Novena to St Dominic - Day 7: St Dominic, a man of encouragement

On this 7^th day of our Novena in honour of St. Dominic, I would like to share just a few thoughts on St. Dominic as a man of Encouragement.

“When your words came, I devoured them, your Word was my delight and the joy of my heart” (Jr.15:16).

How aptly this Scripture text from the prophet Jeremiah can be applied to Our Holy Father Dominic – we can just see him in our mind’s eye, contemplating from the depth of his heart with great joy and exultation, this Scripture jewel,  overwhelmed as he always was, with an immense love of Holy Scripture.

‘Dominic showed himself a man of the Gospel in word and deed’, we are told by those who knew him.

With his deep spirit of unceasing prayer and with the Gospel as his weapon, he  was fired with zeal to be an apostle of encouragement among his Nuns, his Friars and all those among whom he laboured.

Among his numerous virtues spoken of again and again by those who knew him and by those who bore witness to his life under oath at his canonisation process, his virtue as a man of encouragement, in one form or another,  shines especially brightly – ‘Dominic was compassionate and consoled people in time of temptation, he was a source of strength (or we can say a source of encouragement) to all’.

 In this day and age the need for encouragement for every person at one time or another, is more needful than ever before, St. Paul himself reminds us in his letter to the Colossians (col.3:16)) – ‘Let the Word of Christ in all its richness dwell in you ……. encourage each other’.

By abiding in God’s encouraging Word speaking in our hearts  we will truly be aware of his Presence in our lives and the lives of others and thus amid misunderstandings, disappointments, hurts, and frustrations, as well as times of happiness, love and friendship, we will have many golden opportunities to be apostles of  this great virtue –

‘Do not be afraid’ God tells us ‘I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine’ – What greater encouragement could we ask for than these stupendous words from God, our Father, himself?

Let us ponder this great virtue in the company of Our Lady and St Dominic, Let us recall Mary’s words to the servants at the wedding of Cana – ‘do whatever  he tells you’ and that is exactly what St. Dominic did ALWAYS.