On this sixth Tuesday in the series of 15 Tuesdays in honor of our Holy Father St. Dominic, we reflect on zeal for the salvation of souls and what this meant to Our Lord in His Agony, to St. Dominic, and also to ourselves.
If you are joining us after the beginning of the 15 Tuesdays, don’t worry! Fifteen weeks is a long time, and you can begin at any point to grow in love of God and devotion to St. Dominic through joining in.
Zeal for the Salvation of Souls
As we meditate on the First Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary, we recall Jesus’ agony. We are told that the sight of all the sin – past, present and future – was so abhorrent to Him that it forced blood to break forth from His veins. St. Dominic so imitated Our Savior’s horror of sin and its unspeakable ingratitude to the Father, that the Brethren heard him cry out, “What is to become of poor sinners?”
Does God care that His children turn away from Him and choose lesser things that not only offend Him, but also do themselves great damage? Did He mind when Adam and Eve disobeyed His loving command? Yes, He did! In justice He must punish them with the consequences of their choice – the loss of Paradise and a life of struggle, suffering and death. But in the same instant He mercifully promised them a Redeemer! In the fullness of time He sent His Only Begotten Son to become man in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary that He might pay mankind’s debt to the Father by His holy life and Passion, Death and Resurrection.
He also gave us His Mother to aid and protect us on our journey. Does Mary care if we follow the teaching of her Son and so reach our Heavenly destination? In her great love and compassion for her children, Our Lady has come to earth repeatedly begging prayers for souls on the brink of hell. Mary taught St. Dominic to preach the Rosary for the express purpose that thus he would help save souls.
Does St. Dominic care whether souls are saved or not? His answer to his own cry, “What is to become of poor sinners?” was to give all he possessed of life and grace for the conversion of sinners. He spent his entire life in ceaseless effort to preach the truth and to form followers in his example.
What about ourselves? The question comes to us too. Do we care whether souls are saved or not? The public sins of our nation and many leaders are before our eyes constantly. Most of us know of dear ones far from the right path. At Fatima, Mary told the children that many souls go to hell because there is no one to pray for them. In our loving prayers for their conversion, we can help as Our Blessed Mother and St. Dominic urge us to do. The Rosary is the premier prayer Mary and Dominic suggest because in it we think about the life of Jesus and all He did to bring each soul to the Eternal happiness in the Blessed Trinity. May we spend all we can of prayers for the salvation of poor sinners!
Additional Prayers
If you would like to observe this day with additional devotions, we have posted the following prayers in the past: