OK, Now for What You Really Want ...It's been way too long, but here's a recent photo of the kiddos:
posted by Chris Weinkopf at 4/10/2008 11:02:00 AM
HAPPY FEAST DAY, BL. ANTHONY NEYROT!In honor of my Dominican patron, Bl. Anthony Neyrot, I've posted the following
essay over at Friendly Fire:
On Easter Saturday, Pope Benedict XVI baptized Magdi Allam, an Italian newspaper editor and a former Muslim, into the Christian faith. And ever since, various Muslim, secular, and even Christians have denounced this high-profile conversion as reckless and needlessly provocative. Allam, they argue, should have received the sacraments quietly, without all the attention and papal fanfare that could harm interfaith dialog and offend Muslim sensibilities.
But in terms of shock value and provocation, Allam’s conversion has nothing on Bl. Anthony Neyrot’s.
Neyrot, who celebrates his feast day today, was a Dominican brother living in Sicily in the Fifteenth Century. While sailing to Naples, Moorish pirates captured his ship, then sold him into slavery in Tunis. There, Neyrot would win back his earthly freedom by rejecting Christianity in favor of Islam. He was adopted into the Tunisian king’s family and took a wife, leaving his vocation, his order, and his faith behind.
It's quite possible Anthony would have died an apostate were it not for the intervention of his former Dominican prior, who had only recently passed away — St. Antoninus. Antoninus appeared to Anthony in a dream, the message of which was so profound that it spurred Anthony’s repentance. Neyrot sought out a priest, confessed his sins, sent his wife back to her family, and was readmitted to his order.
But his reversion didn’t end there. Anthony wanted his return to Christ to be as public as possible. On Palm Sunday of 1460, Anthony appeared at a procession before the Tunisian king, wearing his white Dominican habit for all to see. He publicly denounced his conversion to Islam and proclaimed his restored devotion to Christ.
Now that's a provocation.
Click here to read the rest ...
posted by Chris Weinkopf at 4/10/2008 10:56:00 AM
