Commemoration of the Sufferings of Jesus Christ, Our Lord

4 MAY 2010.Today the Dominican Order is called in a special way to commemorate the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The traditional texts are from the Dominican Rite. Formerly called the "Crown of Thorns," today's commemoration recalls the gift of a thorn from Christ's crown, made to the Order by Saint Louis IX, King of France in 1239.

A rendering of today's Collect from the Dominican Rite:

Præsta, quæsumus, omnipotens Deus: ut, qui in memoriam passionis Domini nostri Jesu Christi Coronam ejus spineam veneramur in terris, ab ipso gloria et honore coronari mereamur in cælis: Qui tecum vivit et regnat...

Grant, we beg, almighty God: that we, who in memory of the passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ do revere His thorny Crown on earth, by Him may deserve "to be crowned with glory and honour" (cf. Ps 8:6) in heaven: Who with Thee liveth and reigneth...