June 19 2023 - St. Romuald - Reparation & Evangelization

 On Friday we celebrated the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus—a feast day on which we make reparation—through prayer and penance—for the blasphemies and sins committed against God and His Holy Church. And throughout the year, the first Friday of each month is traditionally set aside for this purpose as well—to do penance and offer prayer and make reparation for our sins and those of the world.

Well the saint honored today, made that his life. St. Romuald grew up without the practice of religion in Ravenna, Italy. But after he witnessed his father kill a relative in a duel over and argument about money, he entered monastic life to escape the violence of the world and to perform penance for his father. 

He took penance very seriously, and made some of the less strict monks a bit uncomfortable. But after some time, his father repented of his sins, and entered the monastery as well.

Now, Romuald would later become abbot of the monastery, and would also go on to be sent by the Pope to preach in Hungary, and also founded a new religious order, the Camaldolese hermits, but that initial inspiration to do penance for another shouldn’t be glossed over.

We see a lot of evil in the world right now—sins repugnant to the call to holiness are pridefully celebrated, blasphemies are broadcast, vice is normalized and encouraged. What can I we, the church asks? We can follow the example of St Romuald—if not entering religious life to do penance, we can certainly fast and pray a little bit more assiduously in reparation for the multitude to of sins and for the conversion of sinners. Our Blessed Lord Himself said, some demons are only cast out through prayer and fasting. 

We speak a lot about evangelization these days, the need to spread the Gospel. Monks and hermits like St. Romuald remind us of a powerful way of engaging in evangelization—joining a religious community who take religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the context of a penitential rule of life. The great powerhouses of evangelization throughout history, have often been those monasteries where men and women have sought to conform themselves to Christ and to do penance for sin. Hermits inspire people to turn away from the emptiness and the noise of the world in order to find Christ. That’s evangelization. We become effective instruments of evangelization when we are serious about our personal call to holiness. 

And shouldn’t that be the pursuit about which we are most serious? St. Romuald brought his father to Christ through his humble quiet life of prayer and penance. May his example and heavenly intercession inspire us to similar endeavors for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

To God the Father Almighty, may every prayer of our heart be directed, for it is His will that all humanity should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.

For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her and care for her.

For the peoples of all the world, that the Lord may graciously preserve harmony among them, and deepen in them the virtues of justice and religion.

For an increase in vocations to the consecrated religious life—especially to those holy orders of hermits—who inspired us by their vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may graciously grant them relief, especially for the sick and victims of war and terror and natural disaster.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased priests and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.