Hi,
Saint of the day January 7, 2003
St. Raymond of Penyafort
Since Raymond lived into his hundredth year, he had a
chance to do many things. As a member of the Spanish
nobility, he had the resources and the education to
get a good start in life.
By the time he was 20, he was teaching philosophy. In
his early 30s he earned a doctorate in both canon and
civil law. At 41 he became a Dominican. Pope Gregory
IX called him to Rome to work for him and to be his
confessor. One of the things the pope asked him to do
was to gather together all the decrees of popes and
councils that had been made in 80 years since a
similar collection by Gratian. Raymond compiled five
books called the Decretals. They were looked upon as
one of the best organized collections of Church law
until the 1917 codification of canon law.
Earlier, Raymond had written for confessors a book of
cases. It was called Summa de casibus poenitentiae.
More than just a list of sins and penances, it
discussed pertinent doctrines and laws of the Church
that pertained to the problem or case brought to the
confessor.
At the age of 60, Raymond was appointed archbishop of
Tarragona, the capital of Aragon. He didn’t like the
honor at all and ended up getting sick and resigning
in two years.
He didn’t get to enjoy his peace long, however,
because when he was 63 he was elected by his fellow
Dominicans to be the head of the whole Order, the
successor of St. Dominic. Raymond worked hard, visited
on foot all the Dominicans, reorganized their
constitutions and managed to put through a provision
that a master general be allowed to resign. When the
new constitutions were accepted, Raymond, then 65,
resigned.
He still had 35 years to oppose heresy and work for
the conversion of the Moors in Spain. He convinced St.
Thomas Aquinas to write his work Against the Gentiles.
In his100th year the Lord let Raymond retire.
love + prayers,
Joseachayan / Jeddah / Saudi Arabia
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