Hounds of the Lord

by Kevin Vost

They are called Hounds of the Lord, and Stoics on spiritual steroids. For 800 years they have barked out Christ's gospel message, saving countless souls and showing us how to think, do, and love for the glory of God. Inspired by the stories of their saints, we join the Dominicans in celebrating the Jubilee of their first 800 years. In these pages, we draw inspiration and spiritual strength from the lives, lessons, and legacies of their intellectual giants and enrapt mystics, the men and women who scrubbed floors, and those who cared for the dying. You'll discover countless fascinating and pious stories, prophetic dreams and visions, apparitions of Christ and Our Lady, appearances of the devil in disguise, miraculous healings, episodes of bi-location, stigmata, incorruption after death, and more. From St. Thomas Aquinas to St. Martin de Porres, in story after story you'll see how God favored these holy men and women in so many surprising and supernatural ways. Even 800 years later, these Hounds of the Lord are still out there today, roaming the world, seeking out souls to retrieve for Christ. Open this book, and you'll be given a taste of that glorious and joyful spirit that animates the Dominican Order a spirit they have so long and so willingly shared with the rest of the world. Let their example serve as inspiration, and let loose the hounds of the Lord within you.

Genres: Catholic, Theology, History, Biography

256 pages, Paperback

First published November 10, 2015

About the author

Kevin Vost, Psy. D. (b. 1961) has taught psychology at the University of Illinois at Springfield, Lincoln Land Community College, and MacMurray College. He is a Research Review Committee Member for American Mensa, which promotes the scientific study of human intelligence.

He enjoys reading the Classics (especially Aristotle and the Stoics) and St. Thomas Aquinas in his spare time.

Reviews

[Jo Walton]

Gave up at 71%

This joins Delany's Mad Man on the short list of books I have stopped reading because of my gag reflex. It was the description of Catherine of Siena. You might think her pus-drinking shows love and holiness, Vost certainly does, but I literally find it sickening.

I was reading this as Savonarola background research, and I suppose it was reasonably useful for that. I wish there was a really good readable book on Renaissance monasticism.

[TheCatholicBook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very informative. It was written in a simple style and I learned more about the Dominican order than I ever knew

[Alan A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kevin Vost is a great author in general matters, I've got to state that. This is actually the first book of his I finished, still reading through ''How to Think like Aquinas.'' I was gifted this book for the purpose of my vocation discernment. I'm still going through the process but let's keep that for another time. For now, I want to comment about this nice book by Kevin Vost.

''Hounds of the Lord'' is a book that is meant to inspire the reader with a knowledge of various well-known and somewhat known Dominican figures. Yes, there are more blessed and canonized O.P.'s then Dominic, Thomas and Albert haha! Kevin himself delivers the stories of these saints lives by using various other authors and biographers to web together the whole picture. It's the type of book that leaves you knowing who the identity of that person is but that encourages the reader to get familiar with other resources available that will talk about these saints more and more in their personal life.

If you're interested in not so-much concrete Dominican history but rather the lives, the inspirations, the controversies and accomplishments of very great figures then I think this is the book for you. This is a book about other people. A book about those that the Catholic Church cherishes very highly because of the particular life they led in being son's and daughter's of St. Dominic, who has become a great son in Jesus Christ, offering all of his spiritual imitators of the Dominican charism for the sake of the gospel. That's why some Dominican iconography includes a tree. The tree which is both an image of the continually growing fruit of the legacy of St. Dominic which included holy nuns, pious preachers, and great figures of authority while also including Christ and the Blessed Mother, Mary, to further the allegory of the Tree of Life and the Vineyard to Heaven through a path of self-sacrifice.

I really enjoyed reading this, truly.

[Leanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Jo Walton who said below: This joins Delany's Mad Man on the short list of books I have stopped reading because of my gag reflex. It was the description of Catherine of Siena. You might think her pus-drinking shows love and holiness, Vost certainly does, but I literally find it sickening.

I was reading this as Savonarola background research, and I suppose it was reasonably useful for that. I wish there was a really good readable book on Renaissance monasticism."

I did not have a problem with my gag reflex and thought the chapter on Fra Angelico was wonderful!

[Mary-Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me forever to read but it was one that I could always pick up where I left off. I would 100% recommend to anyone who wants to learn about any Dominican blessed or saint. It’s a lot of info but it’s so worth it

[Brian Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read

[Jen Finke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insights about holy Hounds of the Lord. Easy to read, just didn’t have time to do it all at once.

[Diegowench · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love this book!

[Tim Timberly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the content more than I liked the writing style.

[J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a very good book it showing us the Lives of the Dominican Saints and Blesseds, as always Dr. Vost shows us a clear and concise format that is easy to read how astounding the Dominicans are in life. He shows us how each Saint exemplified their founder St. Dominic as Thinkers, Doers, and Lovers, even those Saints of the Order of Preachers which may not be remembered for a towering intellect, but nonetheless heard St. Dominic's call to preach in whatever manner they so lived out, I am happy to see that even some of the 3rd Order Dominicans were expounded upon too. I am happy to have read this book within the Year of Jubilee of the 800th Anniversary of the Founding of the Dominican Order.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the most part, I loved this book. It gives a great overview of the life of many popular Dominican order saints and blesseds. A few criticisms however. I could barely make it through the chapter on Fra Angelico. I was reading it during holy hour, and the description of his artwork without any corresponding photographs was almost too much to bear. And I was quite disappointed with the short chapter on the orders founder contrasted with the incredibly long chapter on Saint Albert. I understand he has more information readily available on this saint due to the fact that he wrote another book on him, but I would've preferred more length on St Dominic.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of these saints were WILD (looking at you St. Catherine and St. Rose), but I’m glad I picked this up. I loved that these saints were from all walks of life and from various countries.