Jesus and St Julian, the Redeemer and the Redeemed |
Today happens to be the liturgical feast of my patron,
Saint Julian. Born in Belgium, St Julian was a hunter, mostly hunting deer. One
day he saw a big deer who spoke to him, and told him ‘Please do not shoot me –
remember that one day you will kill your own parents.’ Fearing this terrible
fate of his, Julian left home and wandered around Belgium, not informing his
parents of his whereabouts. He got married to his wife Margerita and lived
happily in a small town. Distraught and heart-broken, his parents started searching
for him, and eventually reached the town where he was living. They found his
house and his wife greeted them kindly and since they were tired, she let them
sleep in her own bed. Another man, jealous of Julian and his wife, met Julian
on his way back from hunting and told him that his wife was sleeping with
another man. Furious and disappointed, Julian went inside his house and found
the two people sleeping in his bed, and without any thought, took his sword and
decapitated them. A bigger surprise greeted him when he went outside and met
his wife coming towards home with a big smile to tell him of the good news that
his parents were home. Realizing what he had done, Julian cried and cried and
was inconsolable.
He decided there and then to dedicate his life to help the
poor and the sick, and even built a hospital to care for the sick in the area
where he and his wife lived. He had to redeem himself of the sin of parricide
that he had committed. He knew it wasn’t his fault, but still wanted to amend
of his mistake and devoted his entire life to help the sick. One day he heard
the cry of a sick man, and went out in the middle of the night to save him. He
cared for him in his hospital, but all of a sudden the man’s countenance turned
very bright and told Julian “your sin has been forgiven.” St Julian is known as
the patron saint of hunters and hospitaliers, as well as doctors and nurses and
those who care for the sick.
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