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Well, the "They had other things on their minds" (which evidently I mis-typed) was a glib reference to the whole "If it's so important why isn't it in the Bible," argument.,which seems to me to assume one answer to one of the critical questions on which we disagree."

I blush to say I haven't done the serious research on (brace yourself) "Our Holy Father Dominic. We have some stuff by a Dominican sister who knew him, and I think Blessed Jordan of Saxony wrote some stuff, and then there are some of the documents from the "process" of his canonization. It's just not high on my list of things to do.

Seriously, I think what Dominic (and Francis) did was quite remarkable --creative and bold. The incredibly humane and sort of task oriented approach to the "rule" is wonderful. Dominic said that if anyone thought that failing in the rule was a sin, he'd go through all the places where the rule was and cut it up with his knife.

I also personally love that as death approached he admitted that he preferred the company of younger women to that of older women.

The stories of his miracles are fun, and they might even be true. But the REAL miracle of Dominic was that he presented an ideal of evangelism informed and supported by prayer and study and community. Being "religious" was no longer just about leading a life of prayer, but was about reaching out, then retreating to study and pray, and then reaching out again.

And after reading some St. Bernard (who writes beautifully but doesn't approve of merriment), I'm happy to find a group where laughter is encouraged, and where staying up late to talk is considered okay:

I think it was when Blessed Jordan was master of the order, some novices got the giggles during Compline (night prayers). Some of the older, stuffier friars were scandalized, but Jordan rebuked them, not the novices. And when younger friars were staying up later, drinking wine and talking theology, Jordan said that that was okay, but they had to pray Compline again before they went to bed.

I'm babbling. I DO think that miracles are far more common than we are led to believe and that our lives are filled with miracles and answered prayers, but we often (usually?)do not notice.

God casts the pearls. We play the role of the swine. Yet He loves us still, "for His mercy endureth for ever."