MESSAGE BY FR JOEL PEART ON THE 23RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YR C)
Friday 2nd September 2022
“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)
Dear brothers and sisters,
A couple of weeks back I, along with some members of our parish, attended a retreat day hosted by the Archdiocese. It was held out at the Veneto Club in Bulleen with the aim of providing some inspiration for those of us in parish land to work towards renewal of our communities. The day was a bit hit and miss. One of the misses was the fact that they kept running out of coffee. One of the hits was a talk given by Fr Pierluigi Vajra CRS, from the parish of Our Lady of Lourdes in Rockingham, Perth. He is a priest of the Order of Clerics Regular of Somasca, more commonly known as the Somascan Fathers. They are not a large religious order, but the men who are a part of it do great work wherever they are.
The order was founded back in 1534 by Saint Jerome Emiliani, born in Venice in 1486. Jerome’s father died when he was 15 years of age, and he subsequently ran away from home and joined the army (as you do). He fought in defense of Castelnuovo during the Italian Wars, but was captured in battle by his enemies. Held fast in a dungeon, though he had neglected his faith for years, Jerome prayed fervently for divine assistance. That very night, Our Lady appeared to him. His chains fell away and he was able to escape. He took those chains, as part of a vow he made, to a shrine dedicated to Our Lady in Treviso, and left them before her in an act of thanksgiving.
Jerome returned to Venice to help care for and educate his nephews. It was during this time that the plague broke out. Jerome’s charity abounded in his care and providing for the sick and starving – especially that of orphans – whose number had increased dramatically. Two priests joined him in his efforts, and there they had the beginnings of this new congregation. Jerome entrusted the order to the protection of Our Blessed Mother, the Holy Spirit and to the Archangel Raphael, the healer. In the ultimate act of compassion, Jerome eventually contracted the disease of those he was caring for, and on February 9, 1537, received his eternal reward.
St Jerome, perhaps because he had lost his father as a young man, was determined to give these orphaned and abandoned children a father figure in their life who would care and provide for them. When it comes to the faith especially, the importance of the father’s role in the family cannot be overstated. When a father leads his family in prayer and right religion, the children almost always follow. May God strengthen all dads in this effort. And may God bless all the little and not-so-little ones who have been neglected and forsaken in this world, that they will turn to Him through the intercession of Mary, Our Blessed Mother, St Joseph her spouse and the patron saint of orphans and abandoned children: St Jerome Emiliani.
In Christ,
Fr Joel.