Today is the feast of the wonderful, the challenging St. John of God (1495 - 1550). First of all, let me say that I love John of God, because, among other things, he is the patron of booksellers. What would we do without booksellers -- good, wholesome, scholarly Catholic booksellers? He is also (with Camilllus de Lellis) the patron of hospitals, the sick, and nurses, because he was himself a nurse, a hospital administrator and a mentally ill person! Or at least that is what people assumed he was. After all, he WAS committed to an insane asylum. Why? Because he so took to heart a sermon against sin by St. John of Avila and so determined in his fervor that he was running about almost like a wild man, accusing himself of his sins and begging for penance. St. John himself rescued him from the asylum and settled him down.
He opened up his house to the neglected sick and nursed them himself. He put to use his vigor and his energy for penance in an extremely positive way. He no longer frightened the citizens of Granada. In fact, several young men joined him in his selfless cause -- to the point that the archbishop of Granada encouraged him to take a habit, organize the men, and found an order. John was reluctant to do so, but he did, and that is the origin of the Brothers Hospitallers.
He died kneeling before the altar in his sickroom, remaining kneeling totally unsupported even hours after his death! Plus a glorious and pleasant fragrance permeated the room, which is now a chapel. His funeral had to be at the Our Lady of Victory Church, since it was the only one large enough to hold all the people. When his coffin was opened a full 20 years after his death, his body was incorrupt (except for the very tip of his nose). His body has since deteriorated into bones, which were separated and distributed to many of the churches and hospitals of the Brothers Hospitallers.
St. John of God, pray for us.
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