Today February 27

Today is the feast day of St. Gabriel Possenti (1838 -1862), another saint who sought to gain sanctity through the "little way," something the Anonymous Catholic Housewife understands. Now Gabriel wasn't always so convicted; he lived a dissolute and worldly life as a young man -- and a perfectly normal childhood: he got angry, he was fussy about his food and dress, he loved entertainment, he was lively and cheerful. No visions. No self-torture. A breath of fresh air is Gabriel Possenti. But what made him change? What woke him up? A dangerous illness. He made a bargain with God: cure me and I will dedicate my life to you. He WAS cured, but, as so often happens, he got back into the swing of things and forgot all about his promise. But he was attacked AGAIN and THIS time he took it seriously.

He tried to enter the Jesuits -- he was accepted -- but he still held back. He knew, I think, that that particular order, lofty though it is, wasn't his calling. He finally decided on the Passionists (a perfect fit), with the full approval of his Jesuit confessor.

And thus began a life of extraordinary virtue doing ordinary things, a way of sanctity open to us all. Are all preachers? No. Are all teachers? No. Are all administrators? Certainly not. But all are men and all can come to holiness. For example, he put up with his illnesses and his weaknesses, he deferred to others with cheerfulness and charity, he exactly followed every rule, he did not argue or defend himself when others made fun of him (tough to do). He controlled his "warm temper" and always gave firm and honest replies to all questions; he denied himself many small pleasures (a real martyrdom, yet he was always full of joy); by a supreme act of will he stayed faithful though he was plagued by spiritual aridity and doubt. He had a great devotion to Our Lady and often prayed to her. He took her name as part of his own: Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother. He repaired a broken statue of hers to great beauty.

He did have one incident of drama in an otherwise quiet life. When King Victor Emmanuel's forces raided Isola (the small mountain town where the Passionists had their monastery), the rector locked himself in his room and all the monks hid in the sanctuary, but Gabriel went out alone into the town. Seeing several soldiers kidnap and drag a young girl away, he confronted them. Grabbing a pistol from one of the soldiers' own holsters, he threatened to shoot them if they didn't disarm and unhand the girl. The senior officer just laughed -- until Gabriel took aim at a tiny lizard across the road and shot him dead. The soldiers dropped their weapons and beat a hasty retreat.

Not long after, Gabriel's health began to fade. He'd had a nagging cough for quite some time; now it had developed into full-blown tuberculosis. He died holding a picture of Our Lady and his last words were "Jesus, Mary and Joseph." The whole town came out for his funeral.

St. Gabriel Possenti, pray for us.