Two of the patron saints of this year’s World Youth Day lived a consecrated life in the world. St. John of Avila (1500-1569) was a secular priest, and St. Rose of Lima (1586-1617) was a lay Dominican tertiary living with her family.

A powerful preacher

John of Avila’s parents died while he was a student. After his priestly ordination, Father John celebrated his first Mass at the church where his parents were buried. On that occasion, instead of friends and relatives, he invited the poor to a meal. He soon sold the family property and gave the proceeds to the poor.

John intended to do missionary work in Mexico, but while he was waiting to depart for Mexico, his extraordinary devotion in celebrating Mass was discovered by a priest in Seville. This priest reported his observations to his archbishop. The archbishop saw John as a powerful instrument to stir up the faith in Andalusia, and he persuaded John to stay in Spain.

His first sermon was preached on July 22, 1529, and from that day on John was known as a powerful preacher. Large crowds assembled to listen to his sermons. His fiery denunciations of vices brought him enemies, who got him imprisoned for a short time by the Inquisition in Seville. But this incident only made John even more popular among the people.

The importance of a spiritual director was stressed by John of Avila, and he himself was outstanding in this role. St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of God, St. Francis Borgia, and Venerable Louis of Granada were among the disciples attracted by his preaching and saintly reputation.

For 18 years before his death in 1569 John was a victim of constant illness resulting from the hardships of his 40 years of apostolate.

Rose of the New World

St. Rose of Lima was the first canonized saint from the Americas. As a child Rose had an intense devotion to the Infant Jesus and to Our Lady. She dedicated herself to prayer and mortification. She was very obedient to her parents, and she took St. Catherine of Siena as her model.

At the age of 20 Rose became a Dominican tertiary and continued to live at home. She had a hermitage in the garden, but also had a room in the house where she tended destitute elderly people.

Rose was a woman of the cross. She practised extraordinary penances and experienced violent temptations and spiritual dryness. She was misunderstood by others, including her family. During the long illness that would bring about her death she prayed, “Lord, increase my sufferings, and with them increase Your love in my heart.”

During a mystical experience, Rose saw a set of scales. One side of the scales had sufferings, and the other side of the scales had graces. Our Lord first distributed sufferings to all people, and then He distributed graces to them in the same proportion as the sufferings.

Our Lord said, “Affliction is always accompanied by grace; grace is proportionate to suffering. The measure of my gifts is increased with the measure of trials. The cross is the true and only road that leads souls to heaven.”

Both St. John Avila and St. Rose of Lima practised detachment while living in the world. They both had an intense love for the interior life, which was manifested in their devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. John of Avila celebrated Mass with great devotion, and Rose of Lima spent many hours adoring the Blessed Sacrament. John of Avila encouraged frequent Holy Communion, and Rose of Lima received Jesus daily in Holy Communion.

今年「世界青年日」其中兩位主保聖人，分別為在俗世服務的聖若望.亞維拉神父，和道明在俗第三會會友聖女羅撒。

有力的宣道者

聖若望.亞維拉尚在求學時，父母去世。晉鐸首祭，在埋葬父母的聖堂內舉行，慶宴卻邀請了廣大貧苦。之後，把全部家產捐助窮人。

若望神父原有意到新大陸墨西哥傳教，但被西班牙塞維拉總主教賞識挽留，派他到安德羅西省傳教。在當地首日的講道（一五二九年七月二十二日），若望神父早被認定為是一位有力的傳道者，追隨者甚眾；但他的嫉惡如仇，又樹立了不少有社會地位的敵人，甚至曾在西班牙宗教裁判所被誣，短暫受監，卻又反而增加他被受推崇程度。

聖若望.亞維拉強調，一位良好的神師，是非常重要；而他自己是出色的神師，曾是聖女大德蘭‧聖若望「由天主者」、聖方濟.各波爾日亞、聖伯多祿.亞剛特拉，和類斯.格蘭大等的神師，他們都是因他的講道和聖德所感染。

聖人於一五六九年去世，去世前最後十八年，因積勞而常患疾病，但他耐心忍受，將病痛獻給天主。

新世界的玫瑰

聖羅撒是美洲首位封聖的聖人。幼年時，已熱心恭敬耶穌聖嬰和聖母，竭力模倣聖女加大利納栖亞那的芳表。她對父母非常服從，也常祈禱和克苦。

二十歲時，羅撒成為道明在俗第三會會友，在家修道，花園建有獨居修行室，又騰空房間，以接待赤貧長者。後來父親經商失敗，羅撒白日在田裡操作，夜間作女紅，貼補家用。

羅撒是肩負苦架的聖女：她特地多做補贖，又遇強烈的誘惑，經歷神枯，被人譏笑，家人對她亦不多諒解。公元一六一七年，患上重病，病中祈禱道：「主，請祢增加我的病苦，同時也增加我愛祢的熱情。」八月二十四日病逝，年僅三十一歲。

聖羅撒在一次神視中，看到一個平衡的天秤：一邊放著痛苦，另一邊放著聖寵。天主首先給人不同程度的痛苦，然後依照痛苦的分量賞給人聖寵。痛苦愈多的人，所得的聖寵也愈多。耶穌向她解釋說：「痛苦常有聖寵相伴，兩者相等。我的恩賜程度與試探程度同步和看齊。十字架是導往天堂真確而又必然的路途。」

聖若望.亞維拉神父和聖女羅撒，都屬於在俗的脫俗，他們熱衷於內在的神修生活，恭敬聖體。聖若望.亞維拉熱心舉行彌撒，聖羅撒每天花數小時朝拜聖體。聖若望.亞維拉推崇勤領聖體，聖羅撒每天均恭領聖體。