The Feast of Saints Josephine Bakhita and Jerome Emiliani.

"Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven, says the Lord." (Matthew 18: 3 Communion Antiphon. ).

Tuesday 8th February 2022, in the 5th Week in Ordinary Time. We celebrate the feast of two saints today:
++ St Josephine Bakhita (1869 - 1947). Sudanese. Virgin and Religious. Josephine was brought to Italy as a slave. By Divine Providence, she became a sister of the Canossian order. Her exemplary and holy life was noticed. She bore patiently and heroically her last illness. Pope St John Paul II brought her relics to Sudan where she was canonized in 2000. St Josephine Bakhita is the patron saint of Sudan and victims of human trafficking.

++ St Jerome Emiliani. (1481 - 1537). Italian. Priest. Jerome was wayward as a young man. When he was surprised by grace, his life changed 180 degrees. He founded a religious congregation (Somaschi) which looked after the sick, the poor and orphans and abandoned children. St Jerome Emiliani died of the plague while ministering to the afflicted.

In our key Scripture from Matthew 18: 3 from the Communion Antiphon, Jesus praises the humility of a little child.  What is humility?
Just like love, humility is patient and kind.  Humility is not jealous, conceited or proud. It does not keep a record of wrongs. In short, humility is love. St Josephine Bakhita is an examplar of humility. To climb from a little slave girl to the height of sanctity was done through patience and humility.

St Augustine says that Humility is the queen of virtues. He added that you can still get into Heaven by breaking every Commandment in the Book. But you can never get into Heaven without Humility.

Saints Josephine and Jerome pray for us.

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