| He spoke with God or about God |
|---|
Dominic
possessed such great integrity and was so strongly motivated by divine
love, that without a doubt he proved to be a bearer of honour and grace.
He was a man of great equanimity, except when moved to compassion and
mercy. And since a joyful heart animates the face, he displayed the
peaceful composure of a spiritual man in the kindness he manifested
outwardly and by the cheerfulness of his countenance.
Wherever he went he showed himself in word and deed to
be a man of the Gospel. During the day no one was more community-minded
or pleasant toward his brothers and associates. During the night hours
no one was more persistent in every kind of vigil and supplication. He
seldom spoke unless it was with God, that is, in prayer, or about God,
and in this matter he instructed his brothers. Frequently he made a
special personal petition that God would deign to grant him a genuine
charity, effective in caring for and obtaining the salvation of men. For
he believed that only then would he be truly a member of Christ, when
he had given himself totally for the salvation of men, just as the Lord
Jesus, the Saviour of all, had offered himself completely for our
salvation. So, for this work, after a lengthy period of careful and
provident planning, he founded the Order of Friars Preachers.
In his conversations and letters he often urged the
brothers of the Order to study constantly the Old and New Testaments. He
always carried with him the gospel according to Matthew and the
epistles of Paul, and so well did he study them that he almost knew them
from memory.
Two or three times he was chosen bishop, but he always
refused, preferring to live with his brothers in poverty. Throughout
his life, he preserved the honour of his virginity. He desired to be
scourged and cut to pieces, and so die for the faith of Christ. Of him
Pope Gregory IX declared: “I knew him as a steadfast follower of the
apostolic way of life. There is no doubt that he is in heaven, sharing
in the glory of the apostles themselves.”
