A saint for epileptics

A friend who is a Secular Carmelite started out as an Anglican cleric, but had to take early retirement aged fifty because of epilepsy.  This experience undoubtedly played a part in leading him eventually to become a Catholic   The Good Lord uses such hindrances in life for the fulfilment of His purposes.  I was fascinated therefore to learn about one of today’s saints, the Italian St John Baptist de Rossi (Giovanni Battista de’Rossi, 1698-1764), both because of his beauty of character and because of his sufferings with epilepsy.  ‘St John Baptiste wanted dearly to become a priest. Under normal circumstances, his epileptic fits would have excluded him from the priesthood, but he was granted a special dispensation. He was ordained to the priesthood on March 8, 1721.  He devoted himself to serving Rome's sick, homeless and prostitutes. He would visit the sick and poor in the hospitals by day, and by night he ministered to the street people. He reached out to assist homeless women and helped to found a hospice for them. None of the sick repulsed him, no matter how bad their illness or symptoms because he saw Jesus in them.  In one instance, a young man who was ill and dying from syphilis turned away from John's attention, out of shame. However, as John showed his selfless heart and helped him with his bedpan, the man finally took the time to listen to John's words and was able to make a good confession before his death.  John's illness continued to impact his life, as he was afraid of entering the confessional because of the possibility of having a seizure during the session.  In 1738 he became dangerously ill and was sent to Civita Castellana to regain his health. While he was there, the bishop residing in that location pushed him to hear confessions, and in the end John received the special faculty of hearing confessions in any of Rome’s churches.  From then on, he spent countless hours hearing confessions from the poor and illiterate.’

Intercessions:

Brian Davis – cancer

Marie, Bernard (and wife Angela caring for him) - cancer

Siena, Elara – sick children

Wojtek – massive heart attack leaving him incapacitated

David 0CDS - housebound

Sophia – blind infant

Joy Smith - OCDS, seriously ill