8 February 2025 - Saturday of the 4th week in ordinary time - Psalm 23 - Mark 6:30-34

It amazes me to see the different patron saints that we have in the Catholic Church.  St Fiacre, a 7th century hermit who lived in France, is the patron saint of gardeners, herbalists, and Parisian taxi cab drivers. St Abigail, an abbess and woman of great charity from Ireland in the 6th century, is the patron saint of honey bees and bee keepers. That brings us to the saint we celebrate today, St Jerome Emiliani, born in Italy in the late 15th century.  As a young man, he was a military commander in Venice in charge of a large fortress and a large battalion of soldiers. However, the fortress was captured by their enemies, putting Jerome in prison. At that time, God was not a part of his life. With his own personal strength and the strength of his soldiers and his weapons, God did not fit into his life and his value system. However, finding himself as a prisoner in a dungeon, he let go of his worldly values and found God. After his escape from prison, he studied for the priesthood. Soon after, Venice was hit with plague and famine.  In the midst of this suffering, he had a special place in heart for the children and youth who were abandoned and orphaned. After he contracted the plague himself, he devoted his efforts to caring for the poor and abandoned, establishing hospitals, orphanages, and a shelter for prostitutes. His group of priests became a religious order named the Clerks Regular of Somasca. Jerome Emiliani died at the age of 56 after contracting an illness from the sick patients under his care. He was canonized in 1767 by Pope Clement XIII.  He is the patron saint of orphans and abandoned children and youth. 

In the 23rd psalm today, we hear the psalm talk about the role of the Good Shepherd in his life, how the shepherd accompanies him on the ups and downs of life, leading and guiding him along the right paths, giving him strength and courage on his journey. This idea of the good shepherd is reflected in the Gospel today, how Jesus seems the crowds directionless without a shepherd to lead them and guiding them.  We all need to ask ourselves how Jesus the Good Shepherd leads us and guides us in life.