St. Romuald was an Italian nobleman. As a boy, he had many temptations to impurity. In order to avoid falling into sin, he kept himself busy by going hunting in the woods. When Romuald was twenty years old, he was horrified to see his father kill a man in duel. He went to a Benedictine monastery to do penance for forty days, in reparation for his father’s grave sin. Up until that time, he had lived a lazy life of pleasure, but now at the monastery, Romuald was so moved by the good example of the monks that he decided to become one himself. He asked a good monk named Marino to teach him how to become holy. To test him, Marino treated him harshly. Yet Romuald never complained. Later, he founded the Camaldolese Order and gave all his monks a wonderful example of penance. For a whole year, all he ate each day was a bit of boiled beans. Then for three years, he ate only the little food he grew himself. Through these sacrifices Romuald grew closer and closer to God. A hundred times a day, he would pray in his room: “Oh, my sweet Jesus! God of my heart! Delight of pure souls! The object of all my desires!”
When he was over a hundred, St. Romuald had to suffer very much because he was accused of a very bad sin which he had not committed. He did not become angry or take revenge, even when he was not allowed to say Mass for six months. He could easily have proven that it was all a lie. Yet he chose to suffer for love of God until, at last, Jesus Himself showed everyone that Romuald was innocent.
No matter what happens to us, it will turn out for the best, if we love God and pray to Him.
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