... I was sick and you looked after me ... Matthew 25:36c
"St Camillus de Lellis never celebrated
Holy Mass without first going to Confession,
because he wanted at least "to dust off" his soul.
Once at sundown in a public square in Livorno, before taking leave
of a priest of the same religious order, foreseeing that he would not
have a priest to confess to on the following morning before his Mass,
the Saint paused, took off his hat, made the sign of the Cross
and went to Confession right there in the square to his confrere."
From Jesus Our Eucharistic Love
by Fr Stefano M Manelli, FFI
by Fr Stefano M Manelli, FFI
St Camillus de Lellis
Italy ~ 1550-1614
Encouraged to priesthood by St Philip Neri
Founder of Order: Fathers of Good Death
Patron of hospitals, nurses and the sick
Feast Day - July 18
The Camellians took the vow to "devote themselves to material and spiritual care
of the sick and needy". St. Camillus honored the poor and sick
as living images of Christ. His reverence in their presence was as great
as if he were really and truly in the presence of his Lord.
“The poor and the sick are the heart of God. In serving them,
we serve Jesus the Christ. ...We want to assist the sick
with the same love that a mother has for her only sick child."
- Saint Camillus de Lellis
The figure on this crucifix, which is venerated in the Church Mary Magdalene Rome , is the one which in 1582 detached its arm and comforted St.Camillus de Lellis with these words "Take Courage, faint-hearted one. Continue the work you have begun. I will be with you because it is my work." Camillus was very discouraged at the time because of opposition to his health care reforms. Our Lord's words were instrumental in the Saint pushing ahead and founding the Order of the Ministers of the Sick.
Crucifix image above from Miraculous Images of Our Lord, by Joan Carroll Cruz, TAN Books (1993)
St Camillus, pray for us!
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