The cure

Young Doctor Zaccaria was bright – he became a doctor at the age of 22 – but he quickly saw that even his state-of-the-art medical training was useless in the face of what was afflicting his patients and the community where they lived.

He realized that the only real cure, the only real answer to the people’s deepest affliction, was Jesus Christ crucified and risen.

He entered the seminary and became a priest. He did more than just preach to the people who came to church. He walked through the streets of the nearest large city, crucifix in hand, and preached Christ to the people.

He spent himself thoroughly and quickly in the service of Christ and died at the age of 37 on this very day in 1539. St. Anthony Zaccaria was canonized in 1897.

(from an earlier post)