FOCUSING ON THE ESSENTIALS - 8/8/22 (Memorial of Saint Dominic, Priest)

Matthew 17:27

“But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax. Give that to them for Me and for you.”  

For the full readings, click here: 

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080822.cfm

Blessed Memorial of St. Dominic! The Jews were questioning Jesus about paying the temple taxes. As such, they talked to St. Peter, and Peter told their concerns to our Lord. In reality, there is no need for Jesus Christ to pay taxes. After all, He is God. And yet, through a miracle, He provided money from the fish just to avoid offending people. If we are in His situation, we may engage in a fruitless debate with them. We may have long conversations, probably even a heated conversation, just to justify our actions and impose our beliefs. But, this is not what our Lord did. He knew that engaging in this type of conversation was not necessary, and as such, He just gave what they asked for. There's no need for Him to dwell on this trivial matter given that He's more focused on the essential, His coming suffering and death for the salvation of souls. 

Sometimes, we can also be distracted by different things even though they do not lead us to the glory of God. We may be invested in doing activities, passions, hobbies and recreation to the point of losing some time in persevering in holiness, which is what's essential for our souls. And, when there are disagreements, some people desire to always engage in it until they win such conversations. But, the Lord is teaching us the importance of focusing on our priorities. Our priorities should be based on what God desires for us and not what we simply want for ourselves. The miracles of God are not limited to the extraordinary and supernatural things in the Church, but they also include the grace that He bestows on us to be focused on doing His will and to reject worldly distractions. 

St. Dominic, the founder of the Order of Preachers or the Dominicans, was a saint who truly desired to do the will of God and to be an instrument for the conversion of sinners. He was a preacher who became familiar with the Albigensian heresy. Albigensians led a very detached way of living. They lived a life of poverty, and they were detached from the world. In some sense, they got some truth to their beliefs, but they had a false intention for doing so. The reason why they were detached was because they thought that the material world was evil, and as such, they rejected the teaching of the Incarnation of Christ, and they also did not partake of the sacraments like the Mass and the sacrament of confession. St. Dominic did not waste his time on unimportant matters. Rather, he focused on establishing a community that would be a good model of simplicity and holiness. He was zealous in his preaching against sins or vices, and after receiving a private revelation from the Blessed Virgin Mary, he dedicated his life in praying and preaching the rosary. 

St. .Dominic is truly a model that we can follow as we seek to live an active and contemplative life in this world. Sometimes, our attention turns to unimportant things that take away the time for the rosary and other prayers. Even inside the Mass, we can also be tempted to divert our attention to using social media rather than focus on the presence of God, especially in the Tabernacle. There are times that the Church becomes a place of unnecessary conversations rather than a place of silence, prayer and contemplation. Our Lord Jesus Christ is merciful, and despite the fact that we may not give Him the greatest glory, He is still patient with us. He is still speaking to us and telling us that we should focus on what's essential, and that is to love God and to love our neighbors, especially by praying for their conversion. What are the things that distract us from giving praise to God? What are the temptations that we face which may divert our attention from doing what God wills for us? May we be inspired by the holiness, teaching and preaching of St. Dominic and be resolved in serving Christ even more.

Amen +

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

 

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic

For more information on the life of St. Dominic, click here:

https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_dominic.html

For the summary of the teachings of the Catholic Church, click here:

https://www.catholic.com/tract/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth

For the examination of conscience and guide to confession, click here:

https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/examination-of-conscience/

For more information on how to pray the rosary, click here:

https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/the-most-holy-rosary/