August 8th - Bl. Joan of Aza, Mystic

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August 8th - Bl. Joan of Aza, Mystic
d. 1190

Matron praise is due in her own right; to beauty of soul she added
beauty of body, and both were handed on to the greatest of her sons

The mother of St. Dominic is said to have been born in the castle of
Aza, near Aranda in Old Castile; nothing is known of her childhood,
but doubtless her marriage took place when she was very young,
according to the custom of the time and country. Her husband was
Felix, perhaps de Guzman, who was warden of the small town of
Calaruega in the province of Burgos, of which Dante writes in speaking
of St. Dominic: "Happy Calaroga I there where the gentle breeze
whispers and wanders among the young flowers that bloom over the
garden of Europe, near that shore where the waves break and behind
which the great sun sinks at evening."

Here they lived and here were born to them four children, Antony, who
became a canon of St. James and sold all that he had that he might
serve the poor and sick in a hospital; Bl. Mannes, who followed his
younger brother, Dominic; and an unknown daughter, whose two sons
became preaching friars.

The greatest of these children was a child of promise, for when Antony
and Mannes were already grown up and clerics, Joan wished for another
son and prayed to that end in the abbey-church of Silos; and a vision
of St. Dominic of Silos is said to have appeared to her in sleep,
telling her that a son would be born to her and that he would be a
shining light to the Church: and she in thankfulness determined that
he should be baptized Dominic.

While the child was yet unborn Bl. Joan dreamed "that she bore a dog
in her womb and that it broke away from her with a burning torch in
its mouth wherewith it set the world aflame"; this dog became a symbol
of the Dominican Order and in later ages gave rise to the pun Domini
canes, "the watch-dogs of the Lord".

His godmother at his baptism (or, as some say, Bl. Joan again)
likewise had a dream in which the babe appeared with a shining star
upon his forehead, enlightening the world: wherefore is a star often
shown upon images of the saint. Dominic remained under the care of his
mother till he was seven years old, and then was sent to school with
his uncle, the parish priest of Gumiel d'Izan. Other stories are
told, but by later writers, about the saint's infancy.

It has not been given to many mothers of saints to be themselves
beatified, and Joan achieved this distinction by her own virtues and
not by those of her children: it is not unusual for hagiographers to
praise the parents of their heroes, but the mother of St. Dominic such
praise is due in her own right; to beauty of soul she added beauty of
body, and both were handed on to the greatest of her sons.

Her cultus dates from the moment of her death; a hermitage at Uclés,
where she would go to visit the commandery of the Knights of St.
James, was called after her, and likewise a chapel in the cemetery at
Calaruega. At the request of King Ferdinand VII this cultus was
confirmed in 1828.

It is to be feared that the little we are told concerning Bl. Joan
does not rest upon a very sound basis of evidence. See, however,
Ganay, Les Bienheureuses Dominicaines, pp. 13 seq. R. Castano,
Monografia de Santa Joanna (1900); Procter, Dominican Saints, pp.
215-219 and the standard lives of St. Dominic .


Saint Quote:
But if someone's work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the
person will be saved, but only as through fire.
--1 Corinthians 3:15

Bible Quote:
May they be perfected in unity, that the world may know that Thou hast
sent Me, and that Thou hast loved them even as Thou hast loved Me.
(John 17:23)


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Permit us, O Jesus,
to dedicate to Thee each member of our family.
Accept each one of us,
and may every beat of our hearts
be an act of love for Thee.
By the power of Thine Blood,
may we be strengthened
and sustained in our daily difficulties.
May we be a sign, to each other
and to all with whom we come in contact,
of Thine life in us.
Bless our home, dear Jesus.
Bless our joys and sufferings.
Bless every moment of our lives
and especially the moment of our death.
After living for the glory of Thine Blood one earth,
may we have the joy of praising Thee eternally in heaven.