Mary Fabyan Windeatt - Saint Dominic: Preacher of the Rosary and Founder of the Dominican Order (with Supplemental Reading: Confession: Its Fruitful Practice)

BOOKS BY MARY FABYAN WINDEATT

A Series of Twenty Books

Stories of the Saints for Young People ages 10 to 100

THE CHILDREN OF FATIMA

And Our Ladys Message to the World

THE CURE OF ARS

The Story of St. John Vianney, Patron Saint of Parish Priests

THE LITTLE FLOWER

The Story of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

PATRON SAINT OF FIRST COMMUNICANTS

The Story of Blessed Imelda Lambertini

THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL

The Story of Our Ladys Appearances to St. Catherine Laboure

ST. LOUIS DE MONTFORT

The Story of Our Ladys Slave, St. Louis Mary Grignion De Montfort

SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS

The Story of The Dumb Ox

SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA

The Story of the Girl Who Saw Saints in the Sky

SAINT HYACINTH OF POLAND

The Story of the Apostle of the North

SAINT MARTIN DE FORBES

The Story of the Little Doctor of Lima, Peru

SAINT ROSE OF LIMA

The Story of the First Canonized Saint of the Americas

PAULINE JARICOT

Foundress of the Living Rosary & The Society for the Propagation of the Faith

SAINT DOMINIC

Preacher of the Rosary and Founder of the Dominican Order

SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE

The Story of the Apostle to the Gentiles

SAINT BENEDICT

The Story of the Father of the Western Monks

KING DAVID AND HIS SONGS

A Story of the Psalms

SAINT MARGARET MARY

And the Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

SAINT JOHN MASIAS

Marvelous Dominican Gatekeeper of Lima, Peru

SAINT FRANCIS SOLANO

Wonder-Worker of the New World and Apostle of Argentina and Peru

BLESSED MARIE OF NEW FRANCE

The Story of the First Missionary Sisters in Canada

Nihil Obstat: Milian G. Walker, Ph.D.
Censor Librorum

Imprimatur: Paul C. Schulte, D.D.
Archbishop of Indianapolis
July 13, 1948

This story of St. Dominic first appeared in serial form in the pages of The Torch . Published by Sheed & Ward in 1951 as simply Saint Dominic .

Copyright 1948 by Sheed & Ward, Inc. (revisions).

The type in this book is the property of TAN Books, an Imprint of Saint Benedict Press, LLC, and may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without written permission from the Publisher. (This restriction applies only to reproduction of this type, not to quotations from the book.)

ISBN: 979-0-89555-430-7

Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 93-61379

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

TAN Books
Charlotte, North Carolina
2013

For

My Brothers and Sisters in the

Secular Third Order of Saint Dominic.

O LIGHT of the Church, Doctor of Truth, rose of patience, ivory of chastity, freely hast thou dispensed the water of wisdom; Preacher of grace, unite us to the blessed.

Feast of St. Dominic

Second Vespers,

Magnificat Antiphon

I T WAS AUTUMN of the year 1190, and a blistering heat hung low over northern Spain like a breath from Hell. Throughout the kingdoms of Castile and Leon the crops failed. Burgos, Palencia, Valladolidthese and other cities were in the grip of the worst famine in years. People were dropping in the streets like flies, and there was rumor that soon the plague would strike.

Mother of God, have pity on us! was the anguished cry that went up from every heart. Send us bread

But there was bread only for those who had money to buy it, and day after day the funeral bells sent out an almost constant dirge as mounds of sunbaked clay were heaped upon the bodies of still more victims of the famine in Palencia things were especially serious, and finally one young man knew that he could stand it no longer. He, twenty-year-old Dominic de Guzman, a student for the priesthood, must do something to help the starving.

But what can you do? asked friends and teachers anxiously. Why, you are little more than a boy

I know, admitted Dominic. But I have some money. It will help to buy bread for at least one family.

Undaunted by the argument that he might as well keep what he had, since it was so little, Dominic went down into the poor section of Palencia and gave away all that he ownedhis money, clothes, furniture from his room at school, and finally his books. It was a real sacrifice to part with the books, for they were sheets of precious parchment, that is, dried sheepskin, and of more than ordinary worth because of the many notes which were written in the margins.

The lad must be a fool! Dominics friends told one another. How can he keep at his studies without books?

Thats right. How can he?

But Dominic only smiled when such remarks reached his ears. Who could prize dead skins when the flesh of the living is perishing from want? he asked. Ill manage somehow.

His faith was rewarded. After his great act of charity, Dominic enjoyed even more success at school than beforeleading his classes in every subject, and making a name for himself as a scholar. Indeed, when the Bishop of Osma (a town near Palencia) heard about Dominics fine record, and also how he had sold his precious books in order to help the poor, he made up his mind to one thing. Some day this courageous young man must come to live with him. As a priest he would make a fine assistant.

After his ordination in 1195, Dominic did go to Osma. And two years later when the Bishop died and Father Diego de Acebes succeeded to his position, nothing would do but that Dominic remain. He would be of great use as prior of the canonsthat is, in charge of the assistant priests who lived in the Bishops house.

Dominic was very happy at Osma. He liked the quiet life there, the chance to pray and study and to help out from time to time in the country parishes. Even more, he appreciated his friendship with Bishop Diego. What a saint this was! What a lover of souls!

If the Holy Father ever permits him to be a missionary to the Tartars, I want to go along, too, Dominic told himself. It would be a privilege to live and work with such a man for the rest of my days.

But the years passed, and Bishop Diego was unsuccessful in all his attempts to be relieved of his duties in Osma. He was needed there, said the authorities. And friends and co-workers agreed. Reluctantly he stifled his hearts desire to convert the Tartarsthose savage tribes which lived along the Dnieper and Volga rivers in eastern Europe, and from time to time descended upon the Christian countries to the west with fire and sword.

Lord, not my will but Thine be done! he prayed.

Then one day there was great excitement in Osma. Bishop Diego was going away, although not to the Tartars. He was going to Denmark on important business for King Alfonso of Castile.

It has something to do with a marriage for Prince Ferdinand, people said.

Thats right. King Alfonso has asked King Valdemar to let one of his daughters marry his son.

Yes. And he wants Bishop Diego to help bring matters about.

So one morning in the year 1203, with Dominic as a traveling companion, the Bishop took his place among the dozens of learned priests and wealthy nobles who had been chosen by Alfonso as his ambassadors to the Danish court. But the imposing cavalcade had gone less than three hundred milesindeed, had barely entered southern Francewhen scenes of great devastation met their eyes. Acres of fertile land lay blackened and desolate. Wayside shrines were broken. And one village after another lay in smoking ruins.