Serving others is at the core of the mission God has for his children. 

When it comes to serving people in need, our family, the Catholic Church, has an incredible track record. The Church feeds more people, houses more people, and clothes more people than any other institution in the world. And the Church achieves this through the action of ordinary Catholics like you and me.

By collaborating with God, by serving others and showing them the mercy of God, our lives go from ordinary to extraordinary. That is what happened with Saint Pantaleon, whose name in Greek literally means “mercy for everyone.”

Pantaleon was the personal physician to the Roman Emperor Maximian. His only Christian influence growing up had been his mother, Saint Eubula, but after she passed away, Pantaleon stopped giving much attention to the faith. Then he met a Christian priest named Hermolaus (who also became a saint), and the two had a long discussion. Hermolaus congratulated Pantaleon on his status as the most skilled doctor in all of Rome, before telling him a life-saving truth: “But, my friend, of what use are all your skills in this art, since you are ignorant of the science of salvation?”

From that moment forward, Pantaleon made himself fully available to God. And God made him an instrument of mercy for others. Pantaleon gave sight to the blind, freed slaves, and healed paralytics.

In response to these works of mercy, the members of the Roman court accused him of magic. The Emperor had tried to defend him before, but even he did not believe any mere human being could have the power to heal a paralytic on his own—and he was right. Pantaleon could do nothing by himself, and that was why God was able to work miracles of mercy through him.

Pantaleon was sentenced to death. In the hours leading up to his death, he begged God to forgive his executioners, to have mercy on everyone. Saint Pantaleon’s beautiful mercy never ended.

Fully experiencing God’s love means experiencing his mercy. We may think we know that he loves us or that his mercy is boundless, but have we experienced it? Have we been the hands and feet of God, the living embodiment of his mercy to those around us?

Show mercy to others, and you’ll be more aware of God’s mercy at work in your own life. Start today. Buy a meal for a homeless person. Visit or call someone you know is suffering illness. Listen to someone who feels lonely or depressed. And forgive, forgive, forgive.



Feast Day: July 27 

Feast Day Shared By: Saint Celestin I and Saint Simeon Stylites

Patron Saint of: Physicians, Midwives, Livestock, Invoked Against Headaches, Consumption, Locusts, Witchcraft, Accidents and Loneliness

Symbols: A Medicine Box