VATICAN CITY, SEP 7, 2004 (VIS) - Made public today was a Message from Pope John Paul to Fr. Joseph William Tobin, superior general of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, on the occasion of the Year of St. Gerard, honoring Gerard Majella, one of the Redemptorist's "most illustrious sons." The centenary of his canonization will be marked on December 11, 2004. His feast day is October 16.
In his August 6 Message, the Pope wrote that this disciple of Redemptorist founder, St. Alphonse Maria de Liguori, entered the religious life "with the precise will to 'become a saint'." His life was marked by prayer, penance, and "attentive charity to the spiritual and material needs of his neighbor, especially the poorest. ... The fame of his holiness and trust in his intercession continued to grow after his death. ... St. Gerard is a shining example of love of the Cross, the Eucharist and devotion to our Lady."
Noting that St. Gerard "did not spare energy, prayers and penance for sinners, the Pope said that "a weakening of the sense of sin and ... of the importance of the sacrament of Reconciliation, permeate society today. ... Continue, dear Redemptorists, to imitate your holy Founder, ever sensitive to sinners and ready to welcome them in the sacrament of Reconciliation, with the love of a father and the wisdom of a doctor."
"St. Gerard paid special attention towards growing life and towards expectant mothers, especially those in physical or spiritual difficulty," stated the Holy Father. "That is why today he is invoked as the patron saint of childbirth." He pointed to "the continuing threats to life" and the "worrisome spread of 'a culture of death', which drives large portions of public opinion to justify several crimes against life in the name of individual freedom and, on this basis, asks for their legitimization by the State."
John Paul II concluded by saying he hoped the Year of St. Gerard will encourage Christians to counter this culture of death and to act to serve the culture of life.
MESS/ST GERARD/REDEMPTORISTS:TOBIN VIS 20040907 (350)
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