Serving the Lord
From the life of Saint Camillus by his companion (1550-1641)
Saint Camillus was born at Chieti in the Abruzzi in 1550. He first entered the military profession, but upon his conversion he devoted himself to the care of the sick. His studies completed, he was ordained to the priesthood and founded a society which established hospitals and cared for the sick. He died in Rome in 1614.
Serving the Lord in the brethren
Narrated by Frank Dugan, Huntington Beach, California
Let me begin with holy charity. It is the root of all the virtues and Camillus’ most characteristic trait. I can attest that he was on fire with this holy virtue – not only toward God, but also toward his fellowmen, and especially toward the sick. The mere sight of the sick was enough to soften and melt his heart and make him utterly forget all the pleasures, enticements and interests of this world. When he was taking care of his patients, he seemed to spend and exhaust himself completely, so great was his devotion and compassion. He would have loved to take upon himself all their illness, their every affliction, could he but ease their pain and relieve their weakness.
In the sick he saw the person of Christ. His imagination was so vivid that, while feeding them, he perceived his patients as other Christ’s. He would even beg of them the gift of forgiveness for his sins. His reverence in their presence was as great as if he were really and truly in the presence of his Lord. In his conversations he talked of nothing more often or with greater feeling than of holy charity. He would have liked to plant this virtue in every human heart.
To enkindle the enthusiasm of his religious brothers for this all-important virtue, he used to impress upon them the consoling words of Jesus Christ: I was sick and you visited me. He seemed to have these words truly graven on his heart, so often did he say them over and over again.
Great and all-embracing was Camillus’ charity. Not only the sick and dying, but every other needy or suffering human being found shelter in his deep and kind concern. Indeed, his heartfelt concern for the poor led him to say often: “If there were no poor people in the world, we should have to go below the earth to look for them and rescue them, to show them compassion and do them good!”
Source: The Liturgy of the Hours – Office of Readings