jeudi 20 décembre 2012

Saint DOMINIQUE (DOMINGO) de SILOS, abbé bénédictin


Bartolomé Bermejo (1440–1498), Saint Dominique de Silos,
1474-1477, 242 × 130 cm, Madrid, Museo del Prado

Saint Dominique de Silos

Saint Dominique, surnommé de Silos, à cause de son long séjour dans le monastère de ce nom, était de la souche des anciens rois de Navarre. Il naquit au commencement du XIe siècle. Il se mit à l’étude, n’ayant guère pour maître que l’Esprit-Saint. Devenu prêtre, il entra bientôt dans un monastère de l’Ordre de Saint-Benoît, où il brilla au premier rang par sa sainteté.

Saint Dominique vint à Silos en 1040. Ce monastère était bien déchu de sa gloire et de sa ferveur passées. Le moine Licinien, qui gémissait de cet état de choses, disait la sainte Messe quand saint Dominique entra dans l’église ; par une permission de Dieu, lorsque, au moment de l’offertoire, il se tourna vers le peuple pour chanter : « Dominus vobiscum », il chanta : « Voici le restaurateur qui vient ! » et le chœur répondit : « C’est le Seigneur qui l’a envoyé ! »

L’oracle ne tarda pas à se vérifier. La charité du Saint ne se concentrait point dans son monastère, qui vit bientôt luire une ère de prospérité qu’il n’avait jamais connue ; mais elle s’étendait à tous les affligés. Le don des miracles attirait au couvent des aveugles, des malades, des boiteux, et il les guérissait par centaines, comme le prouvent encore aujourd’hui les ex-voto de la chapelle où sont gardées ses reliques.

Les guirlandes de chaînes, de boulets, de fers, suspendues aux voûtes, attestent sa charité spéciale pour les pauvres Chrétiens captifs des Maures musulmans d’Espagne ; il allait les consoler et payer leur rançon, préludant ainsi à l’œuvre de Notre-Dame-de-la-Merci.

Après de longues années de bonnes œuvres, saint Dominique sentit approcher le moment de la récompense, il en fut même averti par la sainte Vierge : « J’ai passé toute la nuit avec la Reine des Anges, dit-il un jour à ses religieux ; elle m’a invité à me rendre près d’elle dans trois jours ; je vais donc aller bientôt au céleste festin où elle me convie. » Il fut, en effet, malade trois jours ; ses frères virent son âme monter glorieuse au Ciel le 20 décembre 1073, saint Grégoire VII étant pape, Henri IV empereur d’Allemagne et Philippe Ier roi de France.

C’est à son tombeau que la mère de saint Dominique de Guzman, fondateur de l’Ordre des Dominicains, obtint la naissance de son fils.




Saint Dominique de Silos  rachète aux musulmans des captifs Chrétiens risquant d'apostasier.

Saint Dominique de Silos

Abbé bénédictin à Silos (+ 1073)

Jeune berger de Navarre, il voulut un autre troupeau. Prêtre et ermite, il fut prieur du monastère bénédictin de San Millan. Le prince de Navarre venant à réclamer de l'argent, Dominique refusa poliment. Exilé par le prince, il fut accueilli par le roi Ferdinand I de Castille qui, en 1041, lui donna à restaurer la vie du monastère de Saint Sébastien à Silos, en Vieille-Castille. Il en sera l'abbé durant trente-trois ans, restaurant la louange de jour et de nuit, ouvrant un atelier d'écriture très réputé où les moines copièrent de magnifiques manuscrits, libérant les esclaves chrétiens détenus par les Maures. Très populaire, son tombeau devint un lieu de pèlerinage dès sa mort.

Au monastère de Silos en Castille, l’an 1073, saint Dominique, abbé, qui vécut d’abord en ermite, puis restaura ce monastère à peu près détruit, y rétablit la discipline et remit en valeur la louange divine jour et nuit.

Martyrologe romain



St. Dominic of Silos

St. Dominic of Silos was born in Navarre, Spain, on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees, and was a shepherd boy, looking after his father’s flocks. He acquired a love of solitude and as a young man became a monk at the monastery of San Millan de la Cogolla. He eventually became prior of the monastery and came into conflict with the king of Navarre over possessions of the monastery claimed by the king. The king drove St. Dominic out of the monastery, and St. Dominic went with other monks to Castille, where the king of Castille appointed St. Dominic abbot of the monastery of St. Sebastian at Silos.

The monastery was in terrible shape, spiritually and materially, and St. Dominic set about to restore the monastery and to reform the lives of the monks. He preserved the Mozarbic Rite (one of the variants of the Latin Rite) at his monastery, and his monastery became one of the centers of the Mozarbic liturgy. His monastery also preserved the Visigothic script of ancient Spain and was a center of learning and liturgy in that part of Spain.

St. Dominic of Silos died on December 20,1073, about a century before the birth of his namesake, St. Dominic of Calaruega. Before the Spanish Revolution of 1931, it was customary for the abbot of Silos to bring the staff of St. Dominic of Silos to the Spanish royal palace whenever the queen was in labor and to leave it at her bedside until the birth of her child had taken place.

About 100 years after St. Dominic’s death, a young woman made a pilgrimage to his tomb. There St. Dominic of Silos appeared to her and assured her that she would bear another son. The woman was Joan of Aza, and the son she bore grew up to be the “other” St. Dominic—the one who founded the St. Dominicans. In recent times, great interest in St. Dominic of Silos has arisen since the literary treasures of the library of Silos have become known. The abbey had a profound influence on spirituality and learning in Spain. Today the monastery is an abbey of the Benedictine Congregation of Solesmes housing a library of ancient and rare manuscripts.

SOURCE : http://www.ucatholic.com/saints/saint-dominic-of-silos/

Saint Dominic of Silos, Abbot


This Dominic was born at the begining of the eleventh century at Cañas in Navarre, on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees. His people were peasants, and for a time he followed their way of life, looking after his father's flocks among the foothills of the mountains. This work encouraged his taste for solitude and quietness, and he soon became a monk at the monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla. He made great progress in his new state, was entrusted with works of reform, and became prior of his monastery. In this office he came into conflict with his sovereign, Garcia III of Navarre, because he refused to give up some possessions of the monastery which were claimed by the king. Garcia at length drove Dominic and two other monks away, and they were welcomed by Ferdinand I of Old Castile, who sent them to the monastery of St. Sebastian at Silos, of which Dominic was appointed abbot. The monastery was in a remote and sterile part of the diocese of Burgos, and was in a state of extreme decay, both materially and spiritually. Under the government of St. Dominic this decay was arrested, then the house began to progress, and eventually he made it one of the most famous in Spain. Many miracles were recorded of Dominic in the course of his work, and it was said that there were no diseases known to man which had not been cured by his prayers. The Roman Martyrology refers to the belief that Christian slaves among the Moors, to the number of three hundred, were liberated when they called upon God in his name. Dominic died onDecember 20, 1073.

    St. Dominic of Silos is especially venerated in the order of Friars Preachers, because a century less four years after his death, he appeared, according to the tradition, to Bd. Joan of Aza who had made a pilgrimage from Calaroga to his shrine, and promised her that she should bear another son. That son was the founder of the Preachers, and he was named Dominic after the holy abbot of Silos. Until the revolution of 1931 ut was the custom for the abbot of Silos to bring the staff of St. Dominic to the royal palace whenever a queen of Spain was in labor and to leave it by her bedside until the birth had taken place.


There is a monk, Grimaldus, who purports to be a contemporary. This has been printed, with a few slight omissions, in Mabillon, vol. vi, pp. 299-320. A metrical life by Gonzalo de Berceo (edited by J.D. Fitzgerald in 1904), which was written about 1240, adds little to our historical knowledge but is perhaps the earliest verse composition in Castilian speech. Much interest has been taken in St. Dominic since the treasures of the library of Silos have become known: see, for example, M. Férotin, Histoire de l'Abbaye de Silos (1897); A. Andrés in the Boletin de la real Academia Española, vol. iv (1917), pp.172-194 and 445-458; L. Serrano, El Obispado de Burgos y Castilla primitiva (1935), vol. ii; and a short life by R. Alcocer (1925).


Butler's Lives of The Saints, Herbert J. Thurston, S.J. and Donald Attwater
Nihil Obstat: PATRICIVS MORRIS, S.T.D., L.S.S., CENSOR DEPVTATVS.
Imprimatur: E. MORROGH BERNARD, VICARIVS GENERALIS
WESTMONASTERII: DIE XXIII FEBRVARII MCMLIII

SOURCE : http://traditionalcatholic.net/Tradition/Calendar/12-20.html


Dominic (Domingo) of Silos, OSB, Abbot (RM)


Born in Cañas, Navarre (now Rioja), Spain, c. 1000; died 1073. The child of Spanish peasants, Dominic was destined to become one of the most famous monks of his century. He began life working on the family farm. Then the monastery of his choice accepted him, and he became a Benedictine of San Millán de Cogolla. He was a model pupil and a devoted member of the community. After Dominic was ordained a priest, he served as novice master and eventually his fellow monks elected him as their prior.


At this point in his placid and yet busy life the greed of King García III of Navarre interrupted Dominic's career. García claimed that some of the monastic estates really belonged to him. So savagely did the king persecute Dominic for strenuously defending the monastery's rights that eventually the prior and two other monks fled for protection to King Ferdinand I of Old Castile. Fortunately, Ferdinand recognized the saint's worth.

King Ferdinand had suzerainty over the monastery of San Sebastian (now Santo Domingo), Silos, in the diocese of Burgos--a house that had been for some time in spiritual torpor. He asked Dominic to take over as abbot. When the saint arrived at Silos he found that the monastery's finances were totally awry, the buildings dilapidated, and the ranks of monks decimated to six. Inspired by the ideals of the famous Abbey of Cluny, he and his two companions from San Millán de Cogolla accepted the challenge.

The decayed buildings of San Sebastian's monastery were restored. The cloisters of the abbey--a gem of Romanesque architecture--stand to this day as the best monument to his enterprise.

The former shepherd boy loved the great illuminated manuscripts of the Church--books of liturgy, the Psalms, the Scriptures, and books of prayer. He set up a scriptorium at Silos that was soon producing some of the finest Christian books that Spain has ever seen, including the magnificent Apocalypse now housed in the British Library.

The fame of Dominic's holiness and learning spread, and attracted so many monks that the whole monastery soon had to be enlarged. He was renowned for rescuing Christian slaves from the Moors. Numerous miracles were attributed to him, including healings of all kinds. Rich men and women began to endow the monastery. And by the time Dominic died in 1073 the monastery of San Sebastian, Silos, was one of the greatest in the land. At his death, the monastery had 40 monks and many other resources including a flourishing gold and silver workshop that made possible extensive charity to the local poor.

Not only was the monastery a great one, Dominic became one of the most beloved of the Spanish saints. Three years after his death, on January 5, Dominic's body was translated into the church, which was the equivalent of local canonization. Churches and monasteries were dedicated to him from 1085.

More miracles were attributed to his prayers after his death, especially with regard to pregnancy. Dominic's abbatial staff was used to bless Spanish queens and it remained by their bedside until they had a safe delivery. At his shrine Blessed Joan de Aza de Guzmán prayed to conceive the child whom she called Dominic, after the abbot of Silos. Today's saint's namesake became the famous founder of the Order of Preachers, also known as the Dominicans (Benedictines, Bentley, Encyclopedia, Farmer).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/1220.shtml

St. Dominic is represented as an abbot surrounded by Seven Virtues. Sometimes he is a mitered abbot enthroned with a book, a veil tied to his crozier. Venerated in Spain. Patron of shepherds and captives. Invoked against insects and mad dogs (Roeder).



San Domenico di Silos Abate


Sec. VII

Negli anni scorsi i monaci benedettini di San Domenico di Silos - vicino Burgos, in Spagna - sono assurti a notorietà per l'exploit di vendite dei loro cd di gregoriano. A dar lustro, e il nome, al monastero, era stato l'abate Domenico. Nato nell'anno Mille in Navarra, ne era stato cacciato dal re, al quale - già abate - non pagò un ingiusto tributo. Ferdinando il Grande di Castiglia gli donò l'antica, ma cadente Silos, che riportò a splendore. Si occupò anche di riscattare i cristiani schiavi dei saraceni. Tanto che, dopo la morte (1073), fu accostato al Cid Campeador, liberatore di Spagna. Protegge le partorienti. (Avvenire)

Martirologio Romano: Nel monastero di Silos nella Castiglia in Spagna, san Domenico, abate, che, dopo aver condotto dapprima vita eremitica, ricostruì questo cenobio quasi in rovina, ristabilendovi la disciplina monastica e la pratica della lode continua a Dio.

La terra di Spagna non si gloria soltanto di aver dato i natali a San Domenico di Guzman, il grande fondatore dell'Ordine dei Predicatori, detti anche, da lui, Domenicani. Altri Santi, con questo nome, hanno onorato la storia spagnola, e oggi avremo il modo di citarne due.

San Domenico detto di Silos nacque prima del Domenico di Guzman, verso il Mille, nella Navarra. Di u-mile origine, esercitò dapprima il mestiere di pastore. Poi entrò in un monastero benedettino, di cui, più tardi, ven. ne eletto Abate, grazie alle sue virtù morali e pastorali.

Un giorno, a quel monastero, bussò il Re di Navarra, ma non per ragioni spirituali. Voleva denari. Il monaco benedettino gli rispose, con umiltà ma anche con risolutezza, che le ricchezze dell'abbazia erano per i poveri e non per i Re.

La risposta suscitò l'ira del Sovrano, il quale minacciò di strappare la lingua all'Abate ribelle. Non riuscì però a strappargli i denari richiesti.

Cacciato dal Regno di Navarra, Domenico si trasferì nel Regno di Castiglia, dove Ferdinando il Grande gli assegnò l'antico monastero di Silos, quasi in rovina.

Domenico lo restaurò e ne fece un centro di vita spirituale e sociale. A quel tempo viveva in Spagna l'altro Santo di nome Domenico a cui abbiamo accennato. Era un eremita, il quale però si era preoccupato dei molti pellegrini i quali, per andare a San Giacomo di Compostella, incontravano un brutto passo sulle rive del fiume Oja.

Per la loro sicurezza, questo secondo San Domenico costruì un ponte e un grande argine a scarpata. E’ rimasto perciò nella storia con il nome di San Domenico de la Calzada (cioè della scarpata).

San Domenico di Silos lo incoraggiò nella sua opera, confermando che l'attività dei monaci aveva anche grande valore dal punto di vista della vita sociale. Erano infatti essi che pensavano alle opere di pubblica utilità, quando le autorità civili o non ne sentivano il dovere o non ne avevano i mezzi.

Ma l'opera più bella di San Domenico di Silos fu il riscatto dei cristiani, caduti in mano ai Saraceni e fatti schiavi.

Era uno dei problemi più dolorosi di quel tempo, nella penisola parzialmente occupata dagli Arabi, e quasi tutti i maggiori Santi spagnoli di quel periodo dedicarono molte delle loro energie e dei loro mezzi all'opera dei riscatto dei cristiani schiavi, contro il pagamento di una mercede, o talvolta consegnandosi essi stessi in cambio dei prigionieri.

La popolarità di San Domenico di Silos fu talmente vasta che, dopo la sua morte, il nome dell'Abate fu scritto accanto a quello del Cid Campeador, il liberatore della Spagna dagli infedeli.

Lo invocarono soccorritore e liberatore anche le donne nel parto, e più di una Regina di Spagna chiese di avere accanto, durante il travaglio, il pastorale dell'Abate benedettino, il soccorrevole San Domenico di Silos.

Fonte:
Archivio Parrocchia