ST JOSÉ MARIA DE YERMO Y PARRES - 20 SEPTEMBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN SEPTEMBER

Saints celebrated on the 20th of September

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 JOSÉ MARIA DE YERMO Y PARRES 

José Maria de Yermo y Parres was born in Jalmolonga, Mexico, on November 10, 1851. 

He was ordained to the priesthood on August 24 1879. After his ordination the new diocesan bishop (Sollano's successor) assigned him to the two small churches of El Calvario and Santo Niño; he departed for his new assignment in obedience to him. On one occasion he happened to see a group of pigs eat the remains of two abandoned newborns and this sickening sight made him feel as if he should help those who were abandoned.

The priest opened "The Shelter of the Sacred Heart" on December 13, 1885 to cater to the needs of the poor in a move that laid the foundation for beginning a new religious order dedicated to serving the poor. He founded several hospitals and orphanages as well as shelters for the abused.

He often said: "Let us speak about saints to forge saints".

He died in the morning of September 20, 1904 in Puebla de los Angeles after asking the nuns to sing the Ave Maria Stella; he was buried there at the motherhouse of the order. His order now operates in the places such as the United States of America and Nicaragua amongst others. 

(Information from Wikipedia)

"To today's world, so in need of fraternity and solidarity, the new Saint teaches to establish new relationships in which generous, creative, concrete and dynamic service is capable of fostering a new climate of brotherhood for all in Christ.

To continue his work, his eminently priestly spirit promoted the foundation of the Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Poor, to whom he left the witness of a unique commitment to the cause of Christ and the poor. 

You, dear nuns, daughters of St Joseph Maria de Yermo, always keep alive your evangelical traits of humility and simplicity in the service of merciful love to your needy brother, serving them with the same sentiments of the divine Heart. This will help you to keep alive the ecclesial and missionary sense of your charism and your correct orientation in the social and spiritual apostolate in favour of the poor." 

(Pope John Paul II - May 22, 2000)