Day 1:  Saint Giuseppe Moscati

Giuseppe Moscati was a physician in Naples, Italy.  He provided expert care for patients, while always treating them with deep compassion.  He was a dedicated researcher who spent long hours after his hospital shifts teaching medical students and seeking medical break-throughs to help his suffering patients. 

Just three years after Giuseppe had finished medical school, Mount Vesuvius erupted in a deadly manner.  It was April 1906.  Elite members of society fled for their own safety.  Dr. Moscati stayed behind in Naples to organize the evacuation of the hospitalized, especially the disabled.  His labors saved many lives.

When a cholera epidemic broke out in 1911, local government officials put Dr. Moscati in charge of designing and implementing a response.  He researched the disease, conducted health inspections to reduce the spread, all while spending countless hours caring for the sick himself.  During this time period, he also provided free medical care in the poorest and roughest neighborhoods as was his custom throughout his career.

Dr. Moscati led an extremely busy professional life while embracing his call to the single life.  Despite the intensity of his schedule, he started every day by attending Mass.  He credited regular Mass attendance as the secret force behind his ability to give himself so generously in service to those in need.  He was canonized a saint in 1987.  His feast day is November 16.

Questions for Reflection

Dr. Giuseppe Moscati made time for regular prayer and attending Mass even though he had a very busy schedule.  His participation at the Mass empowered him to imitate Jesus’ lifestyle of sacrificial love.  How can you be more attentive in your participation at Mass when the stay at home order ends and public Masses resume?  What can you do now to grow in your understanding of the meaning contained in the prayers and ritual actions of the Mass?

Many medical workers today make sacrifices like Saint Giuseppe to serve patients who are ill, especially those suffering from COVID-19.  Who are the doctors, nurses, and other medical care providers you know who you should pray for today?  Are there practical ways you can show them support as they go about their exhausting work?

Prayer 

Lord God,

You gave Saint Giuseppe Moscati strength through prayer and reception of the Eucharist to serve the sick with charity.  Inspire doctors and healthcare workers to assist the ill with compassion.  Give them wisdom as they seek new medical technologies to help the most vulnerable.  May all of us answer your call to serve others with generosity, no matter how stressful or difficult the situation might be.  Inspire us to imitate Saint Giuseppe’s tireless dedication to serving others in our own vocation. 

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Saint Giuseppe Moscati, pray for us!