8/8 Feast Day of St. Dominic, Priest

LuisasDominicanTL_eriaryCross

Dominican Cross of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta

When she was nine, the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta received Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist for the first time and Holy Confirmation, and from that moment learned to remain for hours praying before the Blessed Sacrament. When she was eleven she wanted to enroll in the Association of the Daughters of Mary – flourishing at the time – in the Church of San Giuseppe. At the age of eighteen, Luisa became a Dominican Tertiary taking the name of Sr. Maddalena. She was one of the first to enroll in the Third Order, which her parish priest was promoting. Luisa’s devotion to the Mother of God was to develop into a profound Marian spirituality, a prelude to what she would one day write about Our Lady.