Dear Severt, Better to learn this lesson now instead of later.\u00a0 On the one hand, I would wish health problems on no one, but on the other hand, someone needs to tell you that sickness (even chronic sickness and disease) is not incompatible with sanctity.\u00a0 In fact, many of the saints suffered terribly, and their suffering was a springboard to selflessness and trust in God.\u00a0 Take today\u2019s saint, for example. Both of Pacifico\u2019s parents died when he was five.\u00a0 His harsh uncle brought him up, treating him worse than a servant for the next twelve years.\u00a0 The boy patiently and humbly bore with his trial, and then asked to join the Franciscans who had a convent nearby.\u00a0 He was accepted, received his formation, and began his apostolic life as a teacher of his brothers during their years of formation.\u00a0 When he was subsequently sent out to preach missions from village to village, he won the hearts of all his hearers through the sweetness and heartfelt conviction of his discourses.\u00a0 He also had the gift of \u201creading souls,\u201d and in the confessional would often remind penitents of sins they had forgotten about.\u00a0 After only a few years of this most gratifying work, the saint was struck with deafness, blindness, and a chronic (and almost crippling) ulceration of his legs.\u00a0 He had to retire from public life and continue serving God in prayer, penance, and community life in the convent.\u00a0 For twenty years he suffered thus, growing in holiness and being gifted with prophecy, but unable to do any of the things he had hoped to be able to do when he first took the religious habit.\u00a0 His life ended peacefully enough when he was 68 years old, and the miracles, which had begun to occur while he was still alive, regularly took place at his tomb.\u00a0 God had seen fit to heal others through this man whom he afflicted with decrepitude. If I were close by, I could pray with you and visit you every day, making sure that you bring your sufferings to prayer and unite every littlest one of them to the throes Christ underwent on the cross.\u00a0 Since I am far away, however, I\u2019ll ask St Pacifico to take my place. With love, Uncle Eddy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear Severt, Better to learn this lesson now instead of later.\u00a0 On the one hand, I would wish health problems on no one, but on the other hand, someone needs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":359,"featured_media":145992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[3719],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-142236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncle-eddy"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"","pp_force_visibility":null,"pp_subpost_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_force_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_subpost_visibility":null,"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n