Today is the feast of St. Raymond of Penyafort (not to be confused with Bl. Raymond of Capua, the spiritual advisor of St. Catherine of Siena). He has long been a favorite of mine. Of course, I'm partial to all Dominican saints, especially now that one of my daughters is about to enter a Dominican community.

Now this may not be a "selling point" to some readers, but he was also a renowned canonist and to this day is known as the patron saint of canon lawyers.

His zeal for souls was especially compelling. In order to evangelize Muslims and Jews, he founded a school of Arabic and Hebrew studies. He also urged his Dominican confrere, St. Thomas Aquinas, to write what would become known as the Summa Contra Gentiles, to assist with the evangelization of non-Christian peoples.

But aside from these and other beautiful details from the life of St. Raymond, I have more personal reasons for my connection to St. Raymond, given the fact that I have a (deceased) brother as well as a five-year-old son with that name. Click here to read the inspiring story of how my son Raymond entered our family.

Lord, you gave Saint Raymond the gift of compassion in his ministry to sinners. May his prayers free us from the slavery of sin and help us to love and serve you in liberty. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.