In our Gospel today, we hear Jesus call Matthew the tax collector to be his disciple. Jews would have seen tax collector as betraying their faith and taking advantage of their fellow Jews by collaborating with the Roman government, so this man would have been seen as a grave sinner, not someone called to a life of religious discipleship. Then we hear in the psalm today: Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth. We can be called to God’s truth in different ways, based on our gifts and the reality in which we find ourselves.
This brings us to the saint we celebrate today, St John of God. Born in Portugal in 1495, he served as a soldier until he converted to Christianity at the age of 40. He struggled to find where God was calling him as a Christian. At one point, his violent actions landed him in a mental hospital. With the counsel of John of Avila, he opened up a house of healing and refuge for the poor and the sick in Spain. John’s acts of mercy toward the poor and the sick were influenced by his rich interior prayer life and a spirit of humility. John died of ill health at the age of 55 in Grenada, Spain. Those who collaborated with him in his ministry founded a religious congregation, the Brothers Hospitallers, which now serves throughout the world. He is patron saint of hospitals, nurses, and the mentally ill. Let us unite our prayers with the prayers of St John of God this morning.
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