Bienheureux Janvier-Marie
Sarnelli
Prêtre rédemptoriste
italien (+ 1744)
Gennaro Maria Sarnelli (1702-1744) ami et collaborateur de saint Alphonse-Marie de Liguori. Béatifié par Jean-Paul II le 12 mai 1996
À Naples, en 1744, le bienheureux Janvier-Marie Sarnelli, prêtre rédemptoriste,
qui s'employa activement à secourir les miséreux de tout genre.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/11866/Bienheureux-Janvier-Marie-Sarnelli.html
Bienheureux Janvier
Marie SARNELLI
Nom: SARNELLI
Prénom: Janvier Marie
(Gennaro Maria)
Nom de religion: Janvier
Marie (Gennaro Maria)
Pays: Italie
Naissance:
12.09.1702 à Naples
Mort:
30.06.1744 à Naples
Etat: Prêtre -
Rédemptoriste
Note: 1722 Docteur en
droit civil et ecclésiastique. Avocat. 1731 Prêtre. Apostolat auprès des
prostituées. 1733 en mission avec S. Alphonse de Liguori. Devient rédemptoriste.
Prédicateur, écrivain.
Béatification:
12.05.1996 à Rome par Jean Paul II
Canonisation:
Fête: 30 juin
Réf. dans l’Osservatore
Romano: 1996 n.20 p.1 - n.21 p.4-5
Réf. dans la
Documentation Catholique: 1996 n.12 p.551-553
Notice
Gennaro Maria Sarnelli
naît en 1702 dans une famille patricienne. A 14 ans, il décide d’entrer chez
les Jésuites, mais, son père le trouvant trop jeune, il continue ses études et
à 20 ans il est docteur ‘in utroque jure’ (droit civil et ecclésiastique). A
l’hôpital des incurables où il soigne les malades, il rencontre Saint Alphonse
de Liguori dont il sera plus tard l’ami et le collaborateur. Il entre au
séminaire et il est ordonné prêtre en 1731. Il exerce son apostolat dans la
paroisse Sainte Anne del Palacio, quartier très pauvre de Naples où sévit le
fléau de la prostitution. Il s’emploie à réinsérer ces pauvres femmes et exerce
aussi une action préventive. A Salerne, il collabore à la mission de Saint
Alphonse et devient rédemptoriste. Il prêche des missions populaires et il
écrit. En 1736, tombé gravement malade, il retourne à Naples où, dans la maison
paternelle, il continue son œuvre de réinsertion, de prédication et d’écrivain;
son ministère de conseiller et de guide spirituel est recherché. Il
prêche jusqu’à l’extrême limite de ses forces et meurt en 1744.
Bienheureux Gennaro Maria
Sarnelli
SERVITEUR DU SEIGNEUR
Napolitain de famille
noble, Gennaro Maria Sarnelli (1702-1744) a désiré très jeune entrer chez les
jésuites, mais sur les directives de son père, il est devenu avocat. La
rencontre providentielle d’un autre avocat, Alphonse-Marie de Liguori – auprès
des malades de l’hôpital des incurables comme lors des « chapelles du
soir », assemblées de prière et de formation religieuse – lui permet
d’accomplir sa vocation. Comme prêtre diocésain d’abord, puis rédemptoriste, ce
grand spirituel se voue à un intense apostolat : missions populaires,
direction spirituelle, réinsertion des blessés de la vie. Dans la paroisse
Sant’Anna di Palazzo, quartier très pauvre de Naples touché par la prostitution,
il s’efforce de réinsérer ces femmes pauvres, et exerce une action préventive.
Il meurt d’épuisement, laissant une importante œuvre littéraire.
Seigneur Dieu, ton Fils
nous a enseigné à le reconnaître dans les plus humbles, et tu as mis au cœur de
Gennaro Maria le désir de se mettre au service des personnes blessées par la
vie.
Temps de silence
À la prière du
bienheureux Gennaro Maria Sarnelli, accorde-nous de vivre l’engagement avec les
plus pauvres comme une réponse joyeuse à ton amour.
SOURCE : https://francais.magnificat.net/magnificat_content/bienheureux-gennaro-maria-sarnelli/
Beato Gennaro Maria Sarnelli, dipinto
realizzato dall'artista Giuseppe Antonio Lomuscio, tela per la beatificazione
Blessed Gennaro Maria
Sarnelli
Also
known as
Januarius Maria Sarnelli
Profile
Son of the Baron of
Ciorani. Civil and canon
lawyer at age 20. Friend of Saint Alphonsus
Maria de Liguori. While working with terminally ill patients,
Gennaro felt a call to the priesthood,
and in 1728 he
gave up the law and
entered the seminary. Ordained on 8 June 1732,
he gave away all his personal property and wealth to the poor.
He dedicated himself to helping and catechizing children that
today we would call “at risk” of entering lives of crime, and of working to help
young women out
of lives as prostitutes;
this last work led to many threats against him and his family from criminal
elements who made money on the sex trade. Member of the Congregation of
Apostolical Missions. Joined the Redemptorists in 1733.
In 1736 he
was sent to Naples, Italy where
he worked to support the missioner work
of the Redemptorists and
spent his spare time ministering to the sick,
the elderly, prisoners and
young boys forced
into labour at
the docks. Wrote more
than 30 books of a number of pastoral, social and theological topics,
and left many more unfinished.
Born
12
September 1702 in
the castle of Duke Zapata, Naples, Italy
30
June 1744 in Naples, Italy of
natural causes
buried in
the parish of
Santa Maria dell’Aiuto in Naples
re-interred at
the Redemptorist Church of Ciorani in Salerno, Italy
2
December 1906 by Pope Pius
X (decree of heroic
virtues)
12 May 1996 by Pope John
Paul II
Additional
Information
Devotion
in Honor of the Seven Sorrows and Joys of Saint Joseph
Life
of Father Gennaro Maria Sarnelli, by Saint Alphonsus
Maria de Liguori
other
sites in english
video
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
MLA
Citation
“Blessed Gennaro Maria
Sarnelli“. CatholicSaints.Info. 11 August 2022. Web. 28 June 2023.
<https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-gennaro-maria-sarnelli/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-gennaro-maria-sarnelli/
Januarius Maria Sarnelli
One of S. Alphonsus's earliest
companions, fourth son of Baron Angelo Sarnelli of Ciorani, b. in Naples 12 Sept.,
1702; d. 30 June, 1744. From his childhood he was remarkable for modesty,
self-denial, piety,
and great diligence in his studies. At the age of fourteen he desired to become
a Jesuit, but
his father objected
and directed him to study law. He succeeded
admirably in the legal profession, while daily Mass, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, and
attendance on the sick in the hospital of
incurables filled up all his spare time. At twenty-six he abandoned the bar and
become a cleric.
His zeal showed
itself at once in his labours for children, whom he catechized with wonderful
success. Admirable instructions on this most important matter may be found in
his works for ecclesiastics.
He was ordained priest in 1732 and
immediately became a member of the Propaganda of Naples, a congregation
of secular priests devoted
to Apostolic work. A year later he went to Scala and became one of the earliest
companions of S.
Alphonsus in founding the Congregation of the Most
Holy Redeemer. Both these holy men worked together and gave missions along
the coast of Amalfi till
1735, when Ven. Sarnelli's health gave way. He had to return to Naples, where he spent
nine years in a poor apartment with one lay brother as
companion. Scarcely had his health improved than he began a crusade against the
immorality of his time which has rarely been surpassed in boldness. In his
writings he laid responsibility at the doors of ministers of state,
while by his exhortations he created a public opinion which helped him on to
success; and God evidently
protected him in the dangers to which his zeal exposed him.
His triumph was complete. His labours amongst the lowly and abandoned were
continual; yet he found time to write many excellent works. He will always be
known for his insistence on meditation as morally necessary for
perseverance. He showed how simple it is and within the reach of everyone. It
was his labours and success in this matter that occasioned, after the servant
of God's death,
the Apostolic letter of Benedict XIV and
the Indulgences then
granted to meditation (16 Dec., 1746). A complete edition of Venerable
Sarnelli's works have been published at Naples, Tipografia,
Largo S. Martino, No. 4, as follows: Il Mondo Santificato, 2 vols.; L'Anima
Illuminata; Il Mondo Reformato, 3 vols.; L'Ecclesiastico Santificato; Le Glorie
e Grandezze della Divina Madre; Le Discrezione degli Spiriti; Il Cristiano
Illuminato; Dirretto ed ammaestrato; Opera contra la Bestemmia; Ragioni
Cattoliche, legali e politiche, in difesa della citta rovinata dall'insolentito
meretricio; Il Cristiano Santificato; Lettere Spirituali; Devozioni pratiche
per onorare la SS. Trinità e Maria e Devozioni per apparecchio ad una buona
morte.
He died in his
forty-second year. His first biographer, S. Alphonsus, writes:
"As soon as he had breathed his last breath his countenance suddenly
became beautiful — and his body exhaled a sweet odour — which remained in the
room long after the interment." His body reposes in a side chapel in the Redemptorist church
in Naples. He
was declared Venerable in 1874. A decree on his heroic virtues was
published in 1906, and now only miracles are
required for his Beatification.
Sources
Vita de Gennaro P. D. M.
Sarnelli S. Alfonso, tr. in Companions of S. Alphonsus, Oratorian Series;
DUMORTIER, Le Vénérable Serviteur de Dieu, Le Père Janvier-Marie Sarnelli
(Paris, 1886) — Introductio causae. See ALPHONSUS LIGUORI, ST.
Magnier,
John. "Januarius Maria Sarnelli." The Catholic
Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton
Company, 1912. 28 Jun. 2023 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13477a.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Thomas M. Barrett. Dedicated to
the memory of Venerable Rev. Januarius Maria Sarnelli.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. February 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, D.D.,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2021 by Kevin Knight.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13477a.htm
BL. GENNARO MARIA
SARNELLI was born into a noble family in Naples on 12 September 1702. At
14 he wanted to become a Jesuit, but was dissuaded by his father, who
considered him too young. He studied jurisprudence and earned a doctorate in
canon and civil law. He then joined the Congregation of Knights of the Legal
and Medical Professions, directed by the Pious Workers of St Nicholas, and
started work with the sick in the Hospital of the Incurables, where he met St
Alphonsus Liguori. They became lifelong friends.
With St Alphonsus he set
up evening classes where workers were trained to become evangelizers. In 1728
he entered the Naples diocesan seminary and was assigned by Cardinal Pignatelli
to the parish of St Anna di Palazzo, where he continued his pastoral work. He
joined the Congregation of the Apostolic Missions and was ordained a priest on
8 July 1732.
He was then put in charge
of religious instruction in the rough and crowded parish of Sts Francis and
Matthew, where he became aware of prostitution, especially among children, and
devoted himself to helping young girls ensnared in it.
In 1733 he joined St
Alphonsus in Scala (Salerno), when the latter had been abandoned by his first
companions after founding the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. Fr
Sarnelli came to appreciate the new foundation's charism and its aim, the
evangelization of the poor who lacked spiritual assistance, and became a
Redemptorist. With the help of his father and priest brother, the house at
Ciorani was founded and he was also partly responsible for founding the house
at Villa Liberi, Caserta. He worked strenuously in parish missions in Amalfi,
Caiazza and Salerno until prevented by illness in April 1736. After his
recovery, he was obliged to return to Naples to live at home, but remained in
close contact with his congregation. He published most of his writings, tried
to save prostitutes and fought against blasphemy, besides promoting mental
prayer among the laity and youth.
In 1741 he planned and
preached missions in villages and in the suburbs of Naples. When St Alphonsus
had to abandon his work in 1742, Sarnelli yielded to Cardinal Spinelli's
request to replace him. A year later he was exhausted but continued to preach,
although he was extremely ill. He died in Naples on 30 June 1744, at the age of
42 His reputation for holiness spread outside Italy, and in 1861 his cause for
canonization was introduced. Pope St Pius X declared him venerable in 1906.
SOURCE : https://web.archive.org/web/20180929233226/https://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/bios96.htm#sarnelli
SARNELLI, GENNARO MARIA,
BL.
Januarius; lawyer,
ascetical writer, Redemptorist priest; b. Sept. 12, 1702, Naples, Italy; d.
there, June 30, 1744.
The fourth son of Baron
Angelo Sarnelli of Ciorani, Gennaro was inspired at age 14 by the beatification
of John Francis regis to become a Jesuit himself. His father persuaded him
instead to study canon and civil
law, in which he earned a doctorate (1722). He succeeded admirably in the
legal profession, while daily Mass, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, and
attendance on the sick in the hospital of incurables filled his free time.
He abandoned the bar at
age 26, entered the seminary in 1728, and was assigned to catechize children at
St. Anne di Palazzo parish. In 1730 he entered the novitiate in the
Congregation of the Apostolic Missions, a society of secular missionary
preachers. Throughout his seminary training he continued his catechetical work
with children, visited the elderly in the Hospice of San Gennaro, and
ministered to sick sailors. During this period he and Alphonsus ligouri became
friends and together organized the Evening Chapels (cappelle serotine ),
an association of workers and artisans formed for the purpose of mutual
assistance, religious instruction, and works of apostolic zeal.
After his ordination in
1732, he served as director of religious education at a poor parish in the
Spanish quarter of Naples, where he found employment for poor women to keep
them out of prostitution. The year after Alphonsus's founding of the
Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Nov. 9, 1732), Sarnelli defended his
friend against unjust criticism and in June of that year joined him in Salerno.
They gave missions together along the coast of Amalfi until Sarnelli's health
failed. In April 1736, he officially entered the Redemptorists in Naples. Once
his health improved he began a successful written crusade in defense of young
girls in danger, again undertook missions, and promoted meditation in common
among the laity until his precarious health forced him into retirement in April
1744.
Sarnelli composed 30
major works on various legal, pedagogical, and theological topics,
including Il Mondo santificato, 2 v. (Naples 1738); Il Mondo
riformato (Naples 1739); Le gloriee grandezze della divina
Madre (Naples 1739); Il Cristiano santificato (Naples
1739); L'Anima illuminata, 3 v. (Naples 1740); L'Anima
desolata (Naples 1740); Discrezione degli spiriti (Naples
1741); L'Ecclesiastico santificato (Naples 1741). In his spiritual
works he insists that meditation is essential for perseverance and within reach
of all Christians. His writings in this area occasioned Benedict
XIV's granting an indulgence for meditation (Dec. 16, 1746).
Sarnelli died at age 42
in the presence of his friend St. Alphonsus Ligouri, who reported that
Sarnelli's body exuded the odor of sanctity that "remained in the room
long after his interment." An urn containing his relics can be found in
the Redemptorist church at Ciorani, S. Antonio a Tarsia. Sarnelli was
beatified, May 12, 1996, by Pope John
Paul II.
Feast: June 30
(Redemptorists).
Bibliography: Riproduzione
di tutte le opere, 14 v. (Naples 1848–55). A. M. de' Liguori, Compendio
della vita del servo di Dio G. M. S. (Naples 1752). Neapolit.
beatificationis et canonizationisp. J. M. S. positio (Rome
1889). Acta Apostolicae Sedis, no.12 (1996):
551–53. L'Osservatore Romano, English edition, no. 11 (1996): 1–2. R. Giovine, Vita del gran servo di Dio p. G. M. S. (Naples 1858). F. Dumortier, Le vénérable serviteur de Dieu, le p. J. M. S. (Paris
1886). M. de Meulemeester, Bibliographie générale des écrivains
rédemptoristes, v. 2 (Löwen 1935), 373–377; v. 3 (Löwen 1939), 379. G. Sparano, Memorie istoriche per illustrare… gli atti della Congregazione
delle Apostoliche Missioni (Naples 1768), 2:345ff. H. F. G. Swanston, Saint Alphonsus and His Brothers: A Study of the Lives and Works
of Seven Redemptorists (Liguori, Missouri 2000).
[K. I. Rabenstein]
New Catholic Encyclopedia
Blessed Gennaro Maria
Sarnelli
Feast day: June 30
Gennaro Sarnelli was born in Naples, Italy, on September 12, 1702. Son of the
Baron of Ciorani, he had a solid cultural and spiritual formation. Dedicating
himself to the study of jurisprudence, he gained a doctorate in civil and canon
law at age 20. Caring for the sick in the Hospital for the Incurables, he felt
the call to the priesthood. During this time, he also came to know Alphonsus
Maria de Liguori, who was his first biographer.
Ordained a priest in 1732, he dedicated himself especially to the catechesis of
young boys and to the rehabilitation of girls at risk of becoming prostitutes.
In June of the following year, he entered the Redemptorists. He dedicated
himself to the preaching of the Word of God to those who were most destitute of
spiritual help.
For reasons of health, in 1736, he returned to Naples, where, while continuing
the missionary activity of the Redemptorists Congregation, he resumed his
previous pastoral and charitable activities, especially among the sick, the
old, those in prison and the young boys forced to work as dock-laborers. He
also initiated a fervent movement against the spread of prostitution.
A prodigious writer, he published more than 30 books on a wide range of
subjects, including socio-juridical studies, moral issues, mysticism, pedagogy,
pastoral practice, Mariology, and ascetical theology.
In 1741, he organized and took part in the great mission among the spiritually
abandoned areas in the outskirts of Naples. Spent by his burning zeal, he died
in Naples June 30, 1744, at the age of 42. John Paul II beatified him on May
12, 1996.
Prayer in Honor of
Blessed Gennaro Sarnelli
Holy Redeemer, we place
ourselves in your presence confident that you are a loving and merciful God.
You walk with us by day and by night as we strive to proclaim your gospel with
compassion to people who are poor and abandoned. As we reach out to those most
in need, we look to Blessed Gennaro Sarnelli as a model and help. His ardent
desire was to bring people on the fringes of society and Church to a deeper knowledge
and love of you. We pray that his zeal will inspire and motivate us to share
your redemption with those who are marginalized. We especially remember people
who make decisions that lead to destructive and addictive behaviors. May our
choices be those of Blessed Sarnelli, who continually lived the gospel despite
adversity and opposition. We ask his help, that our commitment may not
shrink for lack of support or favor, for as we become one with those who are
outcast, we become one with you. Amen.
SOURCE : https://redemptorists.net/blessed-gennaro-maria-sarnelli
Bl. Gennaro Sarnelli
Feastday: June 30
Birth: 1702
Death: 1744
Beatified: Pope John Paul IIGennaro Sarnelli was born in Naples, Italy, on
September 12, 1702. Son of the Baron of Ciorani, he had a solid cultural and
spiritual formation. Dedicating himself to the study of jurisprudence, he
gained a doctorate in civil and canon law at age 20. Caring for the sick in the
Hospital for the Incurables, he felt the call to the priesthood. During this
time he also came to know Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, who was his first
biographer.
Ordained a priest in
1732, he dedicated himself especially to the catechesis of young boys and to
the rehabilitation of girls at risk of becoming prostitutes. In June of the
following year, he entered the Redemptorists. He dedicated himself to the
preaching of the Word of God to those who were most destitute of spiritual
help.
For reasons of health, in
1736, he returned to Naples, where, while continuing the missionary activity of
the Redemptorists Congregation, he resumed his previous pastoral and charitable
activities, especially among the sick, the old, those in prison and the young
boys forced to work as dock-laborers. He also initiated a fervent movement
against the spread of prostitution.
A prodigious writer, he
published more than 30 books on a wide range of subjects, including
socio-juridical studies, moral issues, mysticism, pedagogy, pastoral practice,
Mariology, and ascetical theology.
In 1741, he organized and
took part in the great mission among the spiritually abandoned areas in the
outskirts of Naples. Spent by his burning zeal, he died in Naples June 30,
1744, at the age of 42. John Paul II beatified him on May 12, 1996.
Biography Provided
by: The
Redemptorists of the Baltimore Province
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=7208
Blessed Gennaro Sarnelli
(1702-1744)
Gennaro Maria Sarnelli,
the son of the Baron of Ciorani, was born in Naples on September 12, 1702.
At the age of 14
following the beatification of Francis Regis he decided to become a Jesuit.
Having been dissuaded by his father because of his youth he began the study of
jurisprudence and took his Doctorate in ecclesiastical and civil law in 1722.
He distinguished himself at the Bar and was enrolled in the Congregation of the
Knights of the Legal and Medical Professions directed by the Pious Workers at
St. Nicholas of Toledo. Among the rules of this Association there was the
obligation of visiting the sick in the Hospital of the Incurables. It was here
he heard the call of the Lord to become a priest.
In September 1728 he
became a seminarian and was incardinated by Cardinal Pignatelli as a cleric in
the parish of St. Anne di Palazzo. On June 4, 1729 in order to study in more
peaceful conditions he became a boarder in the College of the Holy Family known
as the Chinese College, founded by Matthew Ripa. On April 8 of the following
year he left the Chinese College and on June 5 began his novitiate in the
Congregation of the Apostolic Missions.
On May 28 1731 he
concluded his novitiate and on July 8 of the following year he was raised to
the Priesthood. During these years in addition to his visits to the hospital he
devoted himself to helping young children forced to work and to teaching them the
catechism. He also visited the old people in the Hospice of St. Gennaro and
those condemned to the galleys who were ill in the hospital at the docks. These
were also the years when he developed a friendship with St. Alphonsus de
Liguori and his apostolate. Together they devoted themselves to teaching the
catechism to laypeople by organizing the Evening Chapels.
Following his ordination
he was assigned by Cardinal Pignatelli as Director of Religious Instruction in
the parish of Sts. Francis and Matthew in the Spanish quarter. Having become
aware of the rampant corruption of young girls he decided to direct all his
energy against prostitution. In the same period (1733) he tenaciously defended
St. Alphonsus against unjust criticism after he had founded the missionary
Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer in Scala (SA) on November 9 1732. In
June of the same year having gone to Scala to help his friend during the
mission at Ravello, he decided to become a Redemptorist while at the same time
continuing to be a member of the Apostolic Missions. From his entrance into the
Congregation in April 1736 he committed himself unsparingly to parish missions
and to writing in defence of “young girls in danger”. He also wrote on the
spiritual life and worked so hard that he was almost at death’s door. With the
consent of St. Alphonsus he returned to Naples for treatment and there renewed
his apostolate for the rescue of prostitutes.
As well as taking part in
the Redemptorist apostolate and that of the Apostolic Missions he promoted
meditation in common among the laity by publishing “Il mondo santificato”. He
also campaigned against blasphemy in another book. In 1741 he planned and took
part with St. Alphonsus in the great missions preached in the hamlets outside
Naples in preparation for the canonical visitation of Cardinal Spinelli.
Despite the permanently insecure state of his health he continued to preach
until the end of April 1744 when by now extremely ill he returned to Naples
where he died on June 30 at the age of 42. His body lies at rest in Ciorani,
the first Redemptorist Church.
Gennaro Maria Sarnelli
has left us 30 works which treat of meditation, mystical theology, spiritual
direction, law, pedagogy, moral and pastoral themes. By his social action in
favour of women he is considered one of the authors who treated this subject
most fully in the Europe of the first half of the eighteenth century.
On May 12 1996, Pope John
Paul II beatified him in St. Peter’s Square.
SOURCE : https://sspp.ca/our-faith/saints-and-blessed/blessed-gennaro-sarnelli/
The
Life of Father Gennaro Maria Sarnelli, by Saint Alphonsus de Liguori
Father Januarius Maria
Sarnelli was born at Naples, on the 12th of September, 1702. His parents were
Angelus Sarnelli, baron of Ciorani, and Catherine Scoppa. They had eight
children, of whom six were boys and two were girls. Januarius was their fourth
son. Andrew, who was the next to him in age, is that secular priest who set on
foot at his own expense, a house of missionaries in the territory of Ciorani,
who were instituted that they might go about in the diocese of Salerno, and in
the neighbourhood, labouring for the salvation of the destitute souls in the
country.
Januarius manifested most
pious dispositions from his very infancy; and he was even then remarkable for
his angelic modesty, which caused him always to keep his eyes cast down in
presence of women, even in that of his sisters and mother. His obedience and
submission to his parents were equally exemplary, and when he perceived that he
had at all annoyed them, he used instantly to beg for forgiveness, and would
kiss their hand or even throw himself at their feet in order to appease them.
He evinced the greatest love of mortification from his earliest youth, and even
then always abstained from fresh fruit from a spirit of penance. When his
parents gave any entertainment, he used instantly to leave the house and go to
the Church of Saint Francis Xavier, which was just opposite to where they
lived. In a word, from all we know regarding his childhood and the whole course
of his life, it is easy to infer that he never lost his baptismal innocence.
When he was fourteen, he
earnestly begged his father to allow him to leave the world and to enter into
the Society of Jesus, but as he was so young he would not permit him to do so.
From this time, however, Januarius re-doubled his fervour in the service of
God; be increased the number of his meditations, and led a still more retired
life than before. He never conversed with those of his own age, but after he
had gone through his studies, his love of solitude caused him to retire into
the church, to pray to God before the Blessed Sacrament to enlighten him as to
his vocation. After that he would return home, where his conduct towards his
parents was a source of great edification to the whole household. At an after
period, be embraced the profession of the law in obedience to his father, and
he succeeded in it in a wonderful manner. Although he was still very young; the
management of the revenues and of the rents of the Duke of Cirifalco were soon
entrusted to him. But amid these different occupations, he never omitted to
assist at Mass every day, or to make his visit to the Blessed Sacrament and his
daily meditation, and he had such affection for this exorcise, that when he was
at liberty he used always to go to the Church of Saint Francis Xavier, where he
would remain in prayer for such a long time, that when any one came to speak to
him and he was not at home, the servants, who knew his custom, used generally
to reply, “You will be sure to find him if you go to the Church of Saint
Francis Xavier.” When he went to his father’s estate, the only recreation he
took was that of shutting himself up in the parish church, where he would spend
half the day in meditation. This was asserted by the priest of the place.
He used also to visit the
sick in the hospital of the incurables several times a week, and he said that
he received such great lights from God when he was there, that these visits
gave him constant food for meditation, and he came away full of consolation,
and replenished with the spirit of God. It was also in this place that God made
known to him that he was called by Him to leave the world. After consulting
with his director on the subject, he immediately resolved to do so, quitting
the bar and becoming a priest. As soon as he was ordained he gave up all
earthly possessions; he distributed all the money he had laid by amongst the
poor, as well as the clothes he had worn in the world. He gave himself up
unreservedly to God from this time, and spent all his time in prayer, study,
and the assistance of his neighhour.
In order to live in still
greater solitude, and to give up all connection with the world, he retired into
the Congregation of the Holy Family, or, in other words, into the Chinese
College, which is established at Naples. During all the time he stayed among
these exemplary priests, his constant occupation was either meditation and
study, or else going about the neighbourhood teaching the Christian doctrine;
he also went several times a week to the hospital, where he would spend as many
as six hours consecutively, in teaching, consoling, and attending the poor
patients.
About this time he became
a member of the Congregation of Apostolical Missions, which was set on
foot in the Archbishopric of Naples for missionary purposes, in which he
laboured in a most exemplary and efficacious manner from the moment he entered
the priesthood. Some years afterwards he heard that a congregation of
missionary priests had been recently formed in the town of Scala, under the
direction of Monsignor Falcoja, the bishop of Castellamare, and that they were
to devote their time to the service of the destitute country poor, by means of
missions and other spiritual exercises; and as he heard that regular observance
of rule was strictly at tended to among them, and that besides the simple vows
of poverty, chastity, and obedience, a fourth vow and oath of perseverance was
taken by its members, he felt a great desire to enter it. In order therefore to
satisfy his desire to lead a life of greater perfection, and one in which he
would be entirely consecrated to God, and animated by the counsels of Father
Manulius, of the Society of Jesus, (who died some years ago with a high renown
for sanctity,) he resolved to enter the new congregation, and quitted Naples
for Scala. He did not, however, lose sight of the Congregation of
Apostolical Missions, of which we have already spoken, but continued to support
it as far as possible whenever it called upon him for help.
He spent the rest of his
days in the rising congregation, in which he edified all his brothers by the
constant practice of every virtue, above all, by his mortification, obedience,
and charity towards others. It was specially noticed that he was so exact in
obeying the sound of the bell, that if he were writing, he arose immediately,
and would even leave a letter unfinished. Such was his mode of life while he
lived in our house at Scala. His superiors afterwards sent him to Naples, both
because the air of Scala did not suit his infirm health, and to enable him to
continue the great undertakings he had already commenced in the capital,
especially that of delivering it from women of bad character, as we shall
relate more at length hereafter, and it was here that his life terminated.
Although he laboured with the most indefatigable zeal in the duties of his own
institute, he did not neglect to assist the brothers of the congregation of
missions from time to time. Although engaged in the laborious enterprise of
expelling all abandoned women out of Naples, he yet found time to devote him
self with such ardour to the salvation of souls, that when Cardinal Spinelli,
the present archbishop of Naples, (1752), sent for Father Alphonso de Liguori,
the rector-major of the said congregation, to come with his companions, and
give missions in the villages of his diocese at his expense, he wished that
Father Januarius Maria might be one of the missionaries; and he gave them a
permanent abode near the village of Saint Sorio, to enable them to go about in
the neighbourhood more easily. When Father Alphonso was obliged to leave the
city on business connected with the affairs of his congregation, the cardinal
left the whole charge of the mission in the hands of Father Januarius, who thus
continued the good work which had been commenced by that excellent missionary
Matthew Testa, who is at present a most worthy canon in the capital. Our father
continued to labour in these missions with the utmost success until his blessed
death, which took place some years afterwards. This loss not only grieved the
very zealous pastor of the town of Naples, but also his own faithful flock;
indeed Januarius was generally regretted, as a great labourer in God’s
vineyard, and it was everywhere said, and it is still declared, that he alone
was worth ten other missionaries.
But before relating his
precious death, it will be well to give some brief details regarding his
virtues. He was so fond of meditation, that even when he was a secular, he used
to steal time from business to go and pray in some church, but from the time he
became a priest, he gave himself up unreservedly to this holy exercise. He used
daily to repair to the Church of the Cross of the Palace for this purpose,
where he would shut himself in a little cell behind the sacristy, and remain in
prayer from dinner-time until the evening; this was his daily practice until he
entered the Chinese College, except when he went to the hospital. He received
so much celestial light, and felt such holy ardour in meditation, and had such
a gift of tears, that he himself owned that he had nearly lost his sight in
consequence. The Gospel was the book from whence he derived all his light and
consolation. “Scarcely had I read a few verses,” said he, “ere I was so
enlightened by the Divine Goodness, that I melted into tears, and the world
then appeared to me as nothing but smoke.”
He was several times seen
going up and down the cloisters of the Church of the Cross and that of the Holy
Ghost, with his arms extended, his eyes raised to heaven, and giving vent to
such passionate sighs that several persons who saw him thought he was beside
himself. When once told that such actions caused him to be taken for a madman,
he replied, “That is very true, for he who does not love God is mad, and I do
not love Him.” On another occasion, when a priest asked him why he did such
things, the colour mounted to his cheeks, and he confessed to his friend that
he did so unconsciously. From this time he would only speak of, and listen to
conversation about, God and the salvation of souls, as I can myself testify;
and when he heard people talking on indifferent subjects, it pained him so much
that he always strove to turn the conversation on spiritual things, or else
tried to steal away if he could do so without giving offence.
Our Father Januarius
Maria had also a great devotion for the Blessed Trinity, in Whose honour he
celebrated mass as often as he could, and tried to inspire every one with a
devotion to this mystery. He also published a very pious book to propagate this
devotion.
He was also specially
devout towards the Passion of Jesus Christ. His room was full of crosses and
pictures to remind him of the sufferings of the Incarnate God, and he caused a
great many to be made, which he distributed, that they might be placed in the
different houses and streets. His devotion was no less great towards the holy
sacrifice of the mass, as we can see by his works, and he never omitted to
celebrate it for a single day to the end of his days, although he was several
times on the point of fainting at the altar through his infirmities, and once
he really did so, yet even then he persisted in finishing it as soon as he
recovered, although it cost him a great effort, as he declared that all his
hopes were centred in this august mystery. He had such a deep conviction of the
love which we owe to our Blessed Saviour, that he said that we should be always
preaching to souls in these words, “Love Jesus Christ! Love Jesus Christ!” He
had also the greatest devotion towards the Blessed Virgin, and especially
towards her immaculate conception. In order to spread this devotion, he gave
away a great quantity of pictures of her as well as of scapulars and rosaries,
and his great delight during the recreation established in our congregation
after dinner and supper, consisted in making rosaries, images, or scapulars. He
had also a special love for the holy name of Mary. Once when he was present at
a sermon on the Blessed Sacrament, which was delivered by a most zealous
preacher, he was quite satisfied with the discourse, yet it grieved him to
think that he had not once pronounced the sweet name of Mary. He therefore
humbly entreated him never to omit the name of the Blessed Virgin in his
sermons for the future, assuring him that it would add greatly to the benefit
they already produced. He was really proud of being called by the
names Januarius Maria, and could not help mildly showing some dissatisfaction
when he was only addressed by the name of Januarius, without the addition of
that of Maria. He begged his friends to unite with him in praising the Divine
Mother in the month of September, as he said she always granted him all the
favours he asked for during this month. Before he went to bed, he was in the
habit of winding his rosary round his arm to remind him of his Divine Mother
during the night, and he told one of his confidential friends, that in his
greatest trials and combats with the powers of darkness, he was always quite
fortified when he held his rosary in his hands. He preached on the glories of
Mary wherever he went; he recommended devotion to her in all his sermons, and
made every exertion to get novenas celebrated in her honour. He even composed a
very devotional little book in honour of the Mother of God, entitled, “The
Grandeurs of Mary,” which is to be found amongst his spiritual treatises. He
had but one cause of regret at the hour of death, viz., that he had been unable
to finish his large work on the glories of Mary, of which he had already
collected all the materials.
We will here mention that
after the great consolations with which God favoured him for so many years, He
ordained that on a certain feast-day for which he had prepared with much
fervour, his soul should fall into a state of fright ful aridity and profound
desolation, which last ed throughout the remainder of his life. At his last
moments indeed God restored the sense of His grace and presence to his soul,
and gave him the favour of dying inflamed with an ardent desire of seeing God;
but with the exception of these happy moments his heart always remained dry and
cold, both during meditation and also in his labours for the salvation of
souls. It seem ed to him as if God had abandoned him, and he felt no
consolation in any of his spiritual exercises. He also endured the most
horrible temptations, especially to infidelity, gluttony, and despair, which
caused him to say that he had become quite incapable of occupying himself in
the service of God, and that it seemed to him as if these words of the Psalmist
were constantly resounding in his ears: “Multi dicunt animze meae, non est
salus ipsi in Deo ejus.” At times he could scarcely breathe, but even then he
would sigh and say these two words, “My God! my God!” This took place even
during his apostolical labours for the salvation of his neighbour, by which he
certainly shortened his life; for notwithstanding his great zeal for the glory
of God, all that he did was performed by a great effort, being destitute of
consolation and accompanied with extreme repugnance. He was indeed a man of
great strength of mind, and full of ardour to spread the glory of God and to do
His holy will. The words which were always on his lips, in his heart, and on his
pen, were, “The glory of God and the will of God.” All that he did was done for
God alone, and if he sometimes felt tempted to vain-glory on seeing the success
of the works which he undertook for the glory of God, he used earnestly to
pray, and get others to pray, that he might be delivered from this secret
satisfaction.
During this bitter
privation of all celestial consolation, he always maintained a firm confidence
in God, and placed all his trust in the eflicacy of prayer. He said that amid
the torture he suffered from temptation and desolation his only strength was in
these words of Jesus Christ, “Si quid petieritis patrem in nomine meo, dabit
vobis.” He declared that if God had given him no other grace than that of
prayer, he should be abundantly satisfied, as there are so many great promises
attached to that holy exercise. In fact, this confidence in meditation
purchased for him all the favours with which God endowed him. By it he
triumphed over the many difficulties he had to contend with in his immense
labours for the glory of God, for he had recourse to his own prayers and to
those of others on.all such occasions, and he was wont to say that he had a
secret by which he could be certain of obtaining even more from God than he
asked for. To meditation he united mortification of the senses. When he was
ordained priest he fasted three days in the week on bread and water; his
failing health afterwards compelled him to give up this practice; but even then
he always abstained from taking fruit except when his superiors made him do so
through obedience. His mother related to one of his confessors, that when there
was any delicacy at dinner he never touched it even when a mere child, and be
limited himself to such sparing quantities that what he took hardly sufficed
for the support of nature. Although his health was much impaired he never
omitted to take the discipline. Yet he could only have struck on bones, for his
penances, sufferings, and labours had reduced him to a mere skeleton. When he
could not do anything else, he bore the stings of insects without endeavouring
to escape from them, and they often cause greater pain than hair-cloth and
disciplines.
He also had such a great
wish to be despised for the love of Jesus Christ, that he made a firm resolution
never to justify himself before any one when he might be accused of a fault. He
prayed for the love of humiliation in all his masses; and for this end he said
the collect ad petendam humilitatem, as often as he could. He confided to
a brother of the congregation that God answered this prayer soon after he began
to say it, by sending him a great many opportunities of practising humility,
and that he not only granted him grace to bear humiliation with patience, but
also with interior gladness. Whenever he received any slight, he thanked God
for it, and he confided to the same brother that he was so far from dreading
reproach and shame, that he felt an ardent desire to be dragged through the mud
in the streets of Naples. In order to look contemptible, he always were old and
ragged clothes, such as are hawked through the streets, declaring that he
wished to have nothing in common with the world; and when his parents
reproached him for thus dishonouring his family by his shabby appearance, he
told them not to distress themselves about it, for that if anyone asked his
name, he would never say that he was the son of the Baron of Sarnelli, but
would call himself Father Januarius Maria, as if the former were his Christian
name, and the latter his surname. One day when he entered the church of our
Lady of Good Help at Naples to say mass, the cleric on duty on seeing his
ragged attire sent him away most unceremoniously, and would not permit him to
celebrate. Our father was afterwards revenged on him, but it was only with that
revenge which saints are wont to take on those who injure them; for by his
assistance the uncourteous cleric was afterwards enabled to be come a priest.
In a word, he lived and died in such poverty, that the priest who assisted at
his death procured new clothes to bury him in, as all his own were worn out and
in rags.
Our Father Januarius
Maria possessed charity towards his neighbour to a heroic degree. When he was
absent from our houses he lived as scantily as he could, ate little, and wore
the most wretched clothes, not only to draw down contempt on himself, but also
to enable him to have more at his disposal for the poor. He would sometimes
even take off his clothes, go without shoes, and deprive himself of the food
which was served up to him, that he might bestow them on the indigent. He would
often go about Naples collecting the poor together, after which he would
conduct them to his own house, where he washed their feet, waited on them, and
supplied their wants. To enable him to do this he selected a room midway on the
stairs, which was so very dark and out of repair, that one of his friends even
saw the mice jumping up and down on his bed. Here, however, he received all the
poor who came to him, for had he attempted to do so anywhere else the servants
would have sent them away. He did not receive women there, but when any of them
wished to speak to him, he went to some church to hear them. After he entered
the Congregation, his greatest happiness consisted in obtaining leave from his
superior to bestow alms on the poor.
He had an incredible
affection for the sick in the hospital, and bore any amount of fatigue to
assist them in spiritual or temporal necessities. When he was only a secular he
went about begging for provisions from his relatives. He collected together as
much as he could, after which he arranged it all in baskets with his own hands,
and sent it to the hospital. When ever he went to visit these poor sufferers
after he became a priest, he would carry some little luxury in the shape of fruit
or sweet-meats or such like, which he concealed under his cloak, and which he
had either procured expressly for them, or which he had deprived himself of in
order to bestow it on them. He even went the length of having long earthenware
vessels constructed to hold roast meat; and he carried them to the sick by
hanging one on each side. He used also to make up and distribute a number of
little packets of tobacco among them. He would make their beds for them, and
wash their feet; in fact, he never omitted any office of charity which could
contribute to their relief. In all works of spiritual mercy and zeal for the
salvation of souls, Januarius Maria Sarnelli attained to the most heroic degree
of perfection. From the time he left the world to devote himself to God in the
ecclesiastical state, he was always studying how he could be most usefully
engaged for the salvation of souls; and all his thoughts and words were
directed to this one point, even during his familiar conversations during
recreation. Whilst others were then seeking for relaxation, he looked
pre-occupied and sad; and if any one asked him what he was thinking about, he
replied, “I am thinking what had better be done to assist the souls whom God
died to save.” When he spoke of how much the poor require spiritual assistance
and priestly instruction, his countenance glowed with zeal, and sometimes even
tears of pity would flow from his eyes. He often said that he felt that he had
a special call to assist the poor and destitute, and applied these words of the
prophet Isaiah to himself, “Evangelizare pauperibus misit me.” He added, that
he believed he should be damned if he did not devote all his energies to this
purpose, and that it seemed to him as if these words of Saint Paul were
addressed to himself, “Voc mihi si non evangelizavero!”
Whilst he was at Naples,
before he entered the congregation, he determined to join two other priests in
giving missions in the provinces of Calabria and Abruzzi, as he thought these
places the most destitute of spiritual aid. The patron saint who was most dear
to him, was Saint John Francis Regis, on account of his love for the poor. It
was this same predilection which caused him to enter the Congregation of the
Most Holy Redeemer, for he knew that it was chiefly in stituted for the
assistance of the destitute coun try poor.
He was unceasingly
engaged in preaching and hearing confessions whenever his health permitted it.
After he had been nearly worn out by his labouring in church all the morning
during missions, he would only take a bit of bread or a few raisins, which he
ate in the sacristy, and spent the rest of the day in preaching and in the
confessional. Once when he was in the territory of Bracigliano, he bore the
fatigues of a mission for two months consecutively without having even a
coadjutor to aid him; yet he was in the confessional by day-break. His only
refreshment consisted in a cup of chocolate, which he took very late in the
day, after which he immediately began to preach and hear confes sions, so that
he alone heard the confessions of about two thousand people. On another
mission, which was given in the village of the Slaves, in the diocese of
Cajazzo, where we had then a house, he laboured for five weeks, during which he
heard confessions until four o’clock in the afternoon, when he took a little
refreshment; he then returned to the pulpit, and after he had done preaching he
re-entered the confessional, where he remained until ten at night.
His zeal carried him even
further than this; it was several times observed that he passed two days
without tasting food, when he was particularly occupied about the salvation of
certain souls. Yet he was almost always in bad health. When he was advised to
try and get well before undergoing such fatigue, he replied, “If I were only to
labour when I am well, I should have done little or nothing, for I see that it
is God’s will that I should always be in suffering;” and when it was replied,
that if this were the case his life would not last much longer, “Well,” said
he, “and can there be anything more glorious than to wear out one’s life for
God?”
It was therefore by a
sort of constant miracle that he was able to labour for the salvation of souls
without taking any rest, notwithstanding his infirmities and weakness. When he
was composing his admirable works on spiritual subjects, he often wrote until
midnight, and only ceased writing when overcome by fatigue. Thus, a lay-brother
who waited on him at this time, used to reply to those who asked what he was
doing, “If he is not writing he must be ill.” He said himself that when he had
to go through any special undertaking for the good of souls, he almost always
felt more suffering and weakness than usual beforehand; but that his strength
increased when the time for action arrived. He often began to preach when he
was much fitter for his bed; but he felt much better after the sermon than he
had done before.
He preached with so much
zeal, and his sermons produced so much effect, that they often led sinners to
give public signs of sorrow, and loudly to ask for a confessor. All who
attended his missions said, “Let us go and hear the saint. It is a saint who
preaches.” When he was at Naples, he often went to the Church of Saint
Januarius, beyond the city walls, in spite of the great distance, that he might
preach to the old men there, and he used afterwards to say to his brothers at
Scala, that he was quite distressed to have to abandon this work of charity.
He was also very fond of
ministering to the wants of poor children, and used to say that nothing would
please him more than to have to teach them the Christian doctrine on all the
missions. When he was at Naples he sought out the little children suffering
from the ring worm with holy diligence, in order to instruct them, to exhort them
to go to confession, and to give them some little treat, and he used to do this
with so much charity that they were in the habit of calling him their father.
He also went about the public squares of Naples, seeking for the little street
porters, who are ge nerally very ignorant of their faith. He would then conduct
them to his own house, where he taught them the Christian doctrine, prepared
them for the sacrament of penance, and gave them something to eat. In order to
spare all trouble to the servants, he himself prepared their food, and after he
had dismissed the poor little creatures, he went to the kitchen and washed what
they had made use of with his own hands.
We may truly say that our
Father Januarius Maria was really fond of the sick in the hospital, for he was
almost always there. If he arrived in the morning he did not leave it until
noon, or if he reached it after dinner he staid there until it was nearly eight
o’clock, and then he only quitted it with regret and a wish to be able to
remain longer. I cannot express the charity he exercised towards them, or how
tenderly he exhorted them to bear their sufferings with patience, instructed
them in the things appertaining to God, and in the proper manner of making a
good confession, and before he was himself a priest, he procured good priests
to hear their confessions. One day he formed a plan of living in the Hospital
of the Incurables, that he might be able to assist these poor creatures with
more facility, especially at the hour of death; he even obtained a room for
this purpose; but an unexpected difficulty arose which prevented his carrying
his project into effect. His zeal once nearly caused him to lose his life in
the Hospital of the Galleys, where he used also to administer the succours of
religion to the poor criminals.
It is well known what
this same zeal caused him to undertake at Naples, in order to rescue prostitute
women from sin. He went to preach in the parish church of Saint Matthew on all
feast days, in order to convert these unfortunate beings, and it was through
his suggestions that the congregation of the archbishopric undertook to give
the spiritual exercises in this parish every year for the same purpose. In
order to relieve the wants of these poor creatures, he gave them all he received
from home, and even did without necessaries himself to have the more to
distribute among them; and he gave a great many of them enough for their
livelihood in the shape of a monthly allowance, in order to prevent their
selling their honOur and their soul; and not satisfied with relieving those who
asked for his aid, he sought for them throughout the whole town. He placed
sixteen of them in asylums, and enabled a great many others to get married. We
know that he provided for the subsistence of two of these women for two years,
and that he afterwards furnished them with means to enable them to keep house.
As his own income was not sufficient for all this, for he spent from five to
six hundred ducats a year in such ways, he went about Naples begging aims for
these unfortunate people, and that not only in pious establish ments, but in
private houses, which he nevertheless did with so much repugnance, that he said
he sometimes felt as if he would die of shame, for he had not only to bear the
great annoyance of having to pay repeated visits, but he had also to endure
reproaches and even insults. He confided to a friend that several persons who
had formerly esteemed him highly, and welcomed him courteously, changed so
completely when he came to them on this errand, that they then quite shunned
him, and sent him away with roughness and incivility.
In striving to realise
the plan he had formed of compelling all the women of bad character to leave
the town, and take up their abode in some remote quarter, he had to endure
inexpressible fatigue and persecution. As he saw that these unhappy, creatures
did immense harm by being scattered about in all parts of the town, he was
convinced that the only method of reme dying so great an evil would be to
compel them to go and live together out of Naples. All the town, and God above
all, knows what labours and expense this project occasioned him, for the
furtherance of which he composed several books entitled, “The Abuses of
Prostitution.” This undertaking also drew down on him the opposition and
reproaches of his friends, for as they looked upon the thing as impossible,
they were always striving to make him abandon it, and ridiculing it with
bitterness; but his confidence in God was strong and unshaken, although he was
alone and devoid of the help of man, and he managed so well with the first
ministers of the king, our protector, that he at length had the satisfaction of
seeing his desires fulfilled. For a decree of nine articles was sent to the
Duke of Giovenazzo, the president of the first chamber of the ministry, on the
4th of May, 1758, in virtue of which sentence of banishment was pronounced
against all prostitutes, who were thenceforward to live without the town, in
places which were allotted to them. This royal mandate was executed with such
rigour, that justice seized on the effects of those who would not quit their
houses, and all their furniture was thrown out of the window. From thirty to
forty prostitutes were thus expelled from Naples; some of them married, others
retired into asylums, and the rest either went to the places assigned for them,
or fled elsewhere. As for our Father Januarius Maria, he several times ran the
risk of being assassinated on account of the share he had in their expulsion,
and for this reason his parents did all in their power to prevent his going on
with this good work, as they were afraid some fatal accident might be the
result both to himself and to all his family; but he declared that he was ready
to suffer all, and that he should even think it a great privilege to die in an
undertaking which was so glorious to God.
It was this same zeal for
the salvation of souls which supported him through all the labours which he
Went through in preparing all his works, in which the choice of subjects and
the manner in which he treated them, clearly proves how much he would have
liked to sanctify the whole world, had that been in his power. Besides the book
of which we have already spoken, on the special abuses which the prostitutes of
Naples caused to that town, he published another for all the towns and villages
of the kingdom, in which he proves that women of bad character are not
tolerated in any one of them or in any of the smaller towns, and he sent a copy
of this work to all the bishops in the kingdom. After this he published a book
called, “The World Sanctified,” (1752). In some respects we may say that this
work really has sanctified the world, for it has been the means of extensive
good; it has been in almost every one’s hands, and spread through several
kingdoms as well as that of Naples. He also put forth a whole work against
blasphemy, as he was eager to extirpate this accursed vice from the kingdom,
where it is so deeply rooted; and he published in a work called “The World
Reformed,” a treatise on the respect due to churches, in which the inhabitants
of the kingdom are also most wanting.
I will now give a list of
several other works which he published to the great profit of souls: a treatise
on the obligation of parents to bring up their children properly; another to
serve as a guide to souls in the paths of spirituality, entitled, “Discernment
of Spirits;” “The Ecclesiastic Sanctified,” which was written for priests; “An
easy Method for all the Exercises of Missions,” which is most useful for missionaries;
“The Enlightened Christian,” which cost him the greatest labour, as he himself
owned, for he composed it amid all the sufferings of the malady of which he
died; “The Desolate Soul,” for the comfort of souls in desolation of spirit;
and “The Enlightened Soul,” which contains some most devotional meditations. He
also published several other little works which we will mention elsewhere.
Death prevented his finishing several others, which he had already begun to get
printed, such as a treatise to excite compassion for the souls in purgatory;
another on the methods of appeasing God’s anger in public calamities; a
selection of pious reflections for every day in the year; a collection of
sermons on the Blessed Virgin for every Saturday throughout the year and for
all novenas; and a book of instructions on faith and morals. Thus all his works
were destined to promote the salvation of souls, whom he desired, as he said,
to assist even after his death. When he was on the point of death, he said to
Canon Sersale, “Canon, I wish to go on preaching until the judgment day.”
We must now give an
account of his last illness and of his happy end. Januarius Maria laboured for
many years, as we have already seen, although he was always ill and oppressed
with fever. His last mission was given at Posilipo, during which his sufferings
were very great, as he was quite worn out by fatigue and pain. From that he
retired to Saint Agnello, where his maladies increased so much that he was
obliged to give up all his labours, and was no longer able even to say mass;
this was viewed by all as a sign his death was at hand, for he had never before
abstained from celebrating it. One day he made the most surprising efforts to
say it, but he could not succeed, and fainted in the attempt. As the malady
grew worse and worse, he went to his brother’s house at Naples, where he was
ill for a month. Although his sufferings and weakness continued daily to
increase, he never abandoned meditation, and as his interior trials were as
great as ever, he tried to obtain consolation by conversing with the servants
of God who came to visit him. The doctors advised him to try the air called the
saving air, but he was too weak to be moved.
About a fortnight before
his death he took to his bed, from whence he never arose again. From this time,
however, God freed him from the heavy cross of spiritual desolation, and he
began to enjoy the greatest peace, every disquieting thought was banished from
his mind, and he felt nothing but an ardent desire to be united to God in the
mansions of the blest. Once, when a servant of his father’s said that he hoped
God would restore his health, he replied, “Oh, if I could exclaim aloud now, my
sole cry would be that my only consolation is to think that I am going to die,
and you speak to me of recovery!”
He also now showed the
extent of his patience and charity, for amid the almost insupportable pains he
endured, which caused him to stand in need of constant attendance, he felt the
greatest compassion for those who waited on him; and when he required anything
he said to the brother whom the superior of the congregation had sent to assist
him, “Brother, have patience with me for the love of Jesus Christ, for I shall
not live much longer.” At this time he made his last will, and as he wished all
he had to be employed in alms and other good works, he disposed of all his
possessions in favour of the Congregation of the Redemptorists.
One day he said to his
brother, who did a great deal for him during his life and at his death,
“Brother, the time is at hand when I hope I shall be able to make you a fitting
return for all you have done for me.”
At this same period the
devil appeared to him under the form of an abbé, and tempted him to vain-glory,
saying, “Don Januarius, your illness has caused general lamentation throughout
Naples, on account of the loss which would be sustained by the death of such a
great man.” Upon this the dying man instantly pronounced the names of Jesus and
Mary, and the evil spirit disappeared and returned no more. One day when Canon
Sersale came to visit him, he said that he hoped he might get well. “Dear
Canon,” he replied, “I was tormented by scruples for a long time, but thanks be
to God, I am now free from them. I shall therefore die tranquilly and without
any disquiet. All that I have done has been done from a pure intention of
pleasing God. The sacrifice is now complete; do not then speak to me any more
of living, for I wish for no other life than the possession of my God.”
During his last days he
was always repeating devout aspirations; sometimes they were addressed to the
Blessed Trinity, when he would say, “Benedicta sit sancta Trinitas et individua
unitas; confitebimur ei, quia fecit nobiscum misericordiam suam;” sometimes
either to our Blessed Saviour or His adorable Mother, and he would kiss and
embrace their images from time to time. Just before his death he addressed the
following affecting words to God, which were carefully noted down by the
lay-brother who attended him: “Father, behold the time has come for me to
depart hence and to go to my Creator and my Father. O Lord, I sigh for the
moment when I shall see Thee face to face, should such be Thy good pleasure;
for I wish neither for death nor for life. I wish only for what Thou willest.
Thou knowest that all my actions and all my thoughts have been for Thy greater
glory alone.” Words such as these in the mouth of a dying man, on the point of
appearing before God, are sufficient to manifest what must have been the
innocency of his life. On the morning of the day he died, he said to the
brother who waited on him, “Brother, go and get out my oldest clothes and bury
me in them, for I do not wish anything to be wasted.”
The doctor came to see
him at about eight o’clock in the morning of the same day; and when he was
going away, he said that he would see him again in the course of the day. “I
shall gently enter into my agony to-day,” he replied. He told the brother not
to forget to make him say the rosary, “For,” said he, “I wish to die whilst I
am reciting it.” And so it was, for when he had reached the third decade that
same day, he became very weak, and the damp perspiration of death began to
flow. “I feel the chill of death,” said he to the brother, upon which be
instantly called for a priest, who began to suggest pious affections to him;
but the dying man interrupted him, and asked him to allow him to speak himself;
and he then began to speak to God in the most tender manner, but it was almost
impossible to hear what he said, for his speech was well nigh gone. Just as he
entered into his agony, the two brothers of the congregation who assisted him
at this last hour asked for his blessing; and he gently raised his hand and
blessed them. His agony was peaceful, and lasted little more than half an hour;
his rosary was around his arm all the time, and he clasped the crucifix in his
hands, kissing it from time to time. The priest gave him absolution during this
interval, after which he calmly expired, at ten o’clock on Thursday morning,
June 30th, 1744, aged forty-two. His happy death took place the day before the
eve of the feast of the Visitation; thus the wish he had often expressed of
dying during a novena to the Blessed Virgin was gratified.
As soon as he was dead
his countenance suddenly became most pleasing and beautiful, and a smile
overspread his lips; his body exhaled such a sweet odour, that it scented the
room where he died for a long time, and it was not only perceived by those who
assisted at his death, but also by the strangers who came to see his corpse.
His brother, Dominic Sarnelli, said that he could not bear to leave the room,
as he experienced the greatest spiritual consolation when in it. His body was
conveyed to the church of our Lady of Good Help, accompanied by the brothers of
the Congregation of Apostolical Missions in the archbishopric of Naples, who
all followed him to the church, being filled with the greatest sorrow for his
death. When the body arrived there, a great number of people crowded round it
weeping and exclaiming, “Alas, for the saint is dead!” and this cry was
repeated throughout all the neighbour hood. They theu began to tear up his
clothes, and every one tried to carry away as much of them as possible; he
would soon have been stripped of everything, had not some limits been put to
this pious eagerness. His body was exposed for forty-eight hours, after which a
great many priests and other persons testify that it remained quite flexible,
and did not emit the least unpleasant odour, and that bright blood flowed from
incisions which were then made in his arm and head. His relics were sought for
in all directions, and the renown of his sanctity spread far and wide. Persons
came to visit the house where he died through devotion, and exclaimed with many
tears, “O the well-beloved saint of Jesus Christ! he is not prized
sufficiently!” In consequence of this reputation for sanctity, several persons
recommended themselves to God through the merits of Father Januarius Maria, and
received signal graces thereby, which I must however pass over in silence, that
I may not exceed the narrow limits allotted to me. I trust however that the
time will come when these interesting facts may be collected by others, and
that a more detailed Life of this great servant of God may one day be given to
the world.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/the-life-of-father-gennaro-maria-sarnelli-by-saint-alphonsus-de-liguori/
TUESDAY, 17 MARCH 2009
Bl.
Januarius Maria Sarnelli, C.SS.R. (1702-1744)
Father Don Januarius
Maria Sarnelli was born at Naples, on the 12th September 1702. His parents were
D. Angelus Sarnelli, baron of Ciorani and D. Catherine Scoppa. They had eight
children, of whom, six were boys and two were girls. D. Januarius was their
fourth son. D. Andrew, who was next to him in age, is that secular priest who
set on foot at his own expense, a house of missionaries in the territory of
Ciorani, who were instituted that they might go about in the diocese of
Salerno, and in the neighbourhood, labouring for the salvation of the destitute
souls in the country.
Don Januarius manifested most pious dispositions from his very infancy; and he
was even then remarkable for his angelic modesty, which caused him always to
keep his eyes cast down in presence of women, even that of his sisters and
mother. His obedience and submission to his parents were equally exemplary, and
when he perceived that he had at all annoyed them, he used instantly to beg for
forgiveness, and would kiss their hand or even throw himself at their feet in
order to appease them. He evinced the greatest love of mortification from his earliest
youth, and even then always abstained from fresh fruit from a spirit of
penance. When his parents gave any entertainment, he used instantly to leave
the house and go to the Church of St Francis Xavier, which was just opposite to
where they lived. In a word, from all we know regarding his childhood and the
whole course of his life, it is easy to infer that he never lost his baptismal
innocence.
When he was fourteen, he earnestly begged his father to allow him to leave the
world and to enter into the Society of Jesus, but as he was so young he would
not permit him to do so. From this time, however, D. Januarius redoubled his
fervour in the service of God; he increased the number of his mediations, and
led still a more retired life than before. He never conversed with those of his
own age, but after he had gone through his studies, his love of solitude caused
him to retire into the church, to pray to God before the Blessed Sacrament to
enlighten him as to his vocation. After that he would return home, where his
conduct towards his parents was a source of great edification to the whole
household. At an after period, he embraced the profession of the law in
obedience to his father, and he succeeded in it in a wonderful manner. Although
he was still very young, the management of the revenues and of the rents of the
Duke of Cirifalco were soon entrusted to him. But amid these different
occupations, he never omitted to assist at Mass every day, or to make his visit
to the Blessed Sacrament and his daily meditation, and he had such affection
for this exercise, that when he was at liberty he used always to go to the
Church of St Francis Xavier, where he would remain in prayer for such a long
time, that when any one came to speak to him and he was not at home, the servants,
who knew his custom, used generally to reply, “You will be sure to find him if
you go to the Church of St Francis Xavier.” When he went to his father’s
estate, the only recreation he took was that of shutting himself up in the
parish church, where he would spend half the day in mediation. This was
asserted by the Priest of the place.
He used also to visit the sick in the hospital of the incurables several times
a week, and he said that he received such great lights from God when he was
there, that these visits gave him constant food for mediation, and he came away
full of consolation, and replenished with the spirit of God. It was also in
this place that God made known to him that he was called by Him to leave the
world. After consulting with his director on the subject, he immediately
resolved to do so, quitting the bar and becoming a Priest. As soon as he was
ordained he gave up all earthly possessions; he distributed all the money he
had lain by amongst the poor, as well as the clothes he had worn in the world.
He gave himself up unreservedly to God from this time, and spent all his time
in prayer, study, and the assistance of his neighbour.
In order to live in still greater solitude, and to give up all connection with
the world, he retired into the Congregation of the Holy Family, or, in other
words, into the Chinese College, which was established at Naples. During all
the time he stayed among these exemplary priests, his constant occupation was
either mediation and study, or else going about the neighborhood teaching the
Christine doctrine; he also went several times a week to the hospital, where he
would spend as many as six hours consecutively, in teaching, consoling, and
attending the poor patients.
About this time he become a member of the Congregation of Apostolical Missions,
which was set on foot in the Archbishopric of Naples for missionary purposes,
in which he labored in a most exemplary and efficacious manner from the moment
he entered the priesthood. Some years afterwards he heard that a congregation
of missionary priests had been recently formed in the town of Scala, under the
direction of Mgr. Falcoja, the Bishop of Castellamara, and that they were to
devote their time to the service of the destitute country poor, be means of
missions and other spiritual exercises; and as he heard that regular observance
of rule was strictly attended to among them, and that besides the simple vows
of poverty and obedience, a fourth vow and oath of perseverance was taken by
its members, he felt a great desire to enter it. In order therefore to satisfy
his desire to lead a life of greater perfection, and one in which he would be
entirely consecrated to God, and animated by the counsels of Father Manulius,
of the Society of Jesus, (who died some years ago with a high renown for
sanctity,) he resolved to enter the new congregation, and quitted Naples for
Scala. He did not, however, lose sight of the Congregation of Apostolical
Missions, of which we have already spoken, but continued to support it as far
as possible whenever call upon for help.
He spent the rest of his days in the rising congregation, in which he edified
all his brothers by the constant practice of every virtue, above all, by his
mortification, obedience and charity towards others. It was specially noticed
that he was so exact in obeying the sound of the bell, that if he were writing,
he arose immediately, and would even leave a letter unfinished. Such was his
mode of life while he lived in our house at Scala.
His superiors afterwards sent him to Naples, both because the air of Scala did
not suit his infirm health, and to enable him to continue the great
undertakings he had already commenced in the capital, especially that of
delivering it from women of bad character, as we shall relate more at length
hereafter, and it was here that his life terminated. Although he laboured with
the most indefatigable zeal in the duties of his own institute, he did not
neglect to assist the brothers of the congregation of missions from time to
time. Although engaged in the laborious enterprise of expelling all abandoned
women out of Naples, he yet found time to devote himself with such ardour to
the salvation of souls, that when Cardinal Spinelli, the present archbishop of
Naples, (1752), sent for Father D. Alphonso de Liguori, the rector-major of the
said congregation, to come with his companions, and give missions in the
villages of his diocese at his expense, he wished that Father Januarius Maria
might be one of the missionaries; and he gave them a permanent abode near the
village of St Sorio to enable them to go about the neighourhood more easily.
When Father Alphonso was obliged to leave the city on business connected with
the affairs of his congregation, the Cardinal left the whole charge of the
mission in the hands of Father D. Januarius, who thus continued the good work
which had been commenced by that excellent missionary D. Matthew Testa, who is
at present a most worthy canon in the capital. Our father continued to labour
in these missions with the utmost success until his blessed death, which took
place some years afterwards. This loss, not only grieved the very zealous
pastor of the town of Naples, but also his own faithful flock; indeed D.
Januarius was generally regretted, as a great labourer in God’s vineyard, and
it was everywhere said, and it is still declared, that he alone was worth ten
other missionaries.
But before relating his precious death, it will be well to give some brief
details regarding his virtues. He was so fond of meditation, that even when he
was a secular, he used to steal time from business to go and pray in some
church, but from the time he became a priest, he gave himself up unreservedly
to this holy exercise. He used daily to repair to the Church of the Cross of
the Palace for this purpose, where he would shut himself in a little cell
behind the sacristy, and remain in prayer from dinner-time until the evening;
this was his daily practice until he entered the Chinese College, except when
he went to the hospital. He received so much celestial light, and felt such
holy ardour in meditation, and had such a gift of tears, that he himself owned
that he had nearly lost his sight in consequence. The Gospel was the book from
whence he derived all his light and consolation. “Scarcely had I read a few
verses,” said he, “ere I was so enlightened by the Divine Goodness, that I
melted into tears, and the world then appeared to me as nothing but smoke.”
He was several times seen going up and down the cloisters of the Church of the
Cross and that of the Holy Ghost, with his arms extended, his eyes raised to
heaven, and giving vent to such passionate sighs that several persons who saw
him thought he was beside himself. When once told that such actions caused him
to be taken for a madman, he replied, “That is very true, for he who does not
love God is mad, and I do not love Him.” On another occasion, when a priest
asked him why he did such things, the colour mounted to his cheeks, and he
confessed to his friend that he did so unconsciously. From this time he would
only speak of, and listen to, conversation about God and the salvation of
souls, as I can myself testify; and when he heard people talking on indifferent
subjects, it pained him so much that he always strove to turn the conversation
on spiritual things, or else tried to steel away if he could do so without
giving offence.
Our Father D. Januarius Maria had also a great devotion for the Blessed
Trinity, in Whose honour he celebrated mass as often as he could, and tried to
inspire every one with a devotion to this mystery. He also published a very
pious book to propagate this devotion.
He was also especially devout towards the Passion of Jesus Christ. His room was
full of crosses and pictures to remind him of the sufferings of the Incarnate
God, and he caused a great many to be made, which he distributed, that they
might be placed in the different houses and streets. His devotion was no less
great towards the holy sacrifice of the Mass, as we can see by his works, and
he never omitted to celebrate it for a single day to the end of his days,
although he was several times on the point of fainting at the alter through his
infirmities, and once he really did so, yet even then he persisted in finishing
it as soon as he recovered, although it cost him a great effort, as he declared
that all his hopes were centred in this august mystery. He had such a deep
conviction of the love which we owe to our Blessed Saviour, that he said that
we should be always preaching to souls in these words, “Love Jesus Christ! Love
Jesus Christ!”
He had also the greatest devotion towards the Blessed Virgin, and especially
towards her Immaculate Conception. In order to spread this devotion, he gave
away a great quantity of pictures of her as well as of scapulars and rosaries,
and his great delight during the recreation established in our congregation
after dinner and supper, consisted in making rosaries, images, or scapulars. He
had also a special love for the holy name of Mary. Once when he was present at
a sermon on the Blessed Sacrament, which was delivered by a most zealous
preacher, he was quite satisfied with the discourse, yet it grieved him to
think that he had not once pronounced the sweet name of Mary. He therefore
humbly entreated him never to omit the name of the Blessed Virgin in his
sermons for the future, assuring him that it would add greatly to the benefit
they already produced.
He was really proud of being called by the names Januarius Maria, and could not
help mildly showing some dissatisfaction when he was only addressed by the name
of Januarius, without the addition of that of Maria. He begged his friends to
unite with him in praising the Divine Mother in the month of September, as he
said She always granted him all the favours he asked for during this month.
Before he went to bed, he was in the habit of winding his rosary round his arm
to remind him of his Devine Mother during the night, and he told one of his
confidential friends, that in his greatest trials and combats with the powers
of darkness, he was always quite fortified when he held his rosary in his
hands. He preached on the glories of Mary wherever he went; he recommended
devotion to her in all his sermons, and made every exertion to get novenas
celebrated in her honour. He even composed a very devotional little book in
honour of the Mother of God, entitled, “The Grandeurs of Mary,” which is to be
found amongst his spiritual treatises. He had but one cause of regret at the
hour of death, viz., that he had been unable to finish his large work on the
glories of Mary, of which he had already collected all the materials.
We will here mention that after the great consolations with which God favoured
him for so many years, He ordained that on a certain feast-day for which he had
prepared with much fervour, his soul should fall into a state of frightful
aridity and profound desolation, which lasted throughout the remainder of his
life. At his last moments indeed God restored the sense of His Grace and
presence to his soul, and gave him the favour of dying inflamed with an ardent
desire of seeing God; but with the exception of these happy moments his heart
always remained dry and cold, both during mediation and also in labours for the
salvation of souls. It seemed to him as if God had abandoned him, and he felt
no consolation in any of his spiritual exercises. He also endured the most
horrible temptations, especially to infidelity, gluttony, and despair, which
caused him to say that he had become quite incapable of occupying himself in
the service of God, and that it seemed to him as if these words of the Psalmist
were constantly resounding in his ears: “Multi dicunt animae meae, non est
salus ipsi in Deo ejus.” At times he could scarcely breath, but even then he
would sigh and say these two words, “My God! My God!” This took place even
during his apostolical labours for the salvation of his neighbour, by which he
certainly shortened his life; for notwithstanding his great zeal for the glory
of God, all that he did was performed by a great effort, being destitute of
consolation and accompanied with extreme repugnance. He was indeed a man of
great strength of mind, and full of ardour to spread the glory of God and to do
His holy will. The words which were always on his lips, in his heart, and on
his pen, were, “The glory of God and the will of God.” All that he did was done
for God alone, and if he sometimes felt tempted to vain-glory on seeing the
success of the works which he undertook for the glory of God, he used earnestly
to pray, and get others to pray, that he might be delivered from this secret
satisfaction.
During this bitter privation of all celestial consolation, he always maintained
a firm confidence in God, and placed all his trust in the efficacy of prayer.
He said that amid the torture he suffered from temptation and desolation his
only strength was in these word of Jesus Christ, “Si quid petieritis patrem in
nomine meo, dabit vobis.” He declared that if God had given him no other grace
than that of prayer, he should be abundantly satisfied, as there are so many
great promises attached to that holy exercise. In fact, this confidence in
meditation purchased for him all the favours with which God endowed him. By it
he triumphed over the many difficulties he had to contend with in his immense
labours for the glory of God, for he had recourse to his own prayers and to
those of others on all such occasions, and he was wont to say that he had a
secret by which he could be certain of obtaining even more from God than he
asked for. To meditation he united mortification of the senses. When he was
ordained priest he fasted three days in the week on bread and water; his
failing health afterwards compelled him to give up this practice; but even then
he always abstained from taking fruit except when his superiors made him do so
through obedience. His mother related to one of his confessors, that when there
was any delicacy at dinner he never touched it even when a mere child, and he
limited himself to such sparing quantities that what he took hardly sufficed
for the support of nature. Although his health was much impaired he never
omitted to take the discipline. Yet he could only have struck on bones, for his
penances, sufferings, and labours had reduced him to a mere skeleton. When he
could not do anything else, he bore the stings of insects without endeavouring
to escape from them, and they often caused greater pain than hair-cloth and
disciplines.
He also had such a great wish to be despised for the love of Jesus Christ, that
he made a firm resolution never to justify himself before anyone when he might
by accused of a fault. He prayed for the love of humiliation in all his masses;
and for this end he said the Collect ad petendam humilitatem, as often as he
could. He confided to a brother of the congregation that God answered this
prayer soon after he began to say it, by sending him a great many opportunities
of practicing humility, and that he not only granted him grace to bear
humiliation with patience, but also with interior gladness. Whenever he
received any slight, he thanked God for it, and he confided to the same brother
that he was so far from dreading reproach and shame, that he felt an ardent
desire to be dragged through the mud in the streets of Naples.
In order to look contemptible, he always wore old and ragged clothes, such as
are hawked in the streets, declaring that he wished to have nothing in common
with the world; and when his parents reproached him for thus dishonouring his
family by his shabby appearance, he told them not to distress themselves about
it, for that if any one asked his name, he would never say that he was the son
of the Baron of Sarnelli, but would call himself Father Januarius Maria, as if
the former were his Christian name, and the later his surname. One day when he
entered the church of Our Lady of Good Help at Naples to say mass, the cleric
on duty on seeing his ragged attire sent him away most unceremoniously, and
would not permit him to celebrate. Our father was afterwards revenged on him,
but it was only with that revenge which saints are wont to take on those who
injure them; for by his assistance the uncourteous cleric was afterwards
enabled to become a priest. In a word, he lived and died in such poverty, that
the priest who assisted at his death procured new clothes to bury him in, as
all his own were worn out and in rags.
Our Father Januarius Maria possessed charity towards his neighbour to a heroic
degree. When he was absent from our houses he lived as scantily as he could,
ate little, and wore the most wretched clothes, not only to draw down contempt
on himself, but also to enable him to have more at his disposal for the poor.
He would sometimes even take off his clothes, go without shoes, and deprive
himself of the food which was served up to him, that he might bestow them on
the indigent. He would often go about Naples collecting the poor together,
after which he would conduct them to his own house, where he washed their feet,
waited on them, and supplied their wants. To enable him to do this he selected
a room midway on the stairs, which was so very dark and out of repair, that one
of his friends even saw the mice jumping up and down on his bed. Here, however,
he received all the poor who came to him, for had he attempted to do so
anywhere else the servants would have sent them away. He did not receive women
there, but when any of them wished to speak to him, he went to some church to
hear them. After he entered the Congregation, his greatest happiness consisted
in obtaining leave from his superior to bestow alms on the poor.
He had an incredible affection for the sick in the hospital, and bore any
amount of fatigue to assist them in spiritual or temporal necessities. When he
was only a secular he went about begging for provisions from his relatives. He
collected together as much as he could, after which he arranged it all in
baskets with his own hands, and sent it to the hospital. Whenever he went to
visit these poor sufferers after he became a priest, he would carry some little
luxury in the shape of fruit or sweet-meats or such like, which he concealed
under his cloak, and which he had either procured expressly for them, or which
he had deprived himself of in order to bestow it on them. He even went the
length of having long earthenware vessels constructed to hold roast meat; and
he carried them to the sick by hanging one on each side. He used also to make
up and distribute a number of little packets of tobacco among them. He would
make their beds for them, and wash their feet; in fact, he never omitted any
office of charity, which could contribute to their relief.
In all works of spiritual mercy and zeal for the salvation of souls, D.
Januarius Maria Sarnelli attained to the most heroic degrees of perfection.
From the time he left the world to devote himself to God in the ecclesiastical
state, he was always studying how he could be most usefully engaged for the
salvation of souls; and all his thoughts and words were directed to this one
point, even during his familiar conversations during recreation. Whilst others
were then seeking for relaxation, he looked pre-occupied and sad; and if any
one asked him what he was thinking about, he replied, “I am thinking what had
better be done to assist the souls whom God died to save.” When he spoke of how
much the poor require spiritual assistance and priestly instruction, his
countenance glowed with zeal, and sometimes-even tears of pity would flow from
his eyes. He often said that he felt that he had a special call to assist the
poor and destitute, and applied these words of the prophet Isaiah to himself,
“Evangetlizare pauperibus misit me.” He added, that he believed he should be
damned if he did not devote all his energies to this purpose, and that it
seemed to him as if these words of St Paul were addressed to himself, “Voe mihi
si non evangelizavero!”
Whilst he was at Naples, before he entered the congregation, he determined to
join two other priests in giving missions in the provinces of Calabria and
Abruzzi, as he thought these places the most destitute of spiritual aid. The
patron saint who was most dear to him, was St John Francis Regis, on account of
his love for the poor. It was this same predilection which caused him to enter
the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, for he knew that it was chiefly
instituted for the assistance of the destitute country poor.
He was unceasingly engaged in preaching and hearing confessions whenever his
health permitted it. After he had been nearly worn out by his labouring in
church all the morning during missions, he would only take a bit of bread or a
few raisins, which he ate in the sacristy, and spent the rest of the day in
preaching and in the confessional. Once when he was in the territory of
Bracigliano, he bore the fatigues of a mission for two months consecutively
without having even a coadjutor to aid him; yet he was in the confessional by
day-break. His only refreshment consisted in a cup of chocolate, which he took
very late in the day, after which he immediately began to preach and hear
confessions, so that he alone heard the confession of about two thousand
people. On another mission, which was given in the village of the Slaves, in
the dioceses of Cajazzo, where we had then a house, he laboured for five weeks,
during which he heard confessions until four o’clock in the afternoon, when he
took a little refreshment; he then returned to the pulpit, and after he had
done preaching he re-entered the confessional, where he remained until ten at
night.
His zeal carried him even further than this; it was several times observed that
he passed two days without tasting food, when he was particularly occupied
about the salvation of certain souls. Yet he was almost always in bad health.
When he was advised to try and get well before undergoing such fatigue, he
replied, “If I were only to labour when I am well, I should have done little or
nothing, for I see that it is God’s will that I should always be in suffering;”
and when it was replied, that if this were the case his life would last much
longer, “Well” said he, “and can there be anything more glorious that to wear
out one’s life for God?
It was therefore by a sort of constant miracle that he was able to labour for
the salvation of souls without taking any rest, notwithstanding his infirmities
and weakness. When he was composing his admirable works on spiritual subjects,
he often wrote until midnight, and only ceased writing when overcome by
fatigue. Thus, a coadjutor brother who waited on him at this time, used to
reply to those who asked what he was doing, “If he is not writing he must be ill.”
He said himself that when he had to go through any special undertaking for the
good of souls, he almost always felt more suffering and weakness than usual
beforehand; but that his strength increased when the time for action arrived.
He often began to preach when he was much fitter for his bed; but he felt much
better after the sermon that he had done before.
He preached with so much zeal, and his sermons produced so much effect, that
they often led sinners to give public signs of sorrow, and loudly ask for a
confessor. All who attended his missions said, “Let us go and hear the saint.
It is a saint who preaches.” When he was at Naples, he often went to the Church
of St Januarius, beyond the city walls, in spite of the great distance, that he
used afterwards to say to his brothers at Scala, that he was quite distressed
to have to abandon this work of charity.
He was also very fond of ministering to the wants of poor children, and used to
say that nothing would please him more than to have to teach them the Christian
doctrine on all the missions. When he was at Naples he sought out the little
children suffering from the ringworm with holy diligence, in order to instruct
them, to exhort them to go to confession, and to give them some little treat,
and he used to do this with so much charity that they were in the habit of
calling him their father. He also went about the public squares of Naples,
seeking for the little street porters, who are generally very ignorant of their
faith. He would then conduct them to his own house, where he taught then the
Christian doctrine, prepared them for the sacrament of penance, and gave them
something to eat. In order to spare all trouble to the servants, he himself
prepared their food, and after he had dismissed the poor little creatures, he
went to the kitchen and washed what they had made use of with his own hands.
We may truly say that our Father Januarius Maria was really fond of the sick in
the hospital, for he was almost always there. If he arrived in the morning he did
not leave it until noon, or if he reached it after dinner he stayed there until
it was nearly eight o’clock, and then he only quitted it with regret and a wish
to be able to remain longer. I cannot express the charity he exercised towards
them, or how tenderly he exhorted them to bear their sufferings with patience,
instructed them in the things appertaining to God, and in the proper manner of
making a good confession, and before he was himself a priest, he procured good
priests to hear their confessions. One day he formed a plan of living in the
Hospital of the Incurables, that he might be able to assist these poor
creatures with more facility, especially at the hour of death; he even obtained
a room for this purposes; but an unexpected difficulty arose which prevented
his carrying his project into effect. His zeal once nearly caused him to lose
his life in the Hospital of the Galleys, where he used also to administer the
succours of religion to the poor criminals.
It was well known what this same zeal caused him to undertake at Naples, in
order to rescue prostitute women from sin. He went to preach in the parish
church of St Matthew on all feast days, in order to convert these unfortunate
beings, and it was through his suggestions that the congregation of the
archbishopric undertook to give the spiritual exercises in this parish every
year for the same purpose. In order to relieve the wants of these poor
creatures, he gave them all he received from home, and even did without
necessaries himself to have the more to distribute among them; and he gave a
great many of them enough for their livelihood in the shape of a monthly
allowance, in order to prevent their selling their honour and their soul; and
not satisfied with relieving those who asked for his aid, he sought for them
throughout the whole town. He placed sixteen of them in asylums, and enabled a
great many others to get married. We know that he provided for the subsistence
of two of these women for two years, and then he afterwards furnished them with
means to enable them to keep house. As his own income was not sufficient for
all this, for he spent from five to six hundred ducats a year in such ways, he
went about Naples begging alms for these unfortunate people, and that not only
in pious establishments, but in private houses, which he nevertheless did with
so much repugnance, that he said he sometimes felt as if he would die of shame,
for he had not only to bear the great annoyance of having to pay repeated
visits, but he had also to endure reproaches and even insults. He confided to a
friend that several persons who had formerly esteemed him highly, and welcomed
him courteously, changed so completely when he came to them on this errand,
that they the quite shunned him, and sent him away with roughness and
incivility.
In striving to realize the plan he had formed of compelling all the women of
bad character to leave the town, and take up their abode in some remote
quarter, he had to endure inexpressible fatigue and persecution. As he saw that
these unhappy creatures did immense harm by being scattered about in all parts
of the town, he was convinced that the only method of remedying so great an
evil would be to compel them to go and live together out of Naples. All the
town, and God above all, knows what labours and expense this project occasioned
him, for the furtherance of which he composed several books entitled, “The
Abuses of Prostitution.” This undertaking also drew down on him opposition and
reproaches of his friends, for as they looked upon the thing as impossible,
they were always striving to make him abandon it, and ridiculing it with
bitterness; but his confidence in God was strong and unshaken, although he was
alone and devoid of the help of man, and he managed so well with the first
ministers of the king, our protector, that he at length had the satisfaction of
seeing his desires fulfilled. For a decree of nine articles was sent to the
Duke of Giovenazzo, the president of the first chamber of the ministry, on the
4th of May 1758, in virtue of which sentence of banishment was pronounced
against all prostitutes, who were thenceforward to live without the town, in
places which were allotted to them. This royal mandate was executed with such
rigour, that justice seized on the effects of those who would not quit their
houses, and all their furniture was thrown out the window. From thirty to forty
prostitutes were thus expelled from Naples; some of them married, others
retired into asylums, and the rest either went to the places assigned for them,
or fled elsewhere. As for our Father Januarius Maria, he several times ran the
risk of being assassinated on account of the share he had in their expulsion,
and for this reason his parents did all in their power to prevent his going on
with this good work, as they were afraid some fatal accident might be the
result both to himself and to all his family; but he declared that he was ready
to suffer all, and that he should even think it a great privilege to die in an
undertaking which was so glorious to God.
It was this same zeal for the salvation of souls, which supported him through
all the labours, which he went through in preparing all his works, in which the
choice of subjects and the manner in which he treated them, clearly proves how
much he would have liked to sanctify the whole world, had that been in his
power. Besides the book of which we have already spoken, on the special abuses
which the prostitutes of Naples caused to that town, he published another for
all the towns and villages of the kingdom, in which he proves that women of bad
character are not tolerated in any one of them or in any of the smaller towns,
and he sent a copy of this work to all the bishops in the kingdom. After this
he published a book called, “The World Sanctified,”(1752). In some respects we
may say that it has been the means of extensive good; it has been in almost
every one’s hands, and spread through several kingdoms as well as that of
Naples. He also put forth a whole work against blasphemy, as he was eager to
extirpate this accursed vice from the kingdom, where it is so deeply rooted;
and he published in a work called “The World Reformed,” a treatise on the
respect due to churches, in which the inhabitants of the kingdom are also most
wanting.
I will now give a list of several other works which he published to the great
profit of souls: a treatise on the obligation of parents to bring up their
children properly; another to serve as a guide to souls in the paths of
spirituality, entitled, “Discernment of Spirits;” “The Ecclesiastic
Sanctified,” which was written for priests; “An easy Method for all the
Exercises of Missions,” which is most useful for missionaries; “The Enlightened
Christian,” which cost him the greatest labour, as he himself owned, for he
composed it amid all the sufferings of the malady of which he died; :The
Desolate Soul,” for the comfort of souls in desolation of spirit; and “the
Enlightened Soul,” which contains some most devotional meditations.
He also published several other little works which we will mention elsewhere.
Death prevented his finishing several others, which he had already begun to get
printed, such as a treatise to excite compassion for the souls in purgatory;
another on the methods of appeasing God’s anger in public calamities; a selection
of pious reflections for every day in the year; a collection of sermons on the
Blessed Virgin for every Saturday throughout the year and for all novenas; and
a book of instructions on faith and morals. Thus all his works were destined to
promote the salvation of souls, whom he desired, as he said, to assist even
after his death. When he was on the point of death, he said to Canon Sersale,
“Canon, I wish to go on preaching until the judgment day.”
We must now give an account of his last illness and of his happy end. Januarius
Maria laboured for many years, as we have already seen, although he was ill and
oppressed with fever. His last mission was given at Posilipo, during which his
sufferings were very great, as he was quite worn out by fatigue and pain. From
that he retired to St Agnello, where his maladies increased so much the he was
obliged to give up all his labours, and was no longer able even to say mass;
this was viewed by all as a sign his death was at hand, for he had never
abstained from celebrating it. One day he made the most surprising efforts to
say it, but he could not succeed, and fainted in the attempt. As the malady
grew worse and worse, he went to his brother’s house at Naples, where he was
ill for a month. Although his sufferings and weakness continued daily to
increase, he never abandoned meditation, and as his interior trials were as
great as ever, he tried to obtain consolation by conversing with the servants
of God who came to visit him. The doctors advised him to try the air called the
saving air, but he was too weak to be moved.
About a fortnight before his death he took to his bed, from whence he never
arose again. From this time, however, God freed him from the heavy cross of
spiritual desolation, and he began to enjoy the greatest peace, every
disquieting thought was banished from his mind, and he felt nothing but ardent
desire to be united to God in the mansions of the blest. Once, when a servant
of his father’s said that he hoped God would restore his health, he replied,
“Oh, if I could exclaim aloud now, my sole cry would be that my only
consolation is to think that I am going to die, and you speak to me of
recovery!”
He also now showed the extent of his patience and charity, for amid the almost
insupportable pains he endured, which caused him to stand in need of constant
attendance, he felt the greatest compassion for those who waited on him; and
when he required anything he said to the brother whom the superior of the
congregation had sent to assist him, “Brother, have patience with me for the
love of Jesus Christ, for I shall not live much longer.” At this time he made
his last will, and as he wished all he had to be employed in alms and other
good works, he disposed of all his possessions in favour of the Congregation of
the Redemptorists.
One day he said to his brother, who did a great deal for him during his life
and at his death, “Brother, the time is at hand when I hope I shall be able to
make you a fitting return for all you have done for me.”
At this same period the devil appeared to him under the form of an abbe’, and
tempted him to vain-glory, saying, “Don Januarius, your illness has caused
general lamentation throughout Naples, on account of the loss which would be
sustained by the death of such a great man.” Upon this the dying man instantly
pronounced the name of Jesus and Mary, and the evil spirit disappeared and
returned no more. One day when Canon Sersale came to visit him, he said that he
hoped he might get well. “Dear Canon,” he replied, “I was tormented by scruples
for a long time, but thanks be to God, I am now free from them. I shall
therefore die tranquilly and without any disquiet. All that I have done has
been done from a pure intention of pleasing God. The sacrifice is now complete;
do not then speak to me any more of living, for I wish for no other life than
the possession of my God.”
During his last days he was always repeating devout aspirations; sometimes they
were addressed to the Blessed Trinity, when he would say, “Benedicta sit sancta
Trinitas et individua unitas; confitebimur ei, quia fecit nobiscum
misericordiam suam;” sometimes either to our Blessed Saviour or His adorable
Mother, and he would kiss and embrace their images from time to time. Just
before his death he addressed the following affecting words to God, which were
carefully noted down by the coadjutor brother who attended him: “Father, behold
the time has come for me to depart hence and to go to my Creator and my Father.
O Lord, I sigh for the moment when I shall see Thee face to face, should such
be Thy good pleasure; for I wish neither for death nor for life. I wish only
for what Thou willest. Thou knowest that all my actions and all my thoughts
have been for Thy greater glory alone.” Words such as these in the mouth of a
dying man, on the point of appearing before God, are sufficient to manifest
what must have been the innocency of his life. On the morning of the day he
died, he said to the brother who waited on him, “Brother, go and get out my
oldest clothes and bury me in them, for I do not wish anything to be wasted.”
The doctor came to see him at about eight o’clock in the morning of the same
day; and when he was going away, he said that he would see him again in the
course of the day. “I shall gently enter into my agony today,” he replied. He
told the brother not to forget to make him say the rosary, “For,” said he, “I
wish to die whilst I am reciting it.” And so it was, for when he had reached
the third decade that same day, he became very weak, and the damp perspiration
of death began to flow. “I feel the chill of death,” said he to the brother,
upon which he instantly called for a priest, who began to suggest pious
affections to him; but the dying man interrupted him, and asked him to allow to
speak himself; and he then began to speak to God in the most tender manner, but
it was almost impossible to hear what he said, for his speech was well nigh
gone. Just as he entered into his agony, the two brothers of the congregation
who assisted him at this last hour asked for his blessing; and he gently raised
his hand and blessed them. His agony was peaceful, and lasted little more than
half an hour; his rosary was around his arm all the time , and he clasped the
crucifix in his hands, kissing it from time to time. The priest gave him absolution
during this interval, after which he calmly expired, at ten o’clock on Thursday
morning, June 30th,1744, aged forty-two. His happy death took place the day
before the eve of the feast of the Visitation; thus the wish he had often
expressed of dying during a novena to the Blessed Virgin was gratified.
As soon as he was dead his countenance suddenly became most pleasing and
beautiful, and a smile overspread his lips; his body exhaled such a sweet
odour, that it scented the room where he died for a long time, and it was not
only perceived by those who assisted at his death, but also by the strangers
who came to see his corpse. His brother, D. Dominic Sarnelli, said that he
could not bear to leave the room, as he experienced the greatest spiritual consolation
when in it. His body was conveyed to the church of Our Lady of Good Help,
accompanied by the brothers of the Congregation of Apostolical Missions in the
archbishopric of Naples, who all followed him to the church, being filled with
the greatest sorrow for his death. When the body arrived there, a great number
of people crowded round it weeping and exclaiming, “Alas, for the saint is
dead!” and this cry was repeated throughout the entire neighborhood. They began
to tear up his clothes, and every one tried to carry away as much of them as
possible; he would soon have been stripped of everything, had not some limits
been put to this pious eagerness. His body was exposed for forty-eight hours,
after which a great many priests and other persons testify that it remained
quite flexible, and did not emit the least unpleasant odour, and that bright
blood flowed from the incisions, which were then made in his arm and head. His
relics were sought for in all directions, and the renown of his sanctity spread
far and wide. Persons came to visit the house where he died through devotion,
and exclaimed with many tears, “O the well-beloved saint of Jesus Christ! He is
not prized sufficiently!” In consequence of this reputation for sanctity,
several persons recommended themselves to God through the merits of Father
Januarius Maria, and received signal graces thereby, which I must however pass
over in silence thereby, that I may not exceed the narrow limits allotted to
me. I trust however that the time will come when these interesting facts may be
collected by others, and that a more detailed Life of this great servant of God
may one day be given to the world. †
(Typed by Miss Lenore Hayes of New Zealand.)
SOURCE : http://papastronsaytexts.blogspot.com/search/label/Bl%20Januarius%20Sarnelli
Gennaro Sarnelli
posted on 02/09/10 12:13
am by Fr. Santo Arrigo C.Ss.R.
Gennaro Maria Sarnelli,
the son of the Baron of Ciorani, was born in Naples on September 12, 1702.
At the age of 14
following the beatification of Francis Regis he decided to become a Jesuit.
Having been dissuaded by his father because of his youth he began the study of
jurisprudence and took his Doctorate in ecclesiastical and civil law in 1722.
He distinguished himself at the Bar and was enrolled in the Congregation of the
Knights of the Legal and Medical Professions directed by the Pious Workers at
St. Nicholas of Toledo. Among the rules of this Association there was the obligation
of visiting the sick in the Hospital of the Incurables. It was here he heard
the call of the Lord to become a priest.
In September 1728 he
became a seminarist and was incardinated by Cardinal Pignatelli as a cleric in
the parish of St. Anne di Palazzo. On June 4, 1729 in order to study in more
peaceful conditions he became a boarder in the College of the Holy Family known
as the Chinese College, founded by Matthew Ripa. On April 8 of the following
year he left the Chinese College and on June 5 began his novitiate in the
Congregation of the Apostolic Missions.
On May 28 1731 he
concluded his novitiate and on July 8 of the following year he was raised to
the Priesthood. During these years in addition to his visits to the hospital he
devoted himself to helping young children forced to work and to teaching them
the catechism. He also visited the old people in the Hospice of St. Gennaro and
those condemned to the galleys who were ill in the hospital at the docks. These
were also the years when he developed a friendship with St. Alphonsus de
Liguori and his apostolate. Together they devoted themselves to teaching the
catechism to laypeople by organizing the Evening Chapels.
Following his ordination
he was assigned by Cardinal Pignatelli as Director of Religious Instruction in
the parish of Sts. Francis and Matthew in the Spanish quarter. Having become
aware of the rampant corruption of young girls he decided to direct all his
energy against prostitution. In the same period (1733) he tenaciously defended
St. Alphonsus against unjust criticism after he had founded the missionary
Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer in Scala (SA) on November 9 1732. In
June of the same year having gone to Scala to help his friend during the
mission at Ravello, he decided to become a Redemptorist while at the same time
continuing to be a member of the Apostolic Missions. From his entrance into the
Congregation in April 1736 he committed himself unsparingly to parish missions
and to writing in defense of “young girls in danger”. He also wrote on the
spiritual life and worked so hard that he was almost at death’s door. With the
consent of St. Alphonsus he returned to Naples for treatment and there renewed
his apostolate for the rescue of prostitutes.
As well as taking part in
the Redemptorist apostolate and that of the Apostolic Missions he promoted
meditation in common among the laity by publishing “Il mondo santificato”. He
also campaigned against blasphemy in another book. In 1741 he planned and took
part with St. Alphonsus in the great missions preached in the hamlets outside
Naples in preparation for the canonical visitation of Cardinal Spinelli.
Despite the permanently insecure state of his health he continued to preach
until the end of April 1744 when by now extremely ill he returned to Naples
where he died on June 30 at the age of 42. His body lies at rest in Ciorani,
the first Redemptorist Church.
Gennaro Maria Sarnelli
has left us 30 works which treat of meditation, mystical theology, spiritual
direction, law, pedagogy, moral and pastoral themes. By his social action in
favour of women he is considered one of the authors who treated this subject
most fully in the Europe of the first half of the eighteenth century.
On May 12 1996, Pope John
Paul II beatified him in St. Peter’s Square.
SOURCE : https://redemptorists.ca/saints-blessed/gennaro-sarnelli
Facciata di Santa Maria dell'Aiuto, Napoli
Beato Gennaro Maria
Sarnelli Sacerdote redentorista
Napoli, 12 settembre 1702
- 30 giugno 1744
Nasce a Napoli il 12
settembre 1702 da Angelo, barone di Ciorani. Nel 1722 si laurea in diritto
canonico e civile ed esercita l'avvocatura fino al 1728. In questi anni conosce
un altro avvocato: Alfonso Maria de' Liguori. Ancora laico si associa al gruppo
che gravita intorno a sant'Alfonso. Nel 1728 lascia la professione di avvocato,
nel 1732 è sacerdote. Nello stesso anno de' Liguori fonda la nuova
Congregazione del Santissimo Redentore (Redentoristi); Gennaro Sarnelli lo
raggiunge un anno dopo ed insieme intraprendono una serie di missioni in tutta
la Costiera Amalfitana e nei paesi dell'entroterra. Nel 1736 rientra a Napoli,
dove si dedica all'evangelizzazione tra le prostitute. Si adopera inoltre per
l'assistenza religiosa e materiale ai «facchinelli», minori sfruttati per il
lavoro. Dal 1741 organizza una missione permanente nei sobborghi di Napoli.
Muore a 41 anni, il 30 giugno 1744 a Napoli e viene sepolto nella parrocchia di
Santa Maria dell'Aiuto. Verrà poi traslato nella casa madre dei redentoristi.
Giovanni Paolo II l'ha proclamato beato il 12 maggio 1996. (Avvenire)
Martirologio
Romano: A Napoli, beato Gennaro Maria Sarnelli, sacerdote della
Congregazione del Santissimo Redentore, che si adoperò attivamente per
l’assistenza ad ogni categoria di bisognosi.
Altro grande santo redentorista che sale agli onori degli altari; nacque a Napoli il 12 settembre 1702 da Angelo, barone di Ciorani, nel palazzo del duca Zapata, vicinissimo al Palazzo reale.
Nel 1722 si laureò in diritto canonico e civile ed esercitò l’avvocatura fino al 1728, in questi anni di professione conobbe un altro avvocato, il grande s. Alfonso Maria de’ Liguori; si distinse per fervore religioso e per l’assistenza assidua ai poveri degli ospedali napoletani, specie in quello denominato degli “Incurabili”.
Ancora laico si associò al gruppo che gravitava intorno a s. Alfonso, nell’animazione delle “Cappelle serotine”, assemblee popolari di preghiera e di formazione religiosa. Nel 1728 lasciò la professione di avvocato ed entrò nel seminario diocesano, venendo ordinato sacerdote l’8 giugno 1732; intanto s. Alfonso il 9 novembre di quello stesso anno, fondò a Scala vicino Amalfi e Ravello, la nuova Congregazione del Santissimo Redentore (Redentoristi); Gennaro Sarnelli lo raggiunse un anno dopo ed insieme intrapresero una serie di missioni in tutta la Costiera Amalfitana (la Divina Costiera) e nei paesi dell’entroterra.
Ma nel 1736 di comune accordo, ritornò a Napoli, dove intraprese una lotta gigantesca per la redenzione delle meretrici, vera piaga della Napoli di allora, ne convertì moltissime, sistemandole con onesti matrimoni, spesso dandole una dote, collocandole presso famiglie sicure o chiudendole in conservatori; per le incorreggibili ottenne una disposizione dal re Carlo III, che le limitava in alcuni sobborghi della città.
Per quest’opera meritevole, fu minacciato varie volte di morte da quanti sfruttavano le povere donne, ma egli non desistette, dichiarando: “Che si sarebbe chiamato fortunato se, per quest’opera di tanta gloria di Dio, avesse perduto anche la vita”.
Si adoperò inoltre per l’assistenza religiosa e materiale ai “facchinelli”, ragazzi sfruttati per il lavoro minorile, piaga continua delle necessità del Meridione.
D’accordo con s. Alfonso, organizzò a partire dal 1741, una missione permanente nei sobborghi di Napoli, raccogliendo un successo incredibile, al punto che il papa Benedetto XIV, in una sua lettera diretta ai vescovi del Regno di Napoli, ne raccomandava l’organizzazione in tutte le altre diocesi.
Fu scrittore fecondo, le sue numerose opere letterarie e di spiritualità, costituiscono una bibliografia di tutto rispetto, l’ ”Opera omnia” dei suoi scritti è uscita stampata in Napoli in 14 volumi dal 1848 al 1851.
Morì prematuramente a 41 anni, il 30 giugno 1744 a Napoli, fu sepolto nella parrocchia di S. Maria dell’Aiuto; poi in seguito traslato nella chiesa redentorista di Ciorani nel salernitano, casa madre della Congregazione liguorina.
S. Alfonso, che come si sa, visse a lungo, ne scrisse la biografia chiamandolo “gran servo del Signore” e che fu già pronta il 17 luglio di quello stesso anno.
Gennaro Maria Sarnelli fu per la Chiesa di Napoli uno dei suoi uomini apostolici più illustri; per i redentoristi, il gemello e l’emulo del fondatore.
Papa Giovanni Paolo II, l’ha beatificato il 12 maggio del 1996.
Autore: Antonio Borrelli
Il padre lo avvia alla professione di avvocato, ma lui vorrebbe diventare sacerdote. La sua vocazione è forte, senza dubbi né ripensamenti che possano ostacolarla. Gennaro Maria Sarnelli nasce a Napoli nel 1702, in un lussuoso e prestigioso palazzo. I suoi genitori sono il barone di Ciorani Angelo Sarnelli e la baronessa Caterina Scoppa. Pur avendo manifestato fin da ragazzino la volontà di essere ordinato sacerdote, la famiglia lo ostacola prendendo come scusa la giovane età del figlio, non ancora maturo per poter prendere una decisione così importante. Gennaro ubbidisce e si laurea in diritto canonico e civile diventando avvocato. Il suo tempo libero, però, è tutto proteso verso i poveri e gli ammalati. Svolge, infatti, attività di volontariato presso l’Ospedale degli Incurabili di Napoli.
Per via della sua professione, conosce l’avvocato Alfonso Maria de’ Liguori (che diventerà santo). Con lui Gennaro si fa coraggio e riesce a realizzare il suo sogno. Nel 1732 viene ordinato sacerdote ed entra nella Congregazione del “Santissimo Redentore” fondata dal suo amico avvocato de’ Liguori, anche lui ordinato sacerdote. Insieme promuovono tante missioni di apostolato e di assistenza lungo la Costa Amalfitana. Gennaro impiega tutte le sue energie per cercare di risolvere i drammi umani del suo tempo, come la prostituzione e lo sfruttamento del lavoro minorile. Il sacerdote avvicina le donne di strada e parla loro del Vangelo, le fa sposare con bravi mariti regalando la dote oppure trova per loro una sistemazione in qualche buona famiglia.
Ai “facchinelli”, così vengono chiamati a Napoli i bambini che lavorano in condizioni disumane con paghe bassissime e orari massacranti, Gennaro Maria Sarnelli insegna il catechismo. Il sacerdote si reca anche negli ospizi a visitare gli anziani abbandonati. Nel mentre trova pure il tempo per scrivere numerosi libri, uno contro la bestemmia, alcuni dedicati al catechismo dei bambini, altri alla pedagogia, altri ancora alla preghiera mentale recitata con il cuore e con l’anima. Gennaro Maria Sarnelli muore nel 1744. Oggi riposa nella Chiesa redentorista presso la casa madre della Congregazione di Alfonso Maria de’ Liguori, a Ciorani di Mercato San Severino, in provincia di Salerno.
Autore: Mariella Lentini
SOURCE : https://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/91183
CAPPELLA PAPALE PER LA
BEATIFICAZIONE DI SEI SERVI DI DIO
OMELIA DI GIOVANNI PAOLO
II
Sagrato della Basilica Vaticana - Domenica, 12 maggio 1996
"Se mi amate
osserverete i miei comandamenti" (cf. Gv 14, 15).
1. Quest’oggi, sesta
domenica del tempo di Pasqua, la Chiesa ci invita a lodare Dio, confermando con
la solenne liturgia di Beatificazione la venerazione verso i Servi di Dio
Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster, Filippo Smaldone, Gennaro Maria Sarnelli, Maria
Raffaella Cimatti, Cándida María de Jesús Cipitria y Barriola, María Antonia
Bandrés y Elósegui.
È ad essi che si riferiscono
le parole dell’odierno Vangelo: "Se mi amate osserverete i miei
comandamenti". I nuovi Beati hanno osservato la Parola di Cristo e
in questo modo Gli hanno dimostrato il loro amore (cf. Gv 14,
15 . 21 ).
Si è compiuto in loro
quanto il Signore aveva promesso ai discepoli: "Se uno mi ama, osserverà
la mia parola e il Padre mio lo amerà e noi verremo a lui e prenderemo dimora
presso di lui" ( Gv 14, 23 ).
Questi Servi di Dio furono
tempio vivente della Santissima Trinità; adesso si trovano nella sua dimora
per l’eternità: "In quel giorno voi saprete che io sono nel Padre e voi in
me e io in voi" ( Gv 14,20 ).
Hanno adorato Cristo nei
loro cuori, come insegna san Pietro, "pronti sempre a rispondere" a
chiunque domandasse ragione della speranza che "era in loro". Con
dolcezza, rispetto e retta coscienza si sono dimostrati pronti - se
questa era la volontà di Dio - a "soffrire operando il bene",
piuttosto che fare il male (cf. 1 Pt 3, 15-17 ).
Quanto annuncia la
liturgia pasquale si è in loro pienamente attuato, secondo la specifica
vocazione di ciascuno.
2.
"Se uno mi ama,
osserverà la mia parola e il Padre mio lo amerà e noi verremo a lui ( Gv 14,23 );
(cf. Canto al Vangelo).
L’amore per Cristo,
espresso in un instancabile servizio alla Chiesa, costituisce il cuore della
spiritualità e della attività apostolica di Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster,
per lunghi anni infaticabile Pastore dell’Arcidiocesi di Milano. "Uomo di
preghiera, di studio e d’azione - lo definì Mons. Giovanni Battista Montini nel
discorso tenuto in occasione dell’ingresso nell’Arcidiocesi -, di non altro
sollecito che della salvezza spirituale del suo popolo" ("Rivista
diocesana Milanese", gennaio 1955, 9).
Lo spirito di
preghiera e di contemplazione, proprio della tradizione benedettina nella quale
era stato formato, animò il suo ministero pastorale. La spiritualità monastica,
sorretta dalla quotidiana meditazione della Sacra Scrittura, venne così come
dilatata sia nell’attiva collaborazione con la Santa Sede sia nel generoso
servizio alla Comunità Ambrosiana, "da lui sino alla fine edificata e
confortata con la celebrazione assidua e devota dei Sacri Misteri e l’esempio
di una vita limpida e coerente" ("Messale ambrosiano", Prefazio
della memoria).
Il Cardinale Schuster
offrì al Clero milanese un luminoso esempio di come possano essere armonizzate
la contemplazione e l’azione pastorale. Egli continua ancora oggi ad indicare
ad ogni sacerdote e ad ogni persona chiamata a lavorare nella vigna del
Signore, il supremo valore dell’amore verso Dio, fondamento della comunione
fraterna e dell’apostolato. "Alla fine - egli scrisse - ciò che conta per
la vera grandezza della Chiesa e dei suoi figli è l’amore" (Scritti, p.
27)
3.
"Chi mi ama sarà
amato dal Padre mio e anch’io lo amerò e mi manifesterò a lui" ( Gv 14,
21 ). La carità verso Dio e verso il prossimo è stata intensamente vissuta
ed incarnata anche dal sacerdote leccese Filippo Smaldone, la cui
esistenza fu contrassegnata da costante attenzione verso i poveri e da
straordinario slancio apostolico. Questo grande testimone della carità intuì
di dover adempiere la propria missione nel Mezzogiorno d’Italia, rivolgendosi
in modo particolare alla cura ed alla educazione dei non udenti per
inserirli attivamente nella società.
La sua intensa e solida
spiritualità sacerdotale, nutrita di preghiera, di meditazione e di penitenza
anche corporale, lo spinse ad un servizio sociale aperto a quelle intuizioni
precorritrici che l’autentica carità pastorale sa suscitare.
Questo generoso
Sacerdote, perla del Clero meridionale, fondatore delle Suore Salesiane dei
Sacri Cuori, impegnate in modo prioritario nell’educazione dei Sordomuti, viene
oggi proposto alla venerazione della Chiesa universale, affinché tutti i
fedeli, seguendone l’esempio, sappiano testimoniare il Vangelo della
carità nel nostro tempo, in particolare mediante la sollecitudine verso i
più bisognosi.
4.
"Adorate il Signore,
Cristo, nei vostri cuori" ( 1 Pt 3, 15 ). Queste parole
della Lettera di san Pietro ben pongono in luce l’intensa e feconda attività
apostolica che Gennaro Maria Sarnelli, Redentorista, svolse sia attraverso
la predicazione al popolo che con i numerosi scritti. L’intima comunione
personale che egli intratteneva con Cristo fu la costante sorgente del suo
instancabile zelo pastorale.
La sua vicenda umana e
religiosa, come quella di sant’Alfonso Maria de Liguori di cui fu amico e
collaboratore, si espresse in modo particolare, in una spiccata
sensibilità verso i poveri, avvicinati ed accolti nella luce della loro realtà
di figli di Dio.
La sua fu un’azione
evangelizzatrice caratterizzata da grande dinamismo: egli seppe conciliare
l’impegno missionario con l’attività di scrittore e col ministero, non meno
impegnativo, di consigliere e guida spirituale. Pur procedendo secondo gli
schemi culturali del tempo, il nuovo Beato non trascurò mai di cercare forme
rinnovate di evangelizzazione per rispondere alle sfide emergenti. E per
questo, pur essendo vissuto in un periodo storico sotto molti aspetti distante
dal nostro, Gennaro Maria Sarnelli può essere indicato alla comunità cristiana
di oggi, alle soglie del nuovo millennio, quale esempio di apostolo aperto ad
accogliere ogni utile innovazione per un annuncio più incisivo del perenne
messaggio della salvezza.
5.
"Sia benedetto
Dio... non mi ha negato la sua misericordia" ( Sal 65, 20 ).
La Misericordia divina è la chiave di lettura della spiritualità semplice e
profonda di Maria Raffaella Cimatti, religiosa delle Suore Ospedaliere
della Misericordia. Alla infinita misericordia di Dio, di cui parla il
salmista, ella ispirò la sua azione, specialmente nel servizio ai poveri ed ai
sofferenti. Questa donna, che oggi viene elevata agli onori degli altari,
consumò se stessa nella totale consacrazione a Dio e nel silenzioso e diuturno
servizio agli ammalati. Visse con spirito di sacrificio e con sempre pronta
disponibilità sia le umili mansioni quotidiane, sia l’ascolto e l’accoglienza
di quanti a lei ricorrevano in cerca di consiglio o di conforto, sia i compiti
di responsabilità ai quali fu ripetutamente chiamata.
Nel nostro tempo, segnato
non di rado dall’indifferenza e dalla tentazione di chiudersi di fronte alle
necessità del prossimo, questa umile religiosa costituisce un luminoso esempio
di femminilità pienamente realizzata nel dono di sé. Essa annuncia e
testimonia la speranza evangelica, manifestando a quanti soffrono nel corpo e
nello spirito il volto di "Dio, Padre misericordioso e Dio di ogni
consolazione, il quale ci consola in ogni nostra tribolazione" ( 2
Cor 1, 4 ).
Quindi il Santo Padre ha
continuato in lingua spagnola. Delle sue parole pubblichiamo qui di seguito una
nostra traduzione italiana:
6.
Osservare i comandamenti
di Gesù è la prova suprema dell’Amore per Lui (cf. Gv 14, 21 ).
Così lo intense Madre Cándida María de Jesús Cipitria y Barriola, che già
in gioventù diceva: "sono solo per Dio" e al momento della sua morte
affermava: "dei quarant’anni della mia vita religiosa non ricordo un solo
momento che non sia stato dedicato a Dio". La sua profonda esperienza
dell’amore di Dio per ognuna delle sue creature la portò a corrispondere con
generosità e dedizione. Plasmò la sua carità verso il prossimo nella fondazione
della Congregazione delle Figlie di Gesù, con il carisma dell’educazione
cristiana dell’infanzia e della gioventù. Le attenzioni che prodigava alle sue
religiose, ai benefattori delle sue opere, ai sacerdoti, alle allieve, ai
bisognosi, fino a renderle universali, sono una manifestazione visibile del suo
amore verso Dio, della sua radicale sequela di Gesù e della sua totale consacrazione
alla causa del suo Regno.
Madre Cándida disse un
giorno a un’allieva del suo Collegio di Tolosa: "tu sarai Figlia di Gesù".
La giovane era María Antonia Bandrés Elósegui, che oggi è elevata con la
Fondatrice agli onori degli altari. Innamorata di Gesù, fece sì che anche gli
altri lo amassero. Come catechista, formatrice di operaie, missionaria nel
desiderio essendo già religiosa, consumò la sua breve esistenza condividendo,
amando e servendo gli altri. Nella sua malattia, unita a Cristo, ci ha lasciato
un esempio eloquente di partecipazione all’opera salvifica della croce.
La testimonianza delle
vite di queste due nuove Beate colma di gioia la Chiesa e deve portare la loro
Congregazione, presente in tanti Paesi dell’Europa, dell’America e dell’Asia a
seguire i loro ricchi insegnamenti, il modello del loro dono di sé e la
perseveranza nella loro fedeltà al carisma ricevuto dallo Spirito.
7.
"Acclamate a Dio da
tutta la terra,
cantate alla gloria del suo nome,
date a lui splendida lode.
Dite a Dio: Stupende sono le tue opere" ( Sal 65, 1-3 ).
Tra le meraviglie che Dio
compie continuamente, riveste singolare importanza l’opera meravigliosa della
santità, perché riguarda direttamente la persona umana.
La santità è la pienezza
della vita: Gloria Dei vivens homo. La gloria di Dio è l’uomo vivente. Vita
autem hominis visio Dei: ma la vita dell’uomo è la visione di Dio (cf. S.
Ireneo, Adv. haer., IV, 20, 7).
Grandi sono le tue opere,
o Signore! Nella vita e nella fede di Maria, Madre della Chiesa; nella vita e
nella fede di questi nostri fratelli e sorelle, oggi proclamati Beati,
contempliamo le meraviglie del tuo amore.
Insieme con loro
acclamiamo: Gloria e lode a te, o Cristo, Redentore del mondo. Amen!
© Copyright 1996 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Copyright © Dicastero per
la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Januarius Maria Sarnelli
italienischer Name:
Gennaro Maria
Gedenktag katholisch: 30. Juni
gebotener Gedenktag im Redemptoristenorden
Name bedeutet: J: der Pförtner (latein.)
M: die Beleibte / die Schöne / die Bittere / die von Gott
Geliebte (aramäisch)
Ordensmann, Priester
* 12. September 1702 in Neapel in Italien
† 30. Juni 1744 daselbst
Januarius Sarnelli aus
dem Geschlecht der Barone von Ciorani, die in Neapel im Palazzo
del Cardinale Zapata residierten, wollte im Alter von 14 Jahren - nach
der Seligsprechung von Johannes
Franz Régis - Jesuit werden,
doch er war zu jung. Er studierte deshalb Rechtswissenschaft an der Universität -
deren damaliges Gebäude ist heute Archäologisches Nationalmuseum - und wurde
1722 in Zivil- und Kirchenrecht promoviert. Januarius arbeitete dann als Anwalt
und wurde Mitglied im Verein Adeliger Rechtsgelehrter. Bei einem Besuch
in Marianella lernte
er Alfons
Maria von Liguori kennen und arbeitete dann auch zusammen mit diesem
im Spital
der Unheilbaren in Neapel. 1728 begann Januarius mit dem Studium der
Theologie; 1729 schloss er sich dem Kollegium der heiligen
Familie an, 1730 trat er in die Weltpriester-Kongregation
von den Apostolischen Missionen ein, 1732 wurde er zum Priester geweiht.
In diesen Jahren widmete
Gennaro Sarnelli sich neben den Besuchen im Spital
der Unheilbaren auch dem Religionsunterricht, der Fürsorge für arme
Kinder und für die kranken Galeerensträflingen im Hafen von
Neapel. Als Priester arbeitete er dann an der Kirche
Santi Francesco e Matteo im Stadtviertel der Spanier - noch heute ein
sozialer Brennpunkt - besonders in der religiösen Unterweisung und er setzte
sich gegen die Prostitution ein. Seinen Freund Alfons
Maria von Liguori verteidigte er 1733 gegen unbegründete
Anschuldigungen und kam ihm auch bei der Mission und bei der Gründung des Klosters in
Scala sowie in Ravello und
mit großen Teilen des Familienvermögens beim Aufbbau des das zweiten Klosters in
Ciorani - einem Ortsteil von Mercato San Severino bei Neapel - zu Hilfe.
Nach seinem Eintritt bei
den Redemptoristen 1736
arbeitete Januarius Sarnelli bei Volksmissionen mit und gab Schriften heraus
zur Verteidigung gefährdeter Mädchen und zur Erbauung der Gläubigen.
Ans Ende seiner Kräfte gekommen, kehrte er nach Neapel zurück, um sich zu
erholen und sich an der Kirche
Santa Maria dell'Aiuto von Neuem für die Eingliederung der
Prostituierten einzusetzen. 1741 organisierte er eine große Mission im Umland
der Stadt und half Alfons
Maria von Liguori, sie durchzuführen; trotz seines gefährdeten
Gesundheitszustandes predigte er weiterhin und betätigte sich
schriftstellerisch, bis er Ende April 1744 erschöpft in die Stadt zurückkehrte
und bald darauf im Alter von nicht einmal 42 Jahren starb.
Januarius Maria Sarnelli
wurde in der Kirche Santa
Maria dell'Aiuto in Neapel bestattet; seine Gebeine wurden
1994 ins Kloster der Redemptoristen in
Ciorani übertragen, für dessen Gründung Januarius' Familie einen großen Teil
ihres Vermögens gestiftet hatte; anlässlich der Seligsprechung wurde für ihn
eine Kapelle eingebaut. Januarius hinterließ über 30 gedruckte Werke, die von
Betrachtung, mystischer Theologie, Seelenführung, Rechtswesen, Erziehung,
Sittenlehre und Seelsorge handeln.
Kanonisation: 1870
wurde für ihn der Seligsprechungsprozess eingeleitet. Januarius Maria Sarnelli
wurde am 12. Mai 1996 von Papst Johannes
Paul II. seliggesprochen.
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Autor: Joachim
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Quellen:
• Pater Jürgen Langer, E-Mail vom 31. Juli 2007
• Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, begr. von Michael Buchberger. Hrsg. von Walter Kasper, 3., völlig neu bearb. Aufl. Bd. 5. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1996
• Johannes Madey. In: Friedrich-Wilhelm Bautz †, Traugott Bautz (Hg.): Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon, Bd. VIII, Herzberg 1995
• https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gennaro_Maria_Sarnelli - abgerufen am 06.05.2022
• https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciorani_(Mercato_San_Severino) - abgerufen am 06.05.2022
•
http://www.redentoristinapoletani.it/le-comunit%C3%A0-in-italia-meridionale/ciorani-sede-del-governo-provinciale
- abgerufen am 06.05.2022
korrekt zitieren: Joachim Schäfer: Artikel Januarius Maria Sarnelli, aus dem Ökumenischen Heiligenlexikon - https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienJ/Januarius_Maria_Sarnelli.html, abgerufen am 28. 6. 2023
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet das Ökumenische
Heiligenlexikon in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte
bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://d-nb.info/1175439177 und http://d-nb.info/969828497 abrufbar.
SOURCE : https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienJ/Januarius_Maria_Sarnelli.html
