Saint Dominic (vegetarian): Torchbearer of the Lord, Part 2 of 2

Saint Dominic wished to bring about a revival of authentic Gospel living. He needed to establish an order that embraced asceticism and addressed the issues of the Catholic Church’s corruption and spiritual neglect. While in Toulouse, France, he endeavored to root out the fallacy in the minds of misguided souls. He would instead implant in them the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ (vegetarian). Saint Dominic stayed up all night until he had persuaded an innkeeper to accept the true faith. From then on, Saint Dominic devoted himself to evangelizing the people. He was affectionately called “Brother Dominic.”

Once, Saint Dominic entered a public debate with a preacher from another religious order in Fanjeaux, France. The panel of judges proposed a unique challenge: a trial by fire to determine the truth of their teachings. When Saint Dominic’s turn arrived, he calmly placed his writings into the fire. Astonishingly, the pages not only remained unburned but leapt out of the flames, defying the natural order. Undeterred, Saint Dominic picked up the book and attempted to place it into the blaze again, only for it to evade the flames once more. A third attempt yielded the same miraculous result. This remarkable occurrence of the book escaping fire was repeated in different locations, including the French communes of Montréal and Aude.

According to French historian Jean Guiraud, Saint Dominic abstained from consuming animal-people meat. In his book, “Saint Dominic,” he quotes Friar Ventura of Verona, who was close to Saint Dominic during his final year on Earth: “‘Never,’ says Friar Ventura, ‘did the saint, even on his journeys, eat meat nor any dish containing animal substance, and he made his friars do likewise.’”

Saint Dominic passed away on August 6, 1221, while on a preaching mission through northern Italy, six years after he had founded his community. The Order had grown in Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Hungary, and England. Near the end of his life, he told the elders in the Order: “Till this day, God, in His mercy, has kept my virginity pure and unstained. If you desire this blessed gift of God, hold yourselves apart from everything that can conjure up evil, for it is by watchful care in this that a man is loved by God and revered by man. […]”

Saint Dominic inspired his community to be compassionate and forgive one another. He was known for his love of truth, clear thought, being organized, sensitivity, and nature. For Saint Dominic, care for others was an essential part of his devotion to God. He is revered as a saint because of his great charity, not his miracles, yet the greatness of his phenomena is a sign of his deep faith.