The Rosary and Saint Dominic Defeat Heresy

The Rosary—as spiritual weapon against evil—has a very long and precious history. In twelfth and thirteenth century France, a group of heretics known as the Albigensians was destroying the minds of the Catholic laity with its erroneous ideas. The Albigensians’ teachings encouraged suicide, many times by self-induced starvation, because they believed that the body was an intrinsic evil and that the soul must be liberated from matter at all costs. However, as history often shows, Providence raises up great Saints in times of dire crises. This time it was no different. Saint Dominic, born of noble lineage, received the Rosary from Our Lady in the year 1214. Our Lady gave Saint Dominic the Rosary as a weapon to combat the awful Albigensian heresy.

The Rosary as we know it today took some time to develop. After Saint Dominic died in the year 1221, the Rosary was almost immediately forgotten. However, in 1464 Our Lord, Our Lady, and Saint Dominic appeared to Blessed Alan de la Roche, a Dominican friar, after which he preached the Rosary until his death in 1475. This tremendous apostolate by Blessed Alan de la Roche, through the direct intercession of Our Lady, made the Rosary a widespread devotion. The fifteen mysteries as we know them came about through the many confraternities founded after Blessed Alan de la Roche’s preaching, and were formalized with Pope Saint Pius V’s encyclical, Consueverunt.

Romance of a South Sea Pearl

There was no Dominican Father in Zamboanga, as yet, when a moro pearl-diver had confidently gone to sea one early May morning. At least, he had not heard of any. 

A sturdy, bronze-sinewed fellow, he had, for sometime now, substituted his father in the family chore of fishing pearls & selling them at ridiculously low prices to support three younger brothers and two sisters. 

Everybody knew him well, a veritable "chip off the old block', for this diver's father had been the best pearl fisher for miles around. Now he was perpetuating the "old man's" glories.

The day before, a bearded missionary had told him and twenty others - catechumens all - about the Santo Rosario, whose miraculous image was revered in far away Manila. He could not now recall how or why did the religious come to talk to them of that Virgin. Possibly the fact that they were now in May - the Virgin's month - or that the miracles of La Naval de Manila has just been officially proclaimed so, has moved the 'fisher of men' to talk to them, 'pearl fishers', about the Santo Rosario. At any rate, the pearl-diver wasn't so sure that morning.

It came to happen then, that our man, whilst probing the depths of the azure southern waters, caught sight of a dazzling pearl, of gigantic proportions, nestled in the softness of an open mother-o'-pearl. Now, there was some gem! he thought and quickly made for it! 

As he engages himself in cutting out the ligaments that held the jewel to the recesses of the mother-o'-pearl, this suddenly closed itself, and thus caught the moro's hand! 

In no time, he exerted himself vigorously to extricate his imprisoned hand. He was at quite some depth and all his violent motions brought not a ripple nor a stir to the surface of the water. He, therefore, could not expect help from his colleagues. Whatever little air was left in him was quickly being expended with the great efforts of our man to set himself free from the murderous grip of the shell. His heart beats began to falter. His strength was leaving him. The telling hue of deep scarlet was noticeable in his recoiling body.

Then, came the light! He remembered the Santo Rosario and her wonder; he recalled, La Naval, an eminently sea-victory. The Mother of God would aid those at sea, then. So, he lifted up his heart and mind to the Virgin of the Most Holy Rosary, and, in exchange of his safe release from sure death, he would go all the way to Manila and offer that pearl to Her, Queen of the Sea.

Even before he had time to fully finish his supplication, the mother-o'-pearl broke in two and he was free. Quickly he rose to the surface, where, detected by his friends, who had noticed his beleaguered face, rescued him and brought him safely ashore.

Soon the moro pearl-driver left Zamboanga. With but the missionary's letter of introduction [for he had not told anyone of the incident, but had only confided it to the padre] and the pearl, safely tucked in his waist pocket, he came to Manila and went directly to the Convent of Santo Domingo. 

In sincere, if incorrect, language he appraised the Dominican Fathers of his intention and gave the Father Prior the dazzling gem. He then, led by the friars, went to the altar of the Santo Rosario, where, kneeling piously, uttered a prayer of thanks & veneration. 

The Virgin must have smiled at him, for he left - back to Zamboanga - in complete bliss!

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Not long after, a lowly creature hid himself in the dark recesses of the Church of Santo Domingo and waited for midnight. When the sacred place had been closed for the day, the thief - for he had come to rob Our Lady of that pearl, which everybody had already occasion to admire - stealthily made his way to the throne of the Santo Rosario. Most impiously climbing the altar, he reached the niche of the Virgin, lifted up the silken blue curtain, and extended his hand... covetingly towards the south sea pearl.

"¿Por qué me roba usted cuándo no le daño?" - Why dost thou rob me when I harm you not...?

The voice was a woman's. The thief had made sure, a few moments ago, that he was alone inside the church. And the voice came directly from the image! Our man was lost! He trembled and frightfully tumbled down, causing some commotion. But, the friars had gone to bed a long time ago and the cloisters were quite a distance away.

The early hours of the morning, saw the lay brother aghast at the sight of an unconscious man, half naked and rubbed with oil, at the foot of the Virgin's throne. The Dominican friars, having been quickly summoned, shook the man to consciousness and from him heard the wondrous tale of the Virgin's recrimination.

Since then, and following the thief's conversion, our people have had a high regard for the Virgin's jewels. 

Our Lady has, thus, given ample proof that She would not betray the unsullied gratitude of that moro pearl-diver, who had come to her all the way from far Zamboanga, where, in her southern waters, "he had caught sight of a dazzling pearl, of gigantic proportions, nestled in the softness of an open mother-o'-pearl!" and had wanted it for Her, Queen of the Sea: Mary of the Most Holy Rosary!

"¡No me des tan fuerte!" - The Sculptor of La Naval

NIGHT. It is the 25th of October, 1593. In the waters off Sulphur Point in Batangas a Spanish fleet is becalmed. Out only one week from Manila Bay, it is on its way to join the rest of an armada in the Visayas and sail south to wrest the Moluccas from Dutch control. On the flagship, the Governor-General, Don Gomez Pérez Dasmariñas ponders the situation, unaware of a greater crisis brewing in his own vessel. For even then furtive figures creep in the shadow of the ship's deck. Stealthily, the Chinese rowers overpower the guards, disarm the crew, and kills the Governor.

The Visayan fleet under the command of the Governor's son, Don Luís Pérez Dasmariñas,receives the news of his father's death. It abandons the expedition and returns sorrowfully to Manila. By royal decree, Don Luís succeeds his father as Governor-General, and among his first acts in office is to order the sculpture of an image of Our Lady of the Rosary. Perhaps to find consolation in his hour of loss, perhaps as a predictive gesture that what was left undone by force of arms would someday be accomplished with Her help. Governor-General, Don Luís Pérez Dasmariñas would donate an image of the Queen of the Rosary to the Dominicans of Santo Domingo in Intramuros.

His aide, Captain Hernando de los Ríos Coronel, is entrusted with this special mission. In the trading section of the City, which is monopolized by the sangleyes [i.e. Chinese], he finds a sculptor whose qualifications are highly regarded. It is a pity that the name of such artist does not figure in the records but an inkling of his character can be gleaned from the work he fashioned. 

Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario - La Naval de Manila - photo from Bleak!

The keen business eye of the heathen Chinaman perceives only a profitable order, but were he possessed of greater vision he would have seen in it a turning point not only in his own life but in the lives of untold thousands down the centuries. 

For the moment, it is a job to be done, and from the pagan's workshop the sound of mallet & chisel is heard all day and far into the night. The image is to be carved of wood, but its face and hands, as well as the Child Jesus in its arms are to be made of priceless ivory. The sculptor pictures a Mother of the Deity in his oriental mind: cheekbones set high, almond-shaped eyes and a pale yellow complexion.

Soon the image takes shape, and, inspired by his creative efforts, he puts the finishing touches with greater zeal. While busy with mallet & chisel he hears a voice, but looking behind sees no one. 

He is alone. He resumes his work, and again the voice comes to him, this time unequivocably clear. 

He distinctly hears the words, "¡No me des tan fuerte!" - "Do not press so much for it hurts!" 

Slowly the terrible realization occurs to him and leaves him completely dismayed. He decides to get some rest, but sleep escapes him all night. In the morning the cheerful light of day gives him new courage to keep up the work again, and he finishes it on schedule. 

But the seed had been planted. And the Lady had laid the ground to rescue the soul of that infidel who had, with such good fortune, done her image.

The Chinese sculptor left Manila after his work was finished and had established himself "somewhere in the Ilocos" to get away from it all. In his hours of work he must have often thought of the image he had left behind and who so pointedly reminded him of the due care he had to take in his work. His soul laid in darkness and there was something lacking to unite him completely with the product of his art.

Even in that far away province he keeps thinking about it and, encouraged by his newly found friends, he decides to be baptized into the Catholic faith, but under one condition: he would be baptized at the Church of Santo Domingo, before the image of the Santo Rosario who once spoke to him, whom he loved so much.

The Lady and the sculptor met once more. He who had fashioned the image was to be saved by Her whom that image stood for. In a simple ceremony the infidel became a Catholic. The sculptor and the image were at last united in bonds that transcended mere earthly association.

This story is a part of the rich legend of Rosarian tradition that has passed from generation to generation and which forms part of the patrimony of Marian devotion in the Philippines. The memory of the signal manner in which the pagan Chinese sculptor was benefitted by his work of art is kept to this day.

Fiftieth Anniversary of Santo Domingo Church

FIFTIETH FOUNDATION ANNIVERSARY OF THE CHURCH AND CONVENT OF SANTO DOMINGO, QUEZON CITY

Fr. Pedro Tejero, OP

October 10 of this year 2004 marks the 50^th foundation anniversary of the church and convent of Santo Domingo, in Quezon City. This date brings to our memory important historical events  worth being remembered and treasured with gratitude. Forgetting the tradition inherited from our ancestors is tantamount to renounce to our own personality, while remembering and reviving that tradition means to enrich ourselves and to deepen in the life and development of the individuals, institutions and peoples.

           

On December 27, 1941 a squadron of Japanese airplanes flew over the city of Manila, leaving behind a rain of destructive and incendiary bombs. On that fatal day, in a matter of hours, the convent and church of Santo Domingo were reduced to a heap of embers and ashes. Very little or nothing was spared from fire and destruction. The next day, at noontime, the Japanese airplanes hit again destroying and burning the Beaterio of Santa Catalina, Santa Rosa College and part of the College of San Juan de Letran and adjacent buildings. Those who witnessed it described the entire scene as dantesque, unforgettable.

Amid these fateful events and misfortunes, what happened to the venerable image of Our Lady of the Rosary (La Naval) enthroned in Santo Domingo church? Thank God the Virgin was spared from flames. The Santo Domingo Fathers, foreseeing the worst possible scenario, a few days earlier, took down the Virgin from her altar and placed it in the safety vault of a building adjacent to the convent, called Procuracion de la Provincia del Santo Rosario. Three days after these events took place, a group of Dominican Fathers approached the place where the safety vault was. After removing a heap of still smoking ashes, they managed to open the safety vault. With immense joy and feelings of gratitude to God, they saw that the image of the Virgin was unscathed. It had been saved from the fire! With devoted veneration they put in on a wagon and transferred it to the chapel of the University of Santo Tomas. Therein it was placed at the center of the altar for the cult and veneration of the faithful who came in crowds to see it again on her throne. From the date until its transfer to the convent and church of Santo Domingo, in Quezon City, on October 10, 1954 the Virgin presided and graced all the worship activities, novenas and celebrations of the parish and of the University of Santo Tomas.

The cornerstone of the Santo Domingo convent church, in Quezon City, was blessed in 1950 by the Bishop of Batanes, Msgr. Peregrin de la Fuente. The lands where the present convent and church were at that time rice fields. The completion of the convent and of the church construction took four years. Thus the Dominican community settled in the convent on September 25, 1954 and it was composed by a quite large number of members.

The transfer of the venerated image of Our Lady of the Rosary (La Naval) to the new church took place on October 10, 1954. On that very day, at ten o’clock in the morning, the church was blessed by the Archbishop of Manila, Msgr. Rufino Santos. At four o’clock in the afternoon, around one million faithful had gathered to join and watch the procession. The Virgin, enthroned on a soberly adorned carroza, traveled from the chapel of the University of Santo Tomas to Santo Domingo church. Throngs of people crowded together all along Espana and Quezon Boulevards. A good number of bishops joined the procession together with the members of the Central Seminary and the UST Dominican community. Upon reaching the church, at the sunset, the Virgin was placed at the gate and there the Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament was held, presided by Fr. Esteban Gómez, OP, Pro-vicar General of the Order of Preachers and delegated by Rome to preside at those acts. Since the church was still unfinished, a temporary wooden altar had to be constructed to accommodate the image of the Virgin.

The morning of October 11 gave us a pleasant surprise. As soon as the gates of the church were opened, a crowd of faithful filled it up in a matter of minutes. This was totally unexpected. A mass was celebrated but the communicants were so many that there was shortage of hosts to the point that many faithful were unable to receive communion!

Although the Virgin had taken possession of her magnificent shrine, however, the construction work of the church was on going. For this reason the community Fathers deemed necessary to transfer the image to an improvised chapel, in the Sala de las Cofradias (Guild’s Hall), at the entrance of the interior cloister of the convent. That was the venue where the community gathered together to pray the Divine Office, the rosary and celebrate the morning masses. Large numbers of faithful came to this chapel to see the miraculous image closely and enjoy her sweet and merciful look.

When the construction was finally completed and the altar of the Virgin had been covered with marble brought from Italy, the image was transferred to its throne, located then at the right side looking towards the main altar. On the left side altar there was the beautiful and inspiring carving of the Cristo del Santo Entierro, a very popular confraternity in the church of Intramuros.

At this stage, the apostolate and pastoral activities started being organized. The schedule of masses was established, both on weekdays and on Sundays and Holydays of obligation. The attendance to those Eucharistic celebrations was truly massive from the very beginning. The confessional boxes were approached by a large number of penitents coming from all over the Archipelago. The Third Order and the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary were reestablished. Also the Holy Name Society, with its national headquarters. Another confraternity that was revived with powerful vitality was the one of the Santo Entierro y Virgen de la Soledad: Former members returned to the bosom of the Confraternity, which held annually with great solemnity of the Santo Entierro on Good Friday. It can be said that the apostolic activities of the church were, from the very beginning, intense and spearheaded for a promising future.

These were the beginnings of Santo Domingo convent and church in Quezon City, declared as National Shrine of the Rosary by the Philippine hierarchy. We close this historical footnote giving thanks to God and to the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary for having inspired in the Superiors of the Holy Rosary Province the construction and enhancement of the grandiose shrine. Thanks also to the many people who worked and made possible such magnificent project. Surely their names are written in the book of life, in the presence of God, who rewards everyone according to their deeds.

Source: Boletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas Vol LXXX, No. 845 (November-December 2004)

SAN JOSE: Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary

SAINT JOSEPH

Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Saint Joseph is an important figure in Christian belief as the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ (in distinction to God, his "heavenly father").

The earliest Christian records, the epistles of Paul, make no reference to Jesus's father, and nor does Mark, the first of the Gospels.The first appearance of Joseph is therefore in the the gospels of Matthew and Luke, both of which have a genealogy that traces Joseph's lineageback to King David. The two lists are contradictory: Matthew says that Joseph's father was called Jacob,[Mt. 1:16]but Luke says he was the son of Heli.[Lk. 3:23]Matthew and Luke are also the only Gospels to include the Infancy Narratives, the stories of Jesus' birth and infancy. In Luke, Joseph lives in Nazareth, travels to Bethlehem in compliance with the requirements of a non-historical Roman census. Subsequently, Jesus was born there. In Matthew, Joseph was in Bethlehem, the city of David, where Jesus is born, and then moves to Nazareth with his family after the death of Herod. Matthew is the only Gospel to include the narrative of the Massacre of the Innocents and the Flight into Egypt: following the Nativity, Joseph stays in Bethlehem for an unspecified period (perhaps two years) until forced by the evil King Herod to take refuge in Egypt; on the death of Herod he brings his family back to Israel, and settles in Nazareth. After this point there is no further mention of Joseph by name, although the story of Jesus in the Temple, in Jesus's 12th year, includes a reference to "both his parents". Christian tradition represents Mary as a widow during the adult ministry of her son.[Jn. 19:26-27] The gospels describe Joseph as a "tekton" (τέκτων); traditionally the word has been taken to mean "carpenter", though the Greek term evokes an artisan with wood in general, or an artisan in iron or stone.Very little other information on Joseph is given in the Gospels, in which he never speaks.

STO. TOMAS KHUONG, Dominican Tertiary

Thomas Khuông belonged to a noble family on Tokin and was a well son of a Mandarin. A Christian since childhood, he became a Dominican Tertiary. He was imprisoned many times because of his faith. When he was in his 80`s in 1859, He was arrested again. The judge triedin vain to make him trample on the crucifix and invited him in vain to prusuade his Christian followers to apostilate but he firmly replied "to redeem mankind, Christ voluntarily suffered death. . .I too, want to give love for love, spilling all may blood for him. While he was genuflecting to adore crucifix his head was cut off, it was the 30th of January 1860.

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L : Santo Tomás Khuông

A : Pray for us

SANTA MAGDALENA DE NAGASAKI: Dominican Tertiary

SANTA MAGDALENA DE NAGASAKI

c. 1610 - 1634

Dominican Tertiary

Sister Magdalena was born in Nagasaki about the year 1610 of Christian parents. 

She was left on her own resources at the age of twenty-two when her parents perished in the great persecution in Japan. 

Left orphan and imbued by a profound religious spirit, she made a vow of perpetual virginity and dedicated herself to prayer and works of apostolate. 

She placed herself under the direction of a Dominican father, Fr. Jordan de San Esteban, OP, and received the habit as a tertiary. 

When her spiritual director was imprisoned, Magdalena presented herself to the authorities confessing her faith and offering herself for martyrdom. 

She was submitted to varied and terrible tortures and finally executed in the torture of the gallows and the pit on the 15th of October 1634. 

Her body was reduced to ashes. 

She was beatified with the illustrious group of San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila by Pope John Paul II on February 18, 1981 at the Luneta, in the Philippines, the first beatification to be held outside of the Vatican. 

The same Pontiff also approved their canonisation at St. Peter's in Rome on October 18, 1987. 

Blessed are those who suffer persecution for justice’s sake; theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

V. Pray for us Blessed Magdalena,

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let Us Pray:

O God, fountain and origin of all fatherhood, you made Blessed Magdalena faithful to the Cross of Christ to the point of shedding their blood; grant through their intercession, that, spreading Your love among the brethren, we may be called and become in reality Your Children. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen. 

FEASTDAY: September 28