ST GERARD MAJELLA - 16 OCTOBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN OCTOBER

Saints celebrated on the 16th of October

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

ST GERARD MAJELLA 

Gerard Majella was born near Naples, Italy, in 1726. His father was a tailor, and died when Gerard was twelve. Although his mother and uncle wanted him to take up the family business, Gerard was called to the religious life. 

He was unable to join the Capuchin order because of poor health, but was finally accepted by the Redemptorists as a lay brother when he was twenty-three. He lived only for a short time longer, dying of tuberculosis in 1744, aged twenty-nine.

His life was marked by patient acceptance of suffering and injustice. Most famously, he was falsely accused by an unmarried mother of being the father of her child. He made no protest, but accepted the judgements of those around him in silence and patience until, eventually, the woman admitted she had lied. For this reason, St Gerard is known as an especial patron of motherhood, of unborn children, and of childbirth. He is often invoked by those who are trying to have children, and by expectant mothers. - St Gerard, pray for us.