Her only adornment, His Blood. | PadreCast Fifth Sunday Ordinary Time/Feast Day of St Dorothy

God's will covers all things. So nothing can happen to us that is "accidental." It's ordained or controlled or governed by God in one way or another, so clearly when I read this quote from Saint Dorothy, while preparing a homily on Saint Dorothy, that was providence!

It's not just the good things in our life like that which God arranges, but it's especially the bad things. Saint Claude says: "Let us never then attribute our losses, our disappointments, our afflictions, our humiliations to the devil or to men, but to God as their real source." This is where he quotes Saint Dorothy: "'To act otherwise,' says Saint Dorothy, 'would be the same as a dog who vents his anger on the stone instead of putting the blame on the hand that threw it at him.'"

So Dorothy is saying when that stone hits you and hurts you, don't blame the stone. God is the one Who threw it.

Saint Claude continues, "So let us be careful not to say so-and-so is the cause of my misfortune. Your misfortunes are the work, not of this or that person, but of God. What should give you reassurance is that God - the sovereign good - is guided in all His actions by His most profound wisdom for holy and supernatural purposes."

They're teaching us that all of the bad things that happen in our lives, whether individually or collectively, were sent to us by the Hand of God. ...

 

Saint Dorothy is trying to teach us that we act like an ignorant dog when we blame anyone but God for the bad things that happen to us.

But it's not really a matter of "blaming" God because He didn't do anything wrong. He is all Good. All that He does is good, whether you understand it or not. ...

God has a right to our thanks and praise. Even when He sends us suffering. Because it's always for our good. It's that kind of humility that we can learn from Saint Dorothy, not only by the words that she spoke, but also by her example. Here she is, this young holy woman that has dedicated herself to Jesus in love. Because of the society in which she lived, she was threatened with death if she did not deny Christ.

She joyfully went to her death. She had no anxiety or fear. And she had no anger towards any of the ones who God used to kill her. In fact, she was grateful to them. They helped her to get to heaven sooner.

 

The only way we can truly have that kind of faith is if we believe that God is in control of all things.

 

Is 6:1-2a, 3-8; Ps 138:1-5, 7-8; 1Cor 15:1-11; Lk 5:1-11

 

The book Father mentions during the homily is Trustful Surrender to the Divine Providence: the Secret of Peace and Happiness by St. Claude de la Colombiere

 

 

You may watch the Mass in its entirety on our YouTube channel. Homily begins at 24:15.