*''The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.'' (Dick the Butcher in ''Henry VI,'' Part II, act IV, Scene II, Line 73) This line by an English rebel shows the respect due to lawyers in keeping justice in a society. The same respect for canon lawyers, or lawyers who interpret Church law, is also necessary.
St. Raymond of Penyafort was both a secular and a canon, or Church, lawyer. Born in 1175 in Spain, he joined the Dominicans at the age of 47 in 1222 and developed a book of case studies to help confessors guide penitents, which became a medieval classic. As a canon lawyer he also collected the decrees of the popes and councils for over 80 years. These became the basis for canon law until 1917. Not only was he a great canonist, but he was also a great preacher who converted thousands of Moors in Spain. He was the third leader of the Dominicans. He died in 1275.
St. Raymond advised people on how to engage in spiritual combat and bear suffering: “The preacher of God’s truth has told us that all who want to live righteously in Christ will suffer persecution. . . . Your purity of life, your devotion, deserve and call for a reward; because you are acceptable and pleasing to God your purity of life must be made purer still, by frequent buffetings, until you attain perfect sincerity of heart. If from time to time you feel the sword falling on you with double or treble force, this also should be seen as sheer joy and the mark of love.” Thus, suffering is a sign of God’s love and a call to love as Jesus did. When we love, we are open to suffering! St. Raymond, pray for us.
*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gregory_IX_approving_decretals_Raphael_Rooms.jpg
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