From: rich <
richarra@gmail.com>
February 8th - St. Jerome Emiliani
Born in Venice, Italy, 1481; died Somascha, Italy, February 8, 1537;
canonized in 1767, and in 1928 declared patron saint of orphans and
abandoned children by Pope Pius XI; feast day formerly July 20.
Son of a distinguished Venetian family, at age 15 Jerome Emiliani ran
away from home and his mother Eleanor Mauroceni after the death of his
father Angelo. He became a soldier in the army of the Republic and
commander of the League of Cambrai forces at the fortress of
Castelnuovo in the Italian mountains near Treviso. The Venetians took
the fortress and chained Jerome in a dungeon. Until that time, Jerome
had led a careless, irreligious life. Now he sanctified his sufferings
by prayer and conversion to God. In circumstances that appear
miraculous, he escaped after praying to our Lady, carrying his chains
with him, and--thanking God for this in a church at Treviso--hung his
chains on the church wall in happiness.
His gratitude inspired the rest of his life. He dedicated himself to
the Blessed Virgin and reformed his carefree lifestyle. He became
mayor of Treviso because of his brilliant defense of Castelnuovo, and
later returned to Venice to oversee his nephews' education and to
pursue his own theological studies. In 1518, he was ordained to the
priesthood in Venice when the city was suffering an appalling plague.
Jerome devoted himself to relieving as much suffering as he could. His
heart especially ached for the abandoned children who were suffering particularly, since starvation set them doubly at risk. Taking as many
as he could into his own house, he fed and clothed them, nursed them
back to health, and taught them the Christian faith. At night, he
buried the dead who had collapsed in the streets. He caught the plague
(spotted fever) himself, but was strong enough to recover.
In 1531, Jerome resolved to give himself and all that he owned to
God's service. He established orphanages in six Italian towns (Venice,
Brescia, Bergamo, Como, and two others), a hospital in Verona, and a
home for repentant prostitutes. About 1532 with two other priests, he
founded the Congregation of Somaschi (from the town of Somasca in
Lombardy where they started), a society of clerks regular devoted
primarily to the care and instruction of orphans, although it also
instructed young children. At Somaschi he founded a seminary for those
entering his congregation. Jerome is said to have been the first to
teach children Christian doctrine with a question-and-answer
technique. The society gained papal approval in 1540.
His attentive care to the poor of Somascha led them to attribute to
him the gift of healing. He tried to share their lives, even working
with them in the fields while talking to them of God. He continued to
care for the sick, regardless of his own health, until he succumbed a
second time to the plague, which killed him (Attwater, Benedictines,
Bentley, Delaney, Farmer, Sandoval, Schamoni, Walsh, White).
In art Saint Jerome's emblem is a ball and chain which are always near
him. At times the chain may be in his hand, a child near him, and the
Virgin and Child appearing to him, or he may be shown tending sick
children or delivering a possessed child (Roeder, White). He is
venerated in Somasca, Lombardy (Roeder).
Saint Jerome is the patron of orphans and abandoned children (Bentley, Sandoval).
Quote:
Why do we talk and gossip so continually, seeing that we so rarely
resume our silence without some hurt done to our conscience? ...
Devout conversation on spiritual things helpeth not a little to
spiritual progress, most of all where those of kindred mind and spirit
find their ground of fellowship in God.
--Thomas =C3 Kempis, from the Imitation of Christ
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Whoever humbleth himself shall be exalted. =E2=80=94Lk. 14:11
"Whoever is not very humble, can never draw profit from contemplation,
in which any little atom of insufficient humility, though it may seem
nothing, works the greatest harm"
--St. Teresa
Because the blessed Clara of Montefalco experienced a vain
pleasure in some things she had done, the Lord withdrew from her, for
fifteen years, His lights and celestial consolations, which she could
not regain during all that time, though she begged for them earnestly,
with tears, prayers, and the use of the discipline.
( "A Year with the Saints". February - Humility)
--- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
* Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)