St. Dominic - Patron of Astronomers, Battler of Heritics

Today is the feast of St. Dominic de Guzman, the patron saint of astronomers & astronomy. He was At Dominic’s baptism, his mother, Blessed Joan saw a star shining from his chest, hence his patronage in this area.

God used Dominic to battle the Albigensian heresy That heresy was a form of Manichaeanism. They saw material creation as intrinsically evil. In doing so they implying that God, whose word had created the world in the beginning, was a usurper. since they saw matter as intrinsically evil, they denied that Jesus could become incarnate & still be the son of God. Their view of Jesus was that He was a spirit that only appeared to have a human body. Their beliefs had some gnostic aspects as well. Thye believed there existed within mankind a spark of divine light that was captive to this evil creation. Their goal, liberation from the realm of limitation & corruption identified with material existence. To do so a person had to come to knowledge of this hidden fact.

In a sense theyw ere also a cult as they denied the Catholic sacraments. That is understandable given that the sacraments had a physical part (water, oil, bread, etc). Since they saw all physical creation is evil, it was impossible for God to work through them in their view. Instead they required their followers to practice an extreme form of asceticism in order to become a "Perfecti". Other believers, " Credentes" could be saved at death by receiving the sacrament of consolamentum. Ironicly this sacrament could only be received via the laying of hands by a Perfecti.

I suspect that St. Dominic would be using these Heavenly events to help preach the Gospel & to counter the modern forms of New Age gnosticism if he were arround today. I suspect he would be starting with some Dominican convents, such as that 1 across the river from DBQ, that have rejected the truth. He would also be extolling those Dominicans that were being faithful to the Dominican charism as well.

& you can be sure that he would be strongly promoting the Rosary as 1 of the most effective weapons to battle the modern heresies.

Look Up! Rare 3-Planet Sky Triangle Plus Stellar Meteor Shower

The next few nights offer two spectacular cosmic views that anyone can enjoy. This weekend marks the peak of a beautiful alignment of the planets Venus, Mars and Saturn in the evening sky. This impressive gathering comes ahead of the annual Perseid meteor shower, a shooting star fest that will be at its best Aug. 11 to 13.
About an hour after sunset, anyone with a clear and open view of the west-northwest horizon should be able to spot the triangle of three planets shining low in the west.
This graphic shows where to look to spot the planetary triangle on Aug. 8.

"These three planets are destined to crowd into a relatively small area of the sky, making for a very distinctive and eye-catching formation that is sure to thrill most sky watchers," said Joe Rao, SPACE.com Skywatching Columnist.
Venus, the famed "Evening Star," will shine brightest in the sky, with Mars and Saturn appearing fainter. You can see them together any evening now through the meteor shower.
"So while Venus should be more than bright enough to see with the unaided eye in the fading twilight glow, Saturn and Mars will likely be a bit more difficult," Rao said. "Indeed, although Saturn and Mars are of first magnitude, they appear only about 1/150th as bright as Venus!"
Rao recommends also using binoculars to scan the sky for the planetary alignment, particularly if the sky is hazy. People under dark skies in rural locations will have no trouble spotting the trio.
On the evening of Aug. 12, the three planets will hang together in the western sky before disappearing below the horizon well after sunset. "The planets will hang together in the western sky until 10 pm or so," according to NASA.
But, the show will go on, when the Perseid meteor shower begins.
The Perseid meteor shower is caused by debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle. Every 133 years the comet swings through the inner solar system and leaves behind a trail of debris. Earth passes through these trails each August. When the comet bits enter our atmosphere, they vaporize, creating the meteors.

[Top 10 Perseid Meteor Shower Facts]
Weather permitting, skywatchers can catch these "shooting stars" anywhere, but the best views are under dark skies, away from urban and suburban lights, Rao said.
"The best time to watch for meteors will be from the late-night hours of Wednesday, Aug. 11 on through the predawn hours of Aug. 13 – two full nights and early mornings," he said. "Patient skywatchers with good conditions could see up to 60 shooting stars an hour or more."