*What does it mean to be “most earnest in prayer”? St. Cajetan is described as such a man. He is also described “in love of neighbor”. That is impressive! It meets the requirements Jesus set forth, when he was asked in Matthew’s Gospel (22:36-40), “‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.’”
Gaetano dei Conti di Thiene was born in 1480 near Venice to an Italian nobleman. He received degrees in both civil and canon law and worked as a diplomat for Pope Julius II. He was ordained a priest in 1516 after Pope Julius died and went back to his hometown of Vicenza, establishing a hospital in 1522. He established another hospital in Venice in 1523, but moved back to Rome to form a congregation dedicated to the spirit of monasticism and active ministry, where he and three others began Theatine order. In Naples he founded a bank to help the poor against those who charged extremely high interest rates. He died in 1547 in Naples. He is the patron saint of the unemployed and gamblers.
So, how was St. Cajetan most “most earnest in prayer” as well as “in love of neighbor”? For someone to be able to do the charitable acts he did, one needs to be grounded in Jesus. A strong prayer life is essential to developing that relationship of love. St. Cajetan’s life of prayer and charity was based on his love of Jesus and thus his service to others.
*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Francesco_Solimena_-_Estasi_di_San_Gaetano_da_Thiene.jpg
Francesco Solimena, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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