On Wednesday, 22 December 2021, the Order of Preachers in Spain celebrated the closing of the Jubilee of the 8th centenary of its founder, St. Dominic of Guzman. It did so with a Eucharist presided over by the Apostolic Nuncio in Spain, Msgr. Bernardito Auza, in the parish of Our Lady of the Rosary of the Philippines, in Madrid. Brother César Valero, OP, Vicar of the Province of Our Lady of the Rosary in Spain, and Brother Jesús Díaz Sariego, OP, Prior of the Province of Hispania, accompanied the representative of His Holiness.
The celebration, which was broadcast live on the Dominicos España YouTube channel, was attended by members of all branches of the Dominican Family: nuns, friars, sisters, lay people, youth, and members of the priestly fraternities.
In his homily, Abp. Auza acknowledged that he attended with "deep joy" to close the Dominican year for the dies natalis, the day of the birth to heaven of St. Dominic of Caleruega. He explained the relevance of the saint from Burgos in the history of Catholicism: "His whole life was a luminous star in the midst of the Church, he was truly the light of the world. He was so, not only for his wisdom and goodness or for the works he did, but for the gift he received closely united to the Mother of God".
Auza pointed out that the Pope, in his letter to Br. Gerard Timoner, OP, Master General of the Order, last May 24, joined the thanksgiving and prayer of the whole Order in the Jubilee for the eighth centenary "asking the Lord and thanking him for the work practiced by the Dominicans in stimulating the encounter between faith and reason, nourishing the vitality of the Christian faith and promoting the mission of the Church to attract minds and hearts to Christ, our Lord".
The Nuncio responded to the question: "A memory that stimulates and encourages us and leaves us in the reality of our lives, like Advent. An Advent full of hope shared in God's love".
The Schola Antiqua choir, directed by Juan Carlos Asensio, was in charge of the liturgical songs. They interpreted the Mass of St. Dominic, which was taken from the Exemplar, a book with all the Dominican liturgy that was written in the 13th century, and of which there is a copy in the Convent of San Esteban de Salamanca. Asensio explained that this is an exceptional occasion for them: "We are a special choir, formed by former choirboys of the Escolania de El Valle who, besides concerts, participate many times in the liturgy, and to be involved in the liturgy that is the closing of this eighth centenary of the death of St. Dominic, for us is very very special".
This article was lifted from dominicos.org.
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