There are a number of saints like Jerome Emiliani, men who had been mercenary soldiers and in some cases lived hard lives, gambling, drinking, and brawling. Some even landed in prison. But they later underwent profound conversions that redirected them to lives of service. Emiliani, for example, ran away from home when he was 15 and became a soldier in Venice in 1506, only to be captured by the enemy. Praying for deliverance to the Virgin Mary, he got away, hung his chains on a church wall as an offering, and began studying for the priesthood. During an outbreak of spotted fever he cared for the sick and orphans in his own home. He later founded orphanages, a hospital, and a religious order. Jerome turned out right after making some wrong turns. Remember that God makes it possible for you and the people around you to be more than your pasts and always to find new paths.

TODAY’S READINGS: 1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13; Mark 6:53-56
“Wherever he went . . . they laid the sick in the marketplaces . . . and all who touched it were healed.”