Saint of the Day

JUNE 16
ST. JOHN FRANCIS REGIS

This French saint was born in 1597. When he was eighteen, he entered the
Jesuit order. In the seminary, John's love for God and his vocation showed
in the way he prayed. He was also eager to teach catechism in the parishes
when he could. After he was ordained a priest, St. John Francis began his
work as a missionary preacher. He gave very simple talks that came right
from his heart. He especially spoke to the poor, ordinary folks. They came
in great crowds to hear him. He spent his mornings praying, performing the
sacrament of Reconciliation and preaching. In the afternoon, he would visit
prisons and hospitals. To someone who said that the prisoners and bad women
he converted would not stay good for long, the saint answered: "If my
efforts stop just one sin from being committed, I shall consider them
worthwhile."
St. John Francis journeyed to wild mountain parishes even on the coldest
days of winter to preach his missions. "I have seen him stand all day on a
heap of snow at the top of a mountain preaching," one priest said, "and then
spend the whole night hearing confessions. " Sometimes he would start off for
a far-away town at three o'clock in the morning with a few apples in his
pocket for his day's food.
Once, on his way to a village, St. John Francis fell and broke his leg. But
he kept on going, leaning on a stick and on his companion's shoulder. When
he reached the village, he went at once to hear confessions. He did not have
his leg taken care of. At the end of the day, when the doctor looked at it,
his leg was already completely healed.
St. John Francis died on one of his preaching missions. He became very ill
while lost at night in the woods. Just before he died, he exclaimed: "I see
Our Lord and his mother opening heaven for me." He died on December 31,
1640.
In 1806, a pilgrim joined the crowds going to pray at the shrine of St. John
Francis Regis. The pilgrim believed all his life that this saint obtained
his vocation to the priesthood. That man was St. John Vianney, the Cure of
Ars. His feast is celebrated on August 4.

How often do I reflect upon my life and see the many blessings and graces of
God? Does my day go by without thanking God for them?