"Labor without stopping;
do all the good works you can while you still have the time."
Saint John of God died on his birthday. He was born on March 8, 1495 in Evora, Portugal and grew up working as a shepherd in the Castile region of Spain. During his wild youthful days, he travelled much across Europe and north Africa as a soldier in the army of Charles V. He sold religious books but he was not religious himself. In his forties, he received a vision of the Infant Jesus who called him John of God. He left the military and rented a house in Granada, Spain and began caring for the sick, poor, and homeless. As he cared for those in his care, he converted them. He was a friend of Saint John of Avila, someone whom he tried to model his life after. He founded the Order of Charity and Order of Hospitallers of Saint John of God. He died on March 8, 1550 in Granada while praying before a crucifix from an illness he had contracted while saving a man from drowning. His relics are in Granada. He was canonized on October 16, 1690 by Pope Alexander VIII.
He is the patron of heart patients, firefighters, nurses, printers.
QUOTE
"If we look forward to receiving God's mercy, we can never fail to do good so long as we have the strength. For if we share with the poor, out of love for God, whatever he has given to us, we shall receive according to his promise a hundredfold in eternal happiness. What a fine profit, what a blessed reward!"
PRAYER
O God, You filled Saint John with the spirit of compassion. Grant that by practicing works of charity we may deserve to be numbered among the elect in Your Kingdom. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment