Eucharistic Crusaders: Saint Gerard Majella

Saint Gerard Majella

St. Gerard was born on April 26, 1726, in Muro, Italy. As a baby, Gerard never cried and on certain days he even refused to be nursed by his mother. His mother often took him to Mass at the shrine of Our Lady of Graces. When he was five, he would often walk to this shrine to pray. Often he would return from these visits, with a loaf of bread. When asked from whom he got the bread he replied, "It was from a beautiful lady's child with whom I have been playing!" One day his sister Brigida followed him to the shrine. Gerard knelt down to pray, and the statue of Mary suddenly came to life. The Child Jesus left Mary's arms and came down to play with the boy. After some time the Child Jesus gave Gerard a loaf of bread and returned to His mother's arms.

Another time Gerard was with some children and he tied to a tree, a little cross which he had made, and asked his friends to kiss the cross. Suddenly the tree became sparkling with light, the Child Jesus came down from the tree and gave Gerard a little loaf of bread.

Gerard loved Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament! One day, when he was only seven, he went up to receive Communion with the other people. But seeing the boy so young, the priest passed him by and Gerard went away in tears. Then on the following night, St. Michael the Archangel came and gave Gerard his First Holy Communion. And one day a priest found him kneeling near the altar and asked him what he was doing there. Gerard answered, "A little Child came out of the tabernacle and gave me Holy Communion!"

When Gerard was twelve, his father died, so it was necessary for him to leave school and begin work. He got a job helping a tailor so he could learn the trade but this tailor was very mean and would hit Gerard, and call him names.

At the age of fifteen, Gerard went to work as a servant for the Bishop. He was always meek and humble, even when the Bishop sometimes got angry at him. One day the Bishop went out for a walk. Gerard locked the door of the Bishop's house and went to the well to get some water. But as he leaned down to pull up the pail, he accidentally dropped the house key into the well. He ran to the church to get a statue of the Infant Jesus. He tied a rope around it and lowered it into the well saying, "It is for Thee Lord, to bring me the key, that the Bishop may not be put to trouble!" Then as the people stared, Gerard drew out of the well, the statue of Jesus, which was holding in His hand, the lost key!

In June 1744, the Bishop died and Gerard returned to Muro. He opened up a tailor shop in his mother's house. His sewing was perfect and his prices were fair, and he never took any money from the poor. Gerard did well in his tailor business and he was always very generous. He gave his mother a third of all his earnings, another third went to the poor in Muro, and the last third was used to have Masses said for the Souls in Purgatory. One day a poor man had sent him some material for a garment, but there was not enough material to make the garment. When Gerard picked up the material it suddenly became bigger and when the garment was finished, he even gave the man the left over cloth!

St Gerard did much penance. He was thin from all the fasting he did – he allowed himself only a little bread and rarely any vegetables. And he was pale looking from the long hours he spent on his knees, in prayer, at church.

Twice, Gerard tried to enter the Capuchin Monastery in Muro, but the monks thought that he was too sickly to become a monk. So Gerard continued working as a tailor and doing God's will, but he still wanted to become a brother. One day some Redemptorist priests came to Muro to give a mission at the church. Gerard asked one of the priests, Fr. Cafaro, if he could join their religious order but he was refused. The priest thought his health was not good enough for him to join their monastery. The lad was so determined to join them that he begged and begged, but to no avail. Gerard's mother and sisters didn't want him to join the Redemptorists, so they locked him in his room. But the next morning, when his mother opened the locked door, she found that Gerard had escaped through his bedroom window. He had left a note saying, "I am going to become a saint! Think no more of me!" Gerard caught up with the missionaries and was finally allowed to join the Redemptorists. But Fr. Cafaro sent a note with him saying, "I am sending you a useless lay brother!"

The priests in the Redemptorist Monastery at Iliceto, soon realized that Br. Gerard was not a "useless" brother at all; in fact, he was the best brother in the monastery!

He did the work of four men and helped others with their work as well. He was always praying, either in his heart or in the chapel. And what's more, Gerard could do the impossible! He read the minds of total strangers, he cured the sick – he worked miracles constantly. He knew the Redemptorist Rule by heart and obeyed his Superiors perfectly. Often they only had to think of a task for Br. Gerard to do, and he would immediately carry out their wishes! In July 1752, Br. Gerard made the vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience, and a vow of Perseverance until death, in the Redemptorist Order. Two months later he made a fifth vow: To always do that which is most pleasing to God. He loved to say, "I would give my life a thousand times, if it were possible, in order to help my neighbour." But one of the most beautiful things that Gerard ever said was, "Only one thing is necessary when you are upset. Bear everything with resignation to God's holy will, for this will help you to go to Heaven. Hope with a lively faith and you will receive everything from almighty God."

He travelled with the missionaries helping them in every way possible, as they went from town to village. During these travels, children flocked to Br. Gerard. He told them stories and taught them to pray. In Muro, one little boy tumbled off a cliff and lay as if dead. But Gerard said, "It is nothing!" He traced a little cross on the boy's forehead and the boy awoke!

St. Gerard truly loved the Virgin Mary. When he knelt to pray before an image of Mary, he could not tear himself away. He often said, "The Madonna has stolen my heart, and I have made her a present of it!" The mere thought of Mary or the sound of her name would make his heart thrill with joy!

In November 1753, the plague broke out in Lacedonia; people were dying like flies. Bishop Amato asked Br. Gerard to come to Lacedonia to help the plague stricken victims. The young man made his way to that city and at once started his rounds of mercy. He prepared some to die, others he told that the disease would soon pass and he cured many with a simple sign of the cross.

In 1754, Br. Gerard underwent a great trial. A girl named Neria had joined a convent and then left, shortly after. She started saying untrue things about the nuns and then she slandered Br. Gerard! She wrote to St. Alphonsus Liguori, the Superior of the Redemptorists, saying that Br. Gerard had committed sins of impurity with another woman, which of course was a lie! St. Alphonsus called Br. Gerard to his office and asked him if the letter was true. But Br. Gerard remained silent and would not defend himself, even though he was innocent. St. Alphonsus then told Gerard that he could not receive Communion and that he could not speak to anyone outside the monastery. Sometime later, Neria became deathly ill and wrote a letter to St. Alphonsus, confessing that she had lied about Br. Gerard! When St. Alphonsus realized that Br. Gerard was innocent, he called him into his office saying, "You were innocent all the time, my son, and you said nothing!" Br. Gerard replied, "How could I, my Father, when our rule forbids us to make excuses!"

Many other things happened in the life of Br. Gerard. He often went into ecstasy while meditating on God or God's holy will and often his body was seen raised several feet above the ground. He had the gift of bilocation and was seen in two places at the same time. He blessed a small amount of wheat belonging to a poor family and it lasted until the next harvest. Several times he multiplied the bread which he was distributing to the poor. One day he walked on top of the water to save a boatload of men who were being tossed about on the waves of a stormy sea! And many times Gerard told people the secret sins on their souls, which they had been ashamed to confess and brought them to repentance. The funniest miracle he worked was when his Superior had told him not to work any more miracles; he was testing Gerard's humility. A man fell from a scaffold and Gerard said, "Wait, I have to ask my Superior permission to work a miracle." The man remained floating in mid air! When Gerard arrived with his Superior, the Superior had no choice but to give Gerard permission!

Br. Gerard was often sick and in 1755, more than a month before he died, he began to haemorrhage; and he had a burning fever! A priest brought him Holy Communion, as he was expected to die soon. However, his Superior commanded him to get well, if it were God's will! Gerard then rose up and joined in with the rest of the community, for about one month. Then he prepared himself for death. He had this sign placed on his door, "THE WILL OF GOD IS DONE HERE, AS GOD WILLS IT, AND AS LONG AS HE WILLS IT." He died on October 15, 1755, and was canonized a saint in 1904, by Pope St. Pius X.

St. Gerard, Pray for Us!

The End

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