St Camillus is the saint we celebrate today. He is the founder of the consecrated religious order of the Ministers of the Sick, which is also known as the Order of St. Camillus. The ministry of this international religious community of brothers and priests is to care for the sick, the dying, the marginalized, and poor. St Camillus is also the patron saint of nurses. He was born in the kingdom of Naples in Italy in 1550. As a youth, he was always getting into trouble skipping school, getting into fights, and developing a bad gambling habit. He eventually joined the military, where he suffered from a bad leg infection. Deep in debt with nowhere to turn, he decided to work in a hospital in Rome caring for the sick. He was ordained a priest, which led him to founding the religious order that started out caring for those in Rome who were sick from the plague and other epidemics. St Camillus died in 1614. He was canonized a saint by Pope Benedict XIV in 1746.
Our Gospel today’s reminds us that we can overlook the overall spirit of our faith by taking a legalistic approach of how we live out our faith in our everyday lives. Jesus’ disciples are criticized for picking grain to eat on the Sabbath. But do the Pharisees concentrate on this action, rather than their ministry and their proclamation of God’s kingdom? How is the spirit of the Lord moving in us? How are we sharing that spirit with others?
No comments:
Post a Comment