You're listening to Catholic Sprouse.

Today is Tuesday, May 9th, 2003.

Today is also the feast day of a very old saint from the 400s called St. Potamus.

Now, St. Potamus was born into a pagan family in Alexandria, Egypt.

The Roman Empire still existed during his lifetime, and he was actually taken from his family and

forced to serve as a Roman soldier. Unfortunately, way out there in Egypt, Rome did not take very good care of its soldiers.

And he, even as a Roman soldier, he was abused. He almost starved to death. He had no one taking care of basic needs.

So while he was in this terrible situation, one day a group of people whom he did not know

came and began to minister to his needs and the needs of his fellow soldiers.

They brought them food and clean water and tended to their wounds.

And he watched these people and finally he asked them

who they were and why they cared about strangers. He learned that this group of people were

Christians and that they served others even strangers because that is what Jesus Christ had commanded them to do.

St. Potchumus witnesses eventually he escaped the Roman army and he was so moved by this memory

of Christian love that he eventually converted, gave his life to Jesus, lived as a hermit for several years,

and eventually began founding monasteries.

We now look to St. Potamus as the father of monastic life.

Now we are once again going to be talking about corporal and spiritual works of mercy,

which St. Potamus witnessed and which

transformed his life way back in the 400s. But before we get to that, let's pray the memorare,

which we are learning and memorizing this month in the Be a Saint Kids Club. In the name of the

Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen.

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