profound emphasis on unanimity in charity, its insistence on the renunciation of personal goods in favor of the community. In every respect it is a piece of legislation worthy of the great bishop of Hippo who preached constantly the love of God and neighbor and the unity of all in the one body of Christ.

When Pope Innocent III invited Saint Dominic to choose a rule for his followers from already existing and approved rules. The holy founder and his brethren chose the Rule of Saint Augustine for their Order during the first formative chapter of 1216. . As Humbert of Romans has shown in his commentary on the Rule, the apostolic life which forms the basis for the Rule of Saint Augustine was well-suited to the purpose of the Order of Preachers.

Liturgical note: “Festum” for the Dominican Family.