A man called by Providence to the most diverse missions, a miracle worker and a model of priests, Saint Raymond, lived one hundred years of innocent, energetic and learned life. 

Gaudium Press English Edition

Newsdesk (11/01/2022 9:07, Gaudium Press)  Saint Raymond of Peñafort is considered to be a man for all missions. And indeed, he showed his ability in the most important and diverse activities: there was no field of apostolate into which he did not launch himself.  He was spiritual director to a king, apostle to the nations, famous canonist, teacher, reformer of customs, protector of the poor, conciliator of disputes.

A universal vocation

To some saints Providence gives a restricted, well-defined mission. Others are called to attend to the general needs of the Church, in the most diverse fields of apostolate. They support the cause of God everywhere, they are, so to speak, the ‘jack-of-all-trades’ of God.

From this perspective, the life of Saint Raymond becomes more easily understandable. He is a saint with a universal vocation. Called by Providence to the most diverse missions, he, with a prodigious versatility, “does it all”, almost at the same time.

He was born in 1175, in the castle of Peñafort, in Catalonia, Spain. His parents were of noble line of knights. Still a layman, at the age of 20, he was already teaching philosophy in his town, more with the intention of forming minds than of instructing souls. The time he had left over, he used to help the unfortunate and reconcile disagreements among his fellow citizens.

At the age of 30, he entered the University of Bologna, where he studied Canon and Civil Law with such success that he soon earned a doctorate and went from student to master. The qualities and virtues of the pious doctor made him one of the most beautiful ornaments of the famous University. In a short time, his reputation had already reached faraway countries.

In 1219, the Bishop of Barcelona, Bishop Berenger, went to Bologna, in order to take Raymond with him to his diocese. The Prelate knew very well how valuable an instrument this would be for the reform of customs, and for the reaffirmation of the people and even of the clergy of Catalonia. The famous professor, however, was unwilling to abandon his field of work, where he could do so much good for the salvation of souls.

The bishop, however, knew how to touch the sensitive strings of the saint. After explaining to him the pressing needs of the Church in Barcelona, he said that he had a particular obligation to attend first to his native country. Then he showed him the danger of straying from God’s path, to which he would be more exposed if he followed only his own will. And he closed with the following argument: in Bologna, the brilliance of his reputation attracted such great applause that he could not but increase his occupations inordinately, to the detriment of his interior life.

Finally, Raymond was persuaded and moved to Barcelona, dedicating himself body and soul to the service of the altar.

Model for priests

Appointed canon, and shortly afterwards archdeacon, he soon became the model of the priests in the church of Barcelona, both for the innocence of his life and for his regularity and exactness in the fulfillment of all the ministries.

He strove so that the liturgical acts were performed with the greatest dignity and beauty. Authorized by the Bishop, he promoted for the first time the celebration of the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady with a solemn office.

Raymond was always ready to help the indigent and assist all those who came to consult him. In a short time he became loved and respected by all. The example of his virtues contributed more to the reform of customs than all the authority with which he was invested by the bishop.

But the desire to lead a more perfect life, more penitent and less exposed to the eyes of men, whose praise he feared, drove him to seek a state of greater dedication.

As a professor in Bologna, he had witnessed the great virtues of Saint Dominic and the miracles that God worked through this Saint. He was a great admirer of the angelic life of the first Dominicans established in Barcelona. Docile to the voice of God that called him to be like them, he received the religious habit of Saint Dominic on Good Friday of 1222, at the age of 47.

His example attracted to the Dominican Order several illustrious personages, such as Pedro Ruber, Raimundo de Rosannes and other pious ecclesiastics, whose vocations and talent gave new brilliance to the Order in all of Catalonia.

Man of great science

This new state of life was for him an impetus for an increase of fervour and a school of perfection. The graces he received in prayer always increased his desire to mortify himself and make himself useful in the service of the Church and his neighbour.

The superiors made wise use of such dispositions to make his qualities bear fruit. Having requested that a severe penance be imposed on him to atone, as he said, for the vain complacencies he had had teaching in the world, they ordered him to compose a compendium of cases of conscience, to facilitate the delicate mission of the confessors.

Friar Raymond performed this work with admirable accuracy, presenting in an orderly manner the “cases of conscience” and giving the solution for each one of them, based on the teachings of the Holy Scriptures, on the canons of ecclesiastical law, on the doctrine of the Fathers of the Church, and on pontifical decrees. Pope Clement VIII gave great praise to this work, saying that it was equally useful to penitents as it was necessary for confessors.

Aware of St. Raymond’s great knowledge, Pope Gregory IX called him to Rome as Papal Penitentiary and gave him the task of carrying out a work of universal proportions, the compilation of the vast canon law then in force.  The outstanding Dominican canonist accomplished this task with his usual zeal and competence. In 1234, he presented the finished work to the Pontiff. Under the title of Decretals, this codification was in force in the Church until 1918, when the first Code of Canon Law was published.

Insatiable zeal for souls

In 1238 he was elected Superior General of the Dominicans. Desirous, however, to dedicate himself entirely to the apostolate of winning souls for Jesus Christ, he requested and obtained a dispensation from that office. Zeal for the salvation of souls devoured him. His thoughts were focused on making new conquests for the Church, especially among the infidels.

In order to facilitate the conversion of Jews and Muslims, he created centres for the teaching of their languages and asked St. Thomas Aquinas to write the Summa Contra Gentiles.

Using this powerful instrument of apostolate, the saint took to the field, and good results were to be expected: in a letter of his to the Superior General, dated 1256, one can read that he obtained the conversion of more than ten thousand Arabs in Spain. This famous canonist also organized missions for the conversion of Jews and Muslims.

There was, so to speak, no field of apostolate into which he did not throw himself: working unceasingly to convert the pagans, or at least to prevent them from corrupting the Christians; luring sinners to penance and reconciling them in the tribunal of the confessional; instructing the faithful by the ministry of the word; supporting the good, consoling them in their sufferings; obtaining for the poor the alms and aid of the rich – nothing was too much for the desire to save souls, which grew in him more and more.

Navigating on a wool scapular

Saint Raymond is one of the most splendid examples of the confirmation of Christ’s words: “He who believes in Me will also do the works that I do, and will do greater works than these” (Jn 14:12).

King James of Aragon was the lord of the Island of Majorca, located in the Mediterranean Sea 360 kilometers from Barcelona. On one of his trips to this island, he invited Friar Raymond, who at the time was the court chaplain, to accompany him. During the journey, the monarch – whose moral conduct left much to be desired – tried to force the Saint’s conscience, demanding that he complacently turn a blind eye to his bad conduct.

The man of God vigorously resisted, going so far as to ask permission to get off the ship, in the middle of the sea, and return to Barcelona. The King denied permission for this “madness,” which for the saint, however, seemed a simple matter, since Jesus came to his disciples “walking on water from the sea” (Mt 14:25). Trusting in God, he answered the monarch:

– A king of the earth closes my way, but the King of Heaven will make a better way for me; or else, He Himself is my way!

But the King added to his refusal of permission a threat of the death penalty if the saint tried to escape.

Raymond noticed that an armed escort had been assigned to guard him to prevent his escape.

After gaining the trust of the guards with his warm kindness, he expressed his desire to pray by walking along the beach. They consented. After all, they thought, what could this good, unarmed friar do to escape our vigilance?

Such reasoning, entirely valid for other men, proved to be illusory for the indomitable Saint.

Under the astonished eyes of the soldiers, he spread his woolen scapular over the waters of the sea, and “embarked” on it. After wrapping himself in part of his cloak, he hoisted the other end to his stick, making a sail. The rest… was just invoking the holy name of Mary, the Lady of the winds, of whom he was a faithful devotee. A gentle but swift blow propelled the sailboat of God and in less than six hours it reached the port of Barcelona, miraculously overcoming the distance of 360 km that separate the island of Mallorca from that Spanish city.

It was high dawn when he arrived at his convent, where the great door opened by itself, like maternal arms welcoming a child who had not crossed it for some time. He went to his convent cell, where even the walls seemed to exult with joy.

At dawn, with the unpretentiousness characteristic of the saints, he went to take the Superior’s blessing and communicate that his mission at the royal court was accomplished.

It was only much later that the brothers learned about the miracle, and through other means.

And the King, how did he react?

Coming to his senses, in the face of this manifestation of a power incomparably greater than his own, he began to faithfully follow the warnings of Brother Raymond, both with regard to the direction of his conscience, and with regard to the government of the kingdom.

One hundred years of innocent life

Recollected in the convent of Barcelona, Saint Raymond took care to prepare himself for his last journey. With redoubled fervor, he consecrated days and nights to prayer and penance.

The longed-for and fearful day of his encounter with God finally arrived, January 6th, 1275. That very day he would be 100 years old! After receiving the sacraments of the Church, his great soul returned to the hands of the Creator, as innocent as it had left them. Before his departure for eternity, the kings of Castile and Aragon visited him with their respective courts, to receive his blessing for the last time.

Saint Raymond was canonized in 1601 by Pope Clement VIII. Numerous miracles took place in his tomb, many of which are mentioned in the bull of his canonization. January 6th being dedicated to the Feast of the Magi, on January 7th the Church celebrates the glorious entrance of his soul into Heaven.

Text extracted from the magazine Heralds of the Gospel, January 2005.

Compiled by Roberta MacEwan