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SAINT OF THE MONTH
St. Richard of Chichester
Richard was born into a prosperous farming
family. After his parents died, the young man took care of the
farm. Refusing an offer of marriage to a well-to-do lady, he
went to study at Oxford University. His hard work won him prestigious
appointments, first as Oxford’s chancellor and later as
chancellor to his old tutor, Edmund of Abingdon, the Archbishop
of Canterbury.
At the time, King Henry III was in the habit
of keeping important bishoprics vacant and taking the income
for himself. When Edmund sought to end this practice, the king
forced him into exile. Richard went with him and after Edmund’s
death he was ordained a priest in 1243. He returned to England
and one year later he was elected Bishop of Chichester.
King Henry viewed Richard as an enemy and
locked him out of the bishop’s palace, seizing the revenues
due to the diocese. Undeterred, Richard moved in with a humble
parish priest, making the rounds of the church under his care
barefoot. A reformist, he ended the practice of priests demanding
payment to perform the Sacraments and enforced the rules of
celibacy.
Richard also insisted that clergy educate
themselves and their congregations about their faith. After
two years of patient ministry, the king finally allowed Richard
to officially take up his duties. Despite his high rank, Richard
continued to preach to the poor. Toward the end of his life,
he organized a new crusade, with the object of forcing the Turks,
who occupied Jerusalem, to allow Christian pilgrims to visit
the holy sites. Just as he was about to embark on his journey,
Richard died.
Feast day: April 3rd
Bishop of Chichester
Reference: Ordinary People, Extraordinary
Lives
The 13th century was a time of great conflict
among some of the religions of the world. Often, religious crusades
were military attempts to crush the Muslims. At one point, some
30,000 children were led off on a “Children’s Crusade”
to seize the Holy Land, a cause for which most of them ended
up as slaves or dead. Richard was unique in trying to organize
a peaceful crusade and persuade Muslim authorities to allow
Christians to visit holy sites in Palestine without the threat
of war or violence.
In the modern world, the Interfaith Conference
of Metropolitan Washington similarly seeks to encourage cooperation
among different religious groups. It hopes to:
• Increase understanding among people
of diverse faiths and cultures.
• Address issues of both social and
economic justice.
• Create a society that balances the
needs of the community and the rights of individuals.
By opening our minds to others we can try
to achieve peaceful coexistence.
SAINT OF THE MONTH
St. Gemma Galgani
Gemma was born on March 12, 1878 as the fifth
child of pharmacist Enrico Galgani and his wife, Aurelia. When
she was eight, her mother died of tuberculosis. The girl found
solace in taking Holy Communion in 1887, which required a special
consent from the bishop at that time. Since then, Bishop of
Lucca, Giovanni Volpi was Gemma’s spiritual guide and
one of the confidants of her unusual experiences.
In the girls’ school that she attended
from 1889-1893, Gemma was a talented student. She was even expected
to go to college, which was a rare case for women in the 19th
century. But her father was afraid that studies might affect
her health.
In 1896 she had to undergo a painful surgery
due to tuberculosis of the spine, a life-threatening condition.
In addition, health problems brought her father to bankruptcy
and to death in 1897. So Gemma became an orphan at the age of
19.
She was ill and had no property. She lived
with relatives who did not understand her suffering and often
humiliated and ridiculed her. She would bear it with patience
because she had passionate love for Crucified Jesus. She wanted
to experience that love as a nun. However, she was not accepted
to a nunnery due to her poor health and a lack of dowry. Still,
she led a nun’s life filled with penance. Her health continued
to deteriorate and on June 8, 1899 her suffering increased further.
She received the stigmata. Although in great pain, she was happy
to be so close to her beloved Savior. In 1900, Fr. Germano,
a Passionist, became her spiritual guide who appreciated the
significance of her mystic experiences.
Gemma died on Holy Saturday, April 11, 1903
and was canonized on May 2, 1940.
Feast day: April 11th or May 16th
A stigmatic
Reference: Ordinary People, Extraordinary
Lives
Over her 25-year life Gemma suffered due
to poor health - she had tuberculosis, spine problems, paralysis
and deafness resulting from meningitis. These ailments might
break someone else’s spirit, pushing them into doubt and
despair. Sick and suffering people usually provoke compassion
or pity and healthy people feel better than those who are weak
and decrepit. There is often talk about solving problems caused
by old sick people, retirees and the disabled, as if their age
or disability pushed them to the margins. It was due to her
suffering that Gemma underwent intensive spiritual development.
She consciously chose a life filled with suffering, treating
it as penance for the world’s sins. She treated all the
wrongdoing of other people, all the adversity in life, as another
step on her path to salvation.
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