SAINT OF THE DAY -- April 17 - Saint Benedict Joseph Labre
April 17
St Benedict Joseph LabrePatron Saint of the Homeless(d. 1783)
Holiness is always a bit mad by earthly standards.
Benedict Joseph Labre was called the beggar of perpetual adoration. He traveled
in his sack-cloth, tied with a rope, always on foot. He slept in the streets,
his body filthy, picking up food where he could. His rosary was made from the
berries of wild rose bushes and he always carried The New Testament.
Benedict Joseph Labre was truly eccentric, one of God's special little
ones. Born in France and the eldest of 18 children, he studied under
his uncle, a parish priest. Because of poor health and a lack of
suitable academic preparation he was unsuccessful in his attempts to
enter the religious life. Then, at 16 years of age, a profound change
took place. Benedict lost his desire to study and gave up all thoughts
of the priesthood, much to the consternation of his relatives.
He
became a pilgrim, traveling from one great shrine to another, living
off alms. He wore the rags of a beggar and shared his food with the
poor. Filled with the love of God and neighbor, Benedict had special
devotion to the Blessed Mother and to the Blessed Sacrament. In Rome,
where he lived in the Colosseum for a time, he was called "the poor man
of the Forty Hours Devotion" and "the beggar of Rome." The people
accepted his ragged appearance better than he did. His excuse to
himself was that "our comfort is not in this world."
On the last
day of his life, April 16, 1783, Benedict Joseph dragged himself to a
church in Rome and prayed there for two hours before he collapsed,
dying peacefully in a nearby house. Immediately after his death the
people proclaimed him a saint.
He was officially proclaimed a saint by Pope Leo XIII at canonization ceremonies in 1883.
Comment:
In
a modern inner city, one local character kneels for hours on the
sidewalk and prays. Swathed in his entire wardrobe winter and summer,
he greets passersby with a blessing. Where he sleeps no one knows, but
he is surely a direct spiritual descendant of Benedict, the ragged man
who slept in the ruins of Rome’s Colosseum. These days we ascribe such
behavior to mental illness; Benedict’s contemporaries called him holy.
Holiness is always a bit mad by earthly standards.
Prayer:
Saint Benedict Joseph Labre, you gave
up honor, money and home for love of Jesus. Help us to set our hearts on Jesus
and not on the things of this world. You lived in obscurity among the poor in
the streets. Enable us to see Jesus in our poor brothers and sisters and not
judge by appearances. Make us realize that in helping them we are helping Jesus.
Show us how to befriend them and not pass them by. Saint Benedict Joseph Labre,
you had a great love for prayer. Obtain for us the grace of persevering prayer,
especially adoration of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament. Saint Benedict
Joseph Labre, poor in the eyes of men but rich in the eyes of God, pray for us.
Amen.
Source: American Catholic Organization
Many great miracles have been associated with
the Rosary throughout history. The tremendous power of the Rosary can
overcome any problem, be it small or large, personal or worldwide.
Miracles continue to the present day.
The Rosary is a powerful prayer!
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If you are a victim of domestic or sexual violence, please know that my husband and I pray for you every single night.
If you need immediate assistance, dial 911.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline:
1-800-799-SAFE OR (1-800-799-7233)
SIGNS OF AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP
Do you:
feel afraid of your partner much of the time?
avoid certain topics fear of angering your partner?
feel that you can’t do anything right for your partner?
believe that you deserve to be hurt or mistreated?
wonder if you’re the one who is crazy?
feel emotionally numb or helpless?
Does your partner:
- humiliate, criticize, or yell at you?
- treat you so badly that you’re embarrassed for your friends or family to see?
- ignore or put down your opinions or accomplishments?
- blame you for his own abusive behavior?
- see you as property or a sex object, rather than as a person?
Does your partner:
have a bad and unpredictable temper?
hurt you, or threaten to hurt or kill you?
threaten to take your children away or harm them?
threaten to commit suicide if you leave?
force you to have sex?
destroy your belongings?
Does your partner:
- act excessively jealous and possessive?
- control where you go or what you do?
- keep you from seeing your friends or family?
- limit your access to money, the phone, or the car?
- constantly check up on you?