A beautiful book of meditations on various Christian virtues or charisms as reflected in the lives of nine holy Dominican men and women. Manifesting the special grace and spirit given to St. Dominic, these outsanding lives are shining examples for modern Christians on how to make the Gospel teaching incarnate in today's world. Saints portrayed include Thomas Aquinas, Catherine of Siena, Martin de Porres, Fra Angelico, Peter of Verona, Catherine de Ricci and others. Charisms highlighted by each life include prayer, joy, poverty, study, friendship, art and more. The lives of the saints occupy a special place in the history and spirituality of the Catholic Church. The men and women in this book form a comprehensive image of one of the most significant movements in the history of Western Christianity: the Dominican order, whose particular charism emphasizes the sanctification of the intellect and importance tht sacred truth holds in the life of the Christian believer.

Written by one of the foremost contemporary authorities on Saint Dominic, this book represents the latest, best, most concise and readable spiritual biography of Saint Dominic. The focus of the biography is the way in which Saint Dominic embodied the role of Christ as preacher and the results that came from this grace. From his earliest youth, Sacred Scripture was the very heart and foundation of Dominic's spiritual life. He never ceased to plunge into the Word of God, to study it, to pray it. Bedouelle thus documents how Saint Dominic's whole life and mission was one continuous proclamation of the power of the Gospel to transform individual lives and society. ""Written in both a popular and scholarly style, the combination of historical comprehensiveness and keen theological insight in this work brings Dominic alive as the contemplative and tireless preacher, fed from a deeply interior stream of life"" - Gabriel O'Donnell, O.P., from the Preface

St. Dominic led a life of excitement and adventure. As a boy he sold his books to feed the poor and offered himself as ransom for a prisoner. His greatest adventures came when he walked from town to town and stood fearlessly in the market to preach.

Few Catholics today know much about Saint Dominic, who died eight hundred years ago in 1221. Unlike Francis of Assisi, Teresa of Ávila, or Ignatius of Loyola, Dominic did not leave a deposit of writings to be examined and built upon. Yet this medieval Spaniard still has much to teach us today, and we see this in the way of life he left to the Church. Dominic offers a rich approach to Christian living, not just for members of the Order of Preachers, the religious order he founded, but for all Catholics. His dedication to prayer, penance, and the Word of God, and his love of neighbor, form the deep foundation of his project of being conformed to God. By following in Dominic’s footsteps, we too can discover how to live with a heart that is undivided, seeking God first in all things. “The twenty-first century remains in need of the witness and ministry of Saint Dominic, the thirteenth-century priest who consecrated his life to the sharing of saving truth. Fortunately, Fathers Briscoe and Janczyk have produced a highly readable and inspiring book that enables the men and women of our own time to discover the graces that Dominic continues to bring to us as an instrument of God, the author of grace. In Saint Dominic, the contemplative preacher of grace, we can all find a spiritual father who will teach us to know and love the Lord Jesus, who is himself Saving Truth.” — Father Sebastian White, OP, editor-in-chief, Magnificat “This beautiful book allows us to get to know Saint Dominic better, who was so close to God and so full of compassion for all the sufferings of his time. He is a shining example of what we are called to do today: seek God with all our heart to pour out the balm of his merciful love on all the plagues of our world.” — Father Jacques Philippe, best-selling author and retreat master ABOUT THE AUTHORS Father Patrick Mary Briscoe, OP, and Father Jacob Bertrand Janczyk, OP, are cohosts of the lively Dominican friars’ podcast Godsplaining. Father Patrick serves as deputy senior editor of Aleteia.org and associate chaplain at Providence College. Father Jacob Bertrand is the director of vocations of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph.

They are called “Hounds of the Lord,” and “Stoics on spiritual steroids.” For 800 years they have barked out Christ’s gospel message, saving countless souls and showing us how to think, do, and love for the glory of God. Inspired by the stories of their saints, we join the Dominicans in celebrating the Jubilee of their first 800 years. In these pages, we draw inspiration and spiritual strength from the lives, lessons, and legacies of their intellectual giants and enrapt mystics, the men and women who scrubbed floors, and those who cared for the dying. You’ll discover countless fascinating and pious stories, prophetic dreams and visions, apparitions of Christ and Our Lady, appearances of the devil in disguise, miraculous healings, episodes of bi-location, stigmata, incorruption after death, and more. From St. Thomas Aquinas to St. Martin de Porres, in story after story you’ll see how God favored these holy men and women in so many surprising and supernatural ways. Even 800 years later, these Hounds of the Lord are still out there today, roaming the world, seeking out souls to retrieve for Christ. Open this book, and you’ll be given a taste of that glorious and joyful spirit that animates the Dominican Order — a spirit they have so long and so willingly shared with the rest of the world. Let their example serve as inspiration, and let loose the hounds of the Lord within you.

Father Hinnebusch received his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Oxford where he studied prior to his assignment as professor of history at Providence College. He subsequently spent three years doing research at the Historical Institute of the Dominican Order in Rome where he published The Early English Friars Preachers. For many years he taught Church History at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC. A contributor to the Encyclopedia Brittanica, the Catholic Youth Encyclopedia and the New Catholic Encyclopedia, Fr. Hinnebusch was also the author of Renewal in the Spirit of St. Dominic (1968).