VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, [6], 7, 8, 9, 10 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 04:02:22 11/15/03 Sat
Author: ketch - 16 Oct 2003
Subject: St Gerard Majella

October 16th – Feast Day of St Gerard Majella who died this day in 1755.

This Eighteenth Century saint is of some interest to yogi’s for the even mindedness he displayed in all circumstances and his continual remembrance of God. His life story contains includes enough miracles to hold anyone’s interest.

Born on April 6th 1726 in the town of Muro, Italy he was the youngest of five children. Even as a child of five he would go to the nearby chapel to pray. He would sometimes return from these visits with a loaf of bread. When asked where the loaf came from he only said that a beautiful boy gave it to him. One of his sisters followed him to the chapel one day and saw him praying by a statue of Mary holding the child Jesus. Then the Christ Child came down from the statue to play with the boy, before giving him a loaf of bread.

At the age of 12 he was apprenticed to a tailor who used to beat him. Gerard had no resentment over his treatment. One day he was seen smiling as he was being beaten. When asked why he replied that he was glad because he saw the hand of God beating him.

Later he applied to join a missionary order known as the Redemptorist Fathers. He was so determined that his mother was forced to lock him in his room to prevent him running away with the missionaries. However the next morning he was gone and his mother found a note which said "I have gone to become a saint."

In 1754 he was unjustly accused of an improper relationship with the daughter of a family Gerard sometimes stayed with. He was called before St. Alphonsus to answer for his conduct, but maintained silence following the example of Jesus before Pilot. He was punished by being refused communion, and denied all contact with outsiders. Later his accuser retracted her claims. Others were overjoyed, but Gerard maintained even mindedness and was not elated by his vindication, just as he was not depressed by his trial.

His many miracles include several well documented examples of bilocation. He restored to life a boy who had fallen from a cliff and made a small amount of wheat last until the next harvest for a poor family.

He worked several miracles for expectant mothers, and is sometimes known as "The Mother's Saint."

In 1755 he fell ill and was expected to die. However his superior asked him to get well, and out of obedience Gerard temporarily recovered from his illness. He knew that it was time to die however, and after a month returned to his room placing a sign of the door which read "The will of God is done here, as God wills it and as long as He wills it."

On his death thousands of pilgrims came from all over Italy to view the body of the saint one last time, and many miracles were reported.

St Gerard Majella – Life Story

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]
[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-8
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.