Blessed Jane of Aza (1135 to Aug. 2, 1205)

   It was my plan to write about a Franciscan saint today because that is the order that I would join if I chose to become a nun and not live in sin.  Then, I discovered I have something in common with St. Dominic, founder of the Dominican order. We both lost our mothers on Aug. 2, a day of extreme pain that I wish the calendar would skip over each year.
  Blessed Jane of Aza (also known of Juana de Aza) was born in Castilla la Vieja, Spain in 1135.  It is said that when she was pregnant with St. Dominic she had a dream of giving birth to a black and white dog. The animal carried a flaming torch and barked so loudly that it could be heard around the world.
  Dream interpreters are convinced that it foretold that her child would be a preacher and a great man that would influence the faith of millions of people. The black and white colors she saw are those of the Dominican order.
  All that is known of Blessed Jane of Aza are stories that historians have woven to form a real person, not just a legend.  She was from a noble family and died on Aug. 2, 1205. She was beatified in 1828.
  The painting pictured above is one of the Madonna and Child that I saw at the Basilicia of St. Dominic in Bologna, Italy, his final resting place.
  Blessed Jane of Aza's feast day is Aug. 2.