Saint Gerard was born into very simple and humble
circumstances on April 26, 1726, in the village of Muro Lucano, Italy, the
fifth child of Dominic and Benedetta Golella Majella. As a boy, Gerard was
poor, small of stature, and prone to illness. But his family was very loving,
and they taught him that suffering and love can work together.
Gerard was so captivated by the passion of Christ and the
idea that the Son of God would willingly suffer because of love that he decided
he wanted to fashion his whole life in the image of the suffering Christ.
By the age of five, miraculous events began to occur in
Gerard’s life. For example, his sister witnessed the statue of the Baby Jesus
come alive, play with Gerard, give him a loaf of bread, and then return to
Mary’s arms. For Gerard, these extraordinary events occurred so often that they
seemed almost ordinary to him.
When Gerard was twelve, his father died, and Gerard went to
work for a local tailor to support the family. The foreman was very mean to
Gerard, but he accepted his hardships as one following the will of God. For a
short while he worked for a local bishop, and later had his own tailoring
business. Still, Gerard felt a deeper calling to conform his life totally to
Christ.
In 1749, after attending a Redemptorist mission, Gerard
decided to join this congregation of missionaries. At first, the missionaries
thought he was too frail to join them. They asked his mother to lock him in his
room so he could not follow them. But Gerard climbed out the window and
convinced the Redemptorists to give him a chance.
Gerard quickly proved himself to be a model religious. He
refused to defend himself because the Rule forbade it, even when falsely
accused of inappropriate behavior with a woman. Instead, he accepted the
punishment and prayed until proven innocent. He was always cheerful and loved
stories and jokes. He was prayerful, pious, and extraordinarily knowledgeable
of works on theology and spirituality. He offered spiritual direction,
performed great works of charity, and gave himself completely to the service of
God and neighbor.
Gerard is best known for his miracles. Stories have been
passed down from generation to generation, and Saint Gerard is said to have performed
miracles similar to those of Christ, Elijah, and other figures found in the Old
Testament. Through his miracles, Gerard mirrored the face of Christ to others.
He could read hearts, often fell into ecstasy, and was reported to have
levitated and bi-located.
Perhaps the most famous miracle attributed to Saint Gerard’s
intercession involves a mother in danger of death during childbirth. One day
Gerard was leaving the home of the Pirofalo family. A daughter noticed Gerard
had forgotten his handkerchief. When she tried to give it to him, he told her
to keep it because it would prove useful to her one day.
Years later, while experiencing great difficulty in giving
birth, almost to the point of death, the woman asked for the handkerchief.
After she received it, the birth proceeded with no further complications. Many
women began asking for the handkerchief and the prayers of Saint Gerard to
assist them in having a safe childbirth. And so it is that he became known as
the patron saint of expectant mothers.
Gerard’s whole life was a testimony to the power of love
through sacrifice. Saint Gerard meditated on the crucifix. In his meditations,
he realized a truth Saint Paul knew: The power of Christ shines through our
human weakness. This human weakness is not the weakness of sin, but the
weakness of being finite.
This great saint understood human weakness. Being frail,
poor, and always of service, he knew what if felt like to be helpless. Thus,
when we feel we have nothing more to give, we can turn to Saint Gerard, and through
the empowerment of Christ, continue in loving service. We do not serve on our
own; it is Christ who serves others through us.
This is the source of Saint Gerard’s miraculous intercessory
power. Consider how many of Gerard’s miracles are exactly what Christ did in
his life. Jesus gave bread to the poor, raised the dead, walked on water,
accepted unjust accusations and punishment, and brought healing and mercy to
the poor and the abandoned. Saint Gerard knows how to help us call on the power
of Christ in our time of need and human weakness, giving the power and glory of
God room to shine in our lives.
Gerard’s frail body was not as strong as his soul. He died
in Materdomini the night of October 15, 1755, at the age of twenty-nine. He was
beatified by Leo XIII on January 29, 1893, and canonized by Pius X on December
11, 1904, and proclaimed the patron saint of expectant mothers.
His patronage is a two-fold
blessing in my own life
Part 1: My Grandmother’s
Blessing through the intercession of St. Gerard
World War I claimed an estimated 16 million lives. The
influenza epidemic that swept the world in 1918 killed an estimated 50 million
people. One fifth of the world's population was attacked by this deadly virus.
Within months, it had killed more people than any other illness in recorded
history.
My grandmother contracted the disease in Autumn that
year. Her doctors told my grandfather to
“go home and make arrangements” because she was not expected to survive the
night—and the child she was carrying (my mother) likely would not survive
either.
The first ‘arrangement’ my grandfather made was to contact
family and friends to pray for Grandma, and he had the priest come in to give
her Viaticum. The priest told Grandpa
and my great-grandmother about the recently canonized patron saint of new
mothers and difficult pregnancies. Fortunately
for my grandma, the priest happened to have a relic of St. Gerard and he
suggested they pray for St. Gerard’s intercession to our Lord for a miracle
survival for both my grandma and her first baby. They stayed up all night in prayer after the
priest placed the relic on Grandma’s stomach.
The next morning, the doctor was amazed that Grandma was not
only still alive, but in fact so much improved that the prognosis for her
survival (and that of my mother, who was due the next February) was good, and
she could go home in a couple of days!
Part 2: My Mother’s Plea
for Intercession and a Promise
In early 1953, my mom was pregnant with me, and she was extremely
worried about it. She had suffered three
miscarriages since my brother Bill was born in 1948 and was afraid she might
have another heartbreaking miscarriage this time. Grandma reminded Mom of her own “worrisome”
pregnancy and how the prayers to St. Gerard had saved her life and suggested
they say a Novena to the saint once again for his intercession. Mom promised St. Gerard that if this latest
pregnancy went to term and she gave birth to a healthy child, she would name
the child after him. His prayers came
through for us! Not only was I born
healthy, but Mom said my birth was one of the easiest she experienced out of
all 6 deliveries. When the time came put
my name on the birth certificate she and Dad remembered the promise and
gratefully wrote Stephen Gerard.
Without St. Gerard and his intercession on my mother’s
behalf to Our Lord Jesus Christ I might not be writing this testimony to the power
of the Communion of the Saints. Today, on his Feast Day, I find myself asking
for St. Gerard’s help once again in protecting the health of my daughter Sarah
as she approaches the birth of her second daughter (Paloma) next month.
St. Gerard, Pray for us!
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