The saint who was given the Rosary!

Even as a young man, Dominic was drawn to the Word of God; as he got older, Scripture became his biggest passion, wanting to preach the Gospel to everyone he met. 

When traveling with his uncle, who was also a priest, he was disturbed by the number of people, especially educated people, who were listening to and following heretics. He founded a religious order, the Order of Preachers or the Dominican Order, whose focus was to live amongst people (not in a monastery) and preach the Gospel to them. 

It is believed that Saint Dominic received the rosary as a form of meditative prayer, and he and his fellow Dominican priests used it, in addition to Scripture, to teach against heresy. Though back then the fixed mysteries of the rosary that we use today were not yet used, St. Dominic’s love of Scripture is definitely a part of this great prayer as we use important Scripture passages to meditate while we pray the rosary. 

Saint Dominic’s feast day is August 8th, and he is the patron saint of preachers, astronomers, and the Dominican Order.

—----

On August 15th, our Church celebrates the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On this day, we recognize Mary’s important role in Salvation History as the sinless mother of Jesus Christ, who, at the end of her earthly life, was taken into heaven –– body and soul. 

On this day we are reminded of our own bodily resurrection that is to come, and pray that we may be made worthy of spending eternity with God in heaven. 

Our Church is celebrating the Immaculate Heart of Mary all month long, and we want to provide you with the tools to incorporate this in your home! In addition to our Assumption of Mary free printable, we have created a special, interactive rosary handout for your children to use to pray the rosary. Before you begin, allow your children to offer up their prayer for different intentions by filling in the blank spaces by each decade with their personal intentions. While praying the different prayers, invite your children to color the beads to keep track of where they are! If your children are older, don’t forget to use the Mysteries of the Rosary to invite deep meditation on Scripture, just like Saint Dominic would!