St. Peter Nolasco was born in France. Even while he was just a boy, he found great joy in helping the poor. He loved the Blessed Virgin with all his heart and made up his mind to spend his life serving his neighbor. St. Peter felt especially sorry for all the Christians who had been dragged off as slaves by the Moslems. He prayed hard for them, and the Blessed Mother appeared to tell him to start a Religious Order to help them. She said it would please her and Jesus very much, and she would protect the new religious. When St. Peter told his Confessor, St. Raymond of Pennafort, he found that Our Lady had appeared to him, too. Together they went to tell the King, but they were surprised to learn that he, too, had seen the Blessed Mother! So, all three dedicated themselves to the new work of mercy. They promised to do all they could to free the slaves, even if they had to sacrifice their own lives.
Right from the beginning, a great number of slaves were freed, not only in Spain, but also in Africa. St. Peter was not afraid to risk his life many times to come to the rescue of the poor prisoners.
The person who sins becomes a slave of the devil. When temptations come, let us ask our Blessed Mother to help us, so that we may win over the devil and remain faithful to our Divine King.
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