32ème Rose — L'excellence du saint rosaire dans les merveilles que dieu a opérées en sa faveur
The Hardened Heart Revealed
Saint Dominic uses his spiritual authority to expose the demonic bondage of his dissolute cousin, Dom Perez, during a sermon.
100. Saint Dominic had a cousin named Dom Perez, or Pedro, who lived a thoroughly dissolute life. Having heard that the saint was preaching the wonders of the Rosary and that many were converting and changing their lives through it, he said, "I had lost hope of my salvation, but I'm beginning to take heart—I must hear this man of God." So one day he came to Saint Dominic's sermon.1 When the saint saw him, he preached with even greater fervor against vice, praying in his heart that God would open his cousin's eyes so he might see the miserable state of his soul. Dom Perez was a little frightened at first; but he did not resolve to convert. He went back to the sermon another time, and the saint, seeing that this hardened heart would not convert without some extraordinary blow, cried out loud: "Lord Jesus, show this whole congregation the state of the one who has just entered your house." Then everyone saw Dom Perez surrounded by a troop of devils in the form of horrible beasts, who held him bound with iron chains. Everyone fled in terror, some one way, some another, and he himself was even more horrified to see himself the object of everyone's horror.
Conversion Through the Rosary
Guided by Saint Dominic, Dom Perez embraces the Rosary, finds true repentance, and perseveres in a holy life until his death.
Saint Dominic made them all stop and said to this gentleman, "Unhappy man, realize the deplorable state you're in; throw yourself at the feet of the Blessed Virgin." He sent him a rosary. "Take this rosary, pray it with devotion and repentance for your sins, and resolve to change your life." He knelt down and recited the Rosary; he felt inspired to go to confession, which he did with great contrition. The saint ordered him to say the holy Rosary every day; he promised to do it; he wrote his own name in the confraternity. His face, which had previously terrified everyone, appeared as he left the church shining like an angel's. He persevered in devotion to the Rosary, led a very orderly life, and died a happy death (Mystical Rose-tree, 7th decade, ch.2 1).3
Read the original Latin
100. «Saint Dominique avait un cousin nommé dom Perez ou Pedro, qui menait une vie fort dissolue. Ayant entendu que le saint prêchait les merveilles du Rosaire et que plusieurs se convertissaient et changeaient de vie par ce moyen, il dit: "J'avais perdu l'espérance de mon salut, mais je commence à prendre courage, il faut que j'entende cet homme de Dieu." Il vint donc un jour au sermon de saint Dominque. Quand le saint le vit, il redoubla sa ferveur à tonner contre les vices, et il pria Dieu dans son cœur d'ouvrir les yeux de son cousin pour connaître l'état misérable de son âme. Dom Perez fut d'abord un peu effrayé; mais il ne résolut pas de se convertir; il retourna une autre fois au sermon et le saint, voyant que ce cœur endurci ne se convertirait pas sans quelque coup extraordinaire, il cria tout haut: "Seigneur Jésus, faites voir à toute cette audience l'état où est celui qui vient d'entrer en votre maison." Alors tout le peuple vit dom Perez environné d'une troupe de diables en forme de bêtes horribles qui le tenaient lié avec des chaînes de fer. Chacun s'enfuit tout effrayé qui de-çà, qui de-là, et lui fut encore plus épouvanté de se voir l'objet de l'horreur de tout le monde.
Saint Dominique les fit tous arrêter et dit à ce seigneur: "Connaissez, malheureux, l'état déplorable où vous êtes; jetez-vous aux pieds de la Sainte Vierge." Il lui envoya un rosaire. "Prenez ce rosaire, récitez-le avec dévotion et repentance de vos péchés et faites résolution de changer de vie." Il se mit à genoux, récita le Rosaire; il se sentit inspiré de se confesser, ce qu'il fit avec une grande contrition. Le saint lui ordonna de dire tous les jours le saint Rosaire; il promit de le faire; il écrivit lui-même son nom dans la confrérie. Son visage, qui auparavant avait effrayé tout le monde, parut, sortant de l'église, brillant comme celui d'un ange. Il persévéra dans la dévotion du Rosaire, mena une vie fort réglée et mourut heureusement» (Rosier mystique, 7ème dizaine, ch. 1).
Notes
- 1 ↩Source reads «saint Dominque»; treated as a typo for «saint Dominique» (Saint Dominic).
- 2 ↩Closing narrative quote (») and bibliographic citation are split across s7–s8 in the source; the citation appears truncated mid-abbreviation at 'ch.'
- 3 ↩Continuation of the truncated citation begun in s7: completes '(Rosier mystique, 7ème dizaine, ch. 1).'
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