Saint Raymond of Penyafort

Saint Raymond of Penyafort is undeniable proof that the pillars of Dominican life comprise a path to holiness. By heroic living of prayer, community, study, and preaching, he reminds us that whether you’re in the chapel, in the priory, or out in the world, you have the opportunity to fulfill God’s will, whichever “hat” you have on.

Saint Raymond, on top of being a friar and priest, was a philosopher, secular and canon lawyer, professor, moral theologian, missionary, and even Master of the Order… classic Dominican résumé.

He is most famous for compiling the Decretals per request of Pope Gregory IX in 1230: the most comprehensive compilation of canon law at the time in Church history. The Decretals retained that title for almost 700 years until the Code of Canon Law came around in 1917. This was indeed a powerful fruit of Saint Raymond’s pillar of study and intellectual formation throughout his Dominican life.

Within the Order, the brothers elected him as the second successor of Saint Dominic in 1238. Due to old age, he resigned after an arduous two years as Master of the Order. The joke was on him, however, for he still had over 30 years left in his earthly life.

Saint Raymond is also known for encouraging his contemporary, the little-known Saint Thomas Aquinas, to write the treatise “Summa Contra Gentiles.” These examples contribute to the pillar of community in Saint Raymond’s life. One can imagine what kind of brother Saint Raymond was for him to be trustworthy enough to lead the whole Order and how uplifting he must have been to convince Saint Thomas to enact his work.

Even outside the Order, Saint Raymond lived prolifically. His evangelistic efforts brought Christ to a tumultuous era in southern Spain; the Muslim Moors were spilling in from North Africa and taking Christians as slaves, physically and spiritually.

Saint Raymond’s pillar of preaching brought many back to the Church and converted many Moors to the Church. He even helped his friend Saint Peter Nolasco to establish an order dedicated to the ransoming of these Christians: the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, commonly called the Mercedarians.

Of course, as with all the saints, we can only speculate about his interior life. The proof that his pillar of prayer was robust is evident in the fruits of his life. We can only imagine how many hours he spent with the Lord, how many Masses he offered, how much sanctifying grace he received and cooperated with, and how many psalms he prayed.

Saint Raymond of Penyafort –albeit, finally– died in 1275 at the age of 100. Pope Clement VIII canonized him in 1601. It’s hard to argue that prayer, community, study, and preaching won’t make you holy.

Saint Raymond of Penyafort, pray for us.