Coffee & Saints

Born: March 1st, 1838, Assisi, Italy
Died: February 27, 1862, Isola del Gran Sasso d’Italia, Italy

What I appreciate about St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows:
There are so many times that we get focused on Saints as being “perfect”. Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows is a reminder that Saints were fully human and enjoyed the same things as we do!

Coffee Order:
I picture Saint Gabriel choosing a black coffee with cream and sugar – he comes across to me as someone who did not need “frills” to have a good time!

Our Saint for today is part of the 24 club. While a fun name for a pretty morbid reality; the 24 Club consists of Saints who all died at the age of 24. Some of these are: Saint Terese of Lisieux, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, Saint Elizabeth of Hungry, and Saint Kateri Tekakwitha. They are notable because they died rather young, and yet they left a lasting impact. Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows is a great example of this.

For our coffee outing together, I think Gabriel would choose to go to a bustling café with live music. As a young man he loved to go out dancing with his friends. He liked being around people, and I think he would enjoy the atmosphere of a lively coffee shop where he would feel right at home. I think he would choose something simple for his coffee order; I do not picture him wanting an overly sweet concoction – therefore, I picture him asking for a simple black coffee with cream and sugar.

He was popular in his younger years, so I think he would have been easy to talk to. There would not have been the need for simple small talk and awkward lulls in conversation. While we may be very different people; our faith is what would connect us, leaving much to discuss.

His birth name was not Gabriel, he was born Francesco Possenti and was part of a wealthy family. Growing up in Italy, the faith was a part of the culture, which is different from where I live in the US. He did normal things that young boys do: played with his siblings, made friends, and attended school. As a young boy, his mother and several of his ten siblings passed away. I can see the hurt fill his eyes as he recalls the difficult times. He does not shy away from my gaze, he allows me to see his emotions.

I can see a smile as he talks about school – he was taught by the Jesuit’s. The smile however, turns into a smirk as he remembers his love of dancing and parties rather than Church. He was a normal young boy who was attracted to girls, loved being with his friends, and was not afraid to take risks that sometimes meant that he got into trouble with his superiors. I can picture him telling me funny stories of him and his friends horsing around or pulling small pranks.

So, what changed? It was after he fought two serious illnesses that he decided to take his faith more seriously. How relatable is this? I, myself, can recall the times in my life when I had something serious happen to me and that was when I finally decided to wise up and focus on my faith. It was this moment that made him wise beyond his years. I cannot imagine that it was easy to just jump deep into faith at a young age. Did his friends understand this change in Francesco? Were they upset that he was no longer wanting to attend parties and live a frivolous lifestyle? Have you had friends feel this way about you when you got deeper into your own faith? I know that I certainly have!

Sometimes life does not work out the way we think it should, and this is the case for our Saint today. He felt the call to enter the religious life at the age of sixteen. Probably because he was around them all the time at school, he tried to enter the Jesuits but was turned down. I can imagine that this would have been difficult for him as he truly felt called to this way of life and was being told no. But he did not give up.

Francesco decided to enter the Passionists – these men devote their lives to reminding people of the love of Christ through His Passion. Upon entering the Passionists, he took the name Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows. This young man came from wealth and a life of partying; but he gave it all up to unite his sufferings with Christ. This is a big deal; would you be willing to give it all up for God? In my mind, he was drawn to the Passionists because of all that he had suffered himself. I can see him smile at me lightly, reaching out his hand to mine, reminding me that Christ suffered the worst pain imaginable for me. He would have done all of it again – for me. This profound moment is all of our reality.

When I picture someone living in an order, I picture someone who has a serious devotion and gift of prayer. However; it might shock you to know (as it did for me) that Saint Gabriel was not gifted in this area at all. This was a struggle of his. He loved Jesus and was very devoted to the Virgin Mary and Our Lady of Sorrows; but he was not always the best at living a prayerful life. Once again, this guy and I would have a great conversation as I struggle in these areas too!

Just because he lived the quiet life of an order does not mean that he never experienced great things. One of my favorite Saint stories is his and I would love to have him share it with me directly. Saint Gabriel was walking home and found a young girl being attacked by a group of boys. They were threatening her and had weapons at the ready. Saint Gabriel said a prayer, asking the Holy Spirit for protection and physically overtook the other men. How awesome is that! I picture this strong young man in his cassock approaching the group – the other boys probably laughed at him, never expecting a man of the cloth to be able to overtake them. And yet, he did, and they ran off leaving the girl unharmed. I can see the proud smile on his face as he recounts this heroic act. He would grin and relay the feeling of having the Holy Spirit on his side.

Most of recognize Saint Terese of Liseux’s “Little Way” – where she teaches us to focus on small things with great love. Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows also lived his life this way while serving with the Passionists. The other men in the order saw how devoted he was to focus on even the most menial of tasks with great love for those he was serving. He had a cheerful attitude and had a true gift of being in tune with other people’s feelings and emotions. This helped him to connect deeply with others as he listened to them talk about their sufferings. As a Passionists, he would help them to align their sufferings with the crucified Christ.

Then Saint Gabriel contracted tuberculosis. This must have been a very scary time for our young man as his body fought the disease. He had spent so much time telling others to unite their sufferings with Christ and now he did the same. He never asked for special treatment, he kept his distance, and prayed fervently. At the age of twenty-four he was welcomed home to the heavenly family. I long to see heaven myself one day as I picture my family members there waiting for me. A person like this, who cared for the sick and dying, not only was greeted by his family – he was greeted by all of those that he had served and prayed for to enter the after life! May we all work hard in our day-to-day lives to lead others closer to Christ by our words and actions; and may we too meet these people again in Heaven and glorify God together!

Prayer:
Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, you knew that doing little things with great love could create a ripple effect on our world. Pray for us to remember to find God in the small tasks of our lives and to bring His glory to those around us. We ask for your intercession for the young people of the Catholic Church as they try to grow in their faith in a world which increasingly opposes Her values. Please pray for us that we may one day enter Heaven and be welcomed by the Holy family, our earthly loved ones, and those whom we have served on earth. Amen.

I hope you enjoyed learning about this Saint! The artwork above was created using AI and my own imagination – this is how I picture what it would be like to sit with Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows in a coffeeshop today. I would love for you to share your own thoughts in the comments. How do you picture Saint Gabriel? What do you think he would have ordered at a coffee shop? Let me know below!

Cheers! ☕
Maggie