February
8.—ST. JOHN OF MATHA.
THE life of St. John of Matha was one long course of
self-sacrifice for the glory of God and the good of his neighbor. As a child,
his chief delight was serving the poor; and he often told them he had come into
the world for no other end but to wash their feet. He studied at Paris with
such distinction that his professors advised him to become a priest, in order
that his talents might render greater service to others; and, for this end,
John gladly sacrificed his high rank and other worldly advantages. At his first
Mass an angel appeared, clad in white, with a red and blue cross on his breast,
and his hands reposing on the heads of a Christian and a Moorish captive. To
ascertain what this signified, John repaired to St. Felix of Valois, a holy
hermit living near Meaux, under whose direction he led a life of extreme
penance. The angel again appeared, and they then set out for Rome, to learn the
will of God from the lips of the Sovereign Pontiff, who told them to devote
themselves to the redemption of captives. For this purpose they founded the
Order of the Holy Trinity. The religious fasted every day, and gathering alms
throughout Europe took them to Barbary, to redeem the Christian slaves. They
devoted themselves also to the sick and prisoners in all countries. The charity
of St. John in devoting his life to the redemption of captives was visibly
blessed by God. On his second return from Tunis he brought back one hundred and
twenty liberated slaves. But the Moors attacked him at sea, over- i powered his
vessel, and doomed it to destruction, with all on board, by taking away the
rudder and sails, and leaving it to the mercy of the winds. St. John tied his
cloak to the mast, and prayed, saying, "Let God arise, and let His enemies
be scattered. O Lord, Thou wilt save the humble, and wilt bring down the eyes
of the proud." Suddenly the wind filled the small sail, and, without
guidance, carried the ship safely in a few days to Ostia, the port of Rome,
three hundred leagues from Tunis. Worn out by his heroic labors, John died in
1213, at the age of fifty-three.
Reflection.—Let us never forget that
our blessed Lord, bade us love our neighbor not only as ourselves, but as He
loved us, Who afterwards sacrificed Himself for us.
Bultler's Lives of the Saints
