June 19--St. Romuald, Abbot

How do we deal with the sins of our family? Do we condemn our family member, or do we condemn the sin? Do we pray for their repentance and conversion? Do we offer reparation for their sins? St. Romuald was 20 when his father killed a relative in a duel over property. St. Romuald was so upset that he fled to a nearby monastery in Ravenna, Italy and prayed and did penance for his father. He joined the monastery, but found that his rigor was more than what they wanted. He left and lived under the direction of a hermit. After about five years with him, he spent 30 years traveling around Italy founding and reforming monasteries. 

He eventually founded the Camaldolese order, which combined elements of being a hermit with elements of being a monk. The Camoldolese monks lived in individual cells, but also observed a common life with daily worship and community meals. They emphasized a life of contemplative prayer. The Camoldolese have established communities in Brazil, Africa, India, and the United States in Big Sur, California.

So how does that impact our lives? Do we admire St. Romuald and think, “Better him than me” or “That’s nice”? We need holy men and women to challenge us. Sometimes we get complacent, even in our faith lives and our prayer. Do we pray for the reparations of the sins of others? We have much to pray for regarding the sins in our families, our communities, and in our society. Do we set aside time for God? Do we pray in adoration? Do we sit and “be” in the presence of God? God’s friendship means that we need to share time with him. St. Romuald died in 1027, but his example is worth following.

June 19—Venerable Matt Talbot, Holy Man and Third Order Franciscan

“Hi, my name is Matt and I am an alcoholic.” That may be the greeting today’s saint would give if he were to go to a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. Ven. Matt Talbot was an Irishman born in 1856 and died in 1925. He was a laborer and a man of modest means. He started drinking at about the age of 15 when he was a messenger for liquor merchants and, for almost 15 years he was an active alcoholic. Finally, he decided to “take the pledge” to give up drinking for three months, and then six months, and then for his whole life, which he did, albeit with great difficulty at times. He went to daily Mass, read religious books, and repaid debts incurred when he was drinking. He became a Third Order Franciscan, which means that he followed the example of St. Francis of Assisi as a layman, and modeled himself on the sixth century Irish monks. He died of heart failure on his way to Mass on Trinity Sunday.

Venerable Matt Talbot is the patron of alcoholics and those seeking sobriety. Alcoholism can ensnare anyone and render life miserable to the point of poverty, homelessness, abandonment by family, and despair of God. Talbot received God’s grace to overcome his alcoholism. We all need God’s grace to overcome our own “addictions”, those habits that pull us away from God and into our own selfishness. Sin itself is the ultimate addiction, whereby we turn in on ourselves in self-hatred and reject God’s love and mercy. Mercy requires repentance so we may turn back to God, who receives us as a forgiving prodigal father.