(1160-1223) John was born to nobility in France, studied theology at the University of Paris, and was ordained a priest when he was 32. During his first Mass, he had a vision of Christ and two chained captives. John had another vision when visiting his friend, the hermit Saint Felix of Valois, and the two of them co-founded the Order of the Most Holy Trinity, also known as the Trinitarians, to ransom captives and slaves. Saint John placed his fundraising efforts under the patronage of Saint Mary by the title of “Our Lady of Good Remedy.”
Our lives have been ransomed, restored to sanity by a power much greater than ourselves. What does surrender of everything to the One who ransoms us look like in your recovery?
“O God, You were pleased to institute by heavenly direction, through St. John, the order of the Holy Trinity, for redeeming captives from the power of the Saracens; grant, we implore You, that by the suffrage of his merits, we may be delivered by Your grace from captivity of soul and body” (Order of the Most Holy Trinity Novena to Saint John de Matha).
Reflection by Brad Farmer