St. Eleutherius is renowned for his humility and spirit of penitence. He was appointed as the Abbot of St. Mark's monastery near Spoleto, Italy. St. Eleutherius was favoured by God with the gift of miracles. Once, when he was lodging at a convent of nuns, he was asked to take over the care of a boy who was troubled every night by an evil spirit. Eleutherius did so, and for long, nothing untoward happened to the boy, prompting the Abbot to say: "Since the child is among the servants of God, the devil dares not approach him!"- words that obviously smacked of vanity. Thereupon, the devil again entered the child and tormented him mercilessly. The Abbot, realizing his folly, humbly confessed his fault and, with his whole community, fasted and prayed till the young child was again freed from the tyranny of the devil. Pope St. Gregory the Great, unable to fast on Easter Eve on account of extreme weakness, engaged Eleutherius to go with him to the church of St. Andrew to plead with God for his health, that he might join the faithful in the solemn penitential practice. Eleutherius prayed with many tears, and the Pope, coming out of the church, found that he had regained his health, so he was able to perform the fast as he desired. It is also said that St. Eleutherius raised a dead man to life. Resigning his abbacy, St. Eleutherius died in St. Andrew's monastery in Rome in 585.
St. Eleutherius, may your prayers help us to remain steadfast in our faith even in the face of life's trials and tribulations.
Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love (Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)
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