St. Felix of Cantalice

St. Felix of Cantalice - May 18th

Felix was born of poor Italian farmers, and as a little boy, he used to take his father’s cows out to pasture. He became a shepherd next and when he grew stronger, he took a job ploughing a rich man’s fields. Felix got into the wonderful habit of letting everything he saw remind him of God’s power and goodness. For a while, he thought he might become a hermit, but he finally decided it would be better to join a monastery.

St. Felix was thirty years old when he became a Capuchin brother. He had to beg the Superior to let him enter. The Superior led Felix to a crucifix and asked him, “Can you live your whole life on the cross with Jesus?” The Saint soon proved that he was ready to suffer anything for the love of God. The duty given to Brother Felix was to beg for food for the community. Joyfully he did this hard, humble work daily for forty years in Rome. Even though he was always among people, he never lost the thought of God’s presence, and he was so pure that he said he had not once gazed on a women’s face.

So humble was St. Felix that he hid the penances he performed. When someone noticed that he was walking barefoot, he said, “I can walk faster this way.” Although he could not read or write, St. Charles Borromeo and St. Philip Neri used to go to him for advice. Felix often said that he knew only six letters: fie red ones and one white one. By the five red ones, he meant the five wounds of Our Lord, as he was very devoted to the Passion of Jesus. By the one white letter, he meant the spotless purity of Mary. Indeed, by studying and copying these six “letters,” Felix became a great saint.

A very powerful means to live as the Saints did is to remember that God sees us all the time. If we remember this, we will never do anything displeasing to Him.