Nicola D’Onofrio was born in 1943 in the Abruzzo region of southeastern Italy, not far from the birthplace of St Camillus de Lellis, the 16th century founder of the Camillians, a religious order dedicated to the care of the sick. Wishing to join this religious order whose members wear black cassocks with a large red cross, d’Onofrio moved to the Camillian house of studies in Rome in 1955. He made his first profession in 1961, promising to obey poverty, chastity, and obedience, and dedicate his life to caring for the sick. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1963. He made a pilgrimage to Lourdes and Lisieux in May 1964 at the suggestion of his superiors. He asked for the members of his order not to pray for his healing, but for the will of God. “I am very happy to be able to suffer a little now when I am young because these are the finest years to offer up something to the Lord,” He told them. He died in June of 1964. He is being proposed by the order of Camillians as a candidate for canonization for the grace and courage in which he faced his trials and sufferings and for the joy in which he lived out his journey of faith.
Our psalm declares today: “In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.” The Lord is our strength and our hope. Our problems and sufferings in life may not be solved, but God, our refuge, help us meet our challenges and sufferings with courage and grace.
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