Hope and Direction - Weekday Homily Video

St. Camillus de Lellis, at six-foot-six, towered over the men and women of his time. Yet it would take the loss of his health and his father’s inheritance to allow him to grow and become a spiritual giant.

Born in Italy in 1550, he left home at the age of seventeen to fight with the Venetian army against the Turkish invaders. It was during this time that his leg became infected with a serious disease that would remain for the rest of his life.

In addition, he became addicted to gambling and became penniless by the age of twenty-four. Like St. Ignatius during his convalescence from a war injury, this future saint experienced the compassion of God through the Capuchins, who cared for him at his lowest point.

Through their preaching, he was moved to convert his life and wished to join their order and give his life to Jesus. However, his chronic leg condition was the reason he was denied admittance to the order. Undeterred, he returned to Rome to work at the hospital where he had first been treated for his infection.

A Remarkable Turnaround

Inspired by Jesus’ words, “I was ill, and you visited me,” St. Camillus heroically gave every ounce of his energy to caring for those with incurable illnesses. Ironically, he impressed the hospital administrators so much that they put him in charge of finance. Imagine that turnaround—a man who was too sick to be admitted to a religious order, tirelessly caring for those that most could not, and a man who hadn’t been able to control his own impulsive gambling being entrusted with the resources of the whole hospital!

If the story ended here, it would be enough, but God wasn’t done with St. Camillus. The Lord, truly heard his cry to become a priest and serve those in most need. He inspired Camillus to complete seminary training and be ordained a priest and to improve the deplorable conditions at the hospital by getting other young men to serve the sickest and poorest.

With the support of St. Philip Neri, at the age of fifty-five, he founded his own order, the Servants of the Sick, to care for the sick in hospitals, prisons, and homes. They would even go onto battlefields, forming the first known military ambulance units. And this giant of a man did all of this while sick and in pain for most of his adult life.

Love of Self to Love of God

When we hear a story like that of St. Camillus, we are reminded of how God’s compassion for us begins before we perceive our need for it. We can also see how, when we experience a dead-end in where we’d like to go, God can lead us to where we can serve and truly find meaning in our lives.

In his early years, God blessed Camillus with strength, stature, and wealth. War and a gambling addiction stripped him of all of these. Penniless, ill, and physically weakened, God went to work on his soul. He moved him from self-interest to the love of God and those in most need.

God gave Camillus a reason to overcome his own pain and disappointment. There is a lesson for each of us who experiences diminishment, whether it is physical, emotional, or financial, to listen to Jesus’ compassionate words, “Come to me all you who labor and are burdened … take my yoke upon you and learn from me … for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

St. Camillus, pray for us!

• Today’s Readings

• Father David's inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center this morning. You can view the Mass (and Rosary) on the Family Rosary YouTube page. 

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