Sometimes we meet a young person and think, “This guy would make an amazing priest...or religious...or spouse!” We see the potential. But what do we do when we meet someone whose potential is less clear? St. John of Avila’s interaction with Juan Ciudad gives us guidance.

 

Juan Ciudad had a troubled past. At the age of eight, he was kidnapped and abandoned with strangers. As an adult, he suffered terrible poverty, almost died twice, and wasted himself in the style of St. Augustine. He spent his thirties odd-jobbing his way around Spain until he settled in Granada. He was in his forties when he heard St. John of Avila preach. He seemed to suffer a nervous breakdown, destroying his business, dashing himself against the ground, and raving publicly for his past. Two things followed. Juan Ciudad was placed in a hospital for the mentally ill. And he begged St. John of Avila to be his spiritual director.

 

Juan Ciudad desperately wanted to serve Christ. But he had so many struggles, it wasn’t clear how this could work out. What did St. John of Avila do?

 

First, St. John of Avila gave his time. He agreed to be spiritual director, and listened to Juan Ciudad during his time in the hospital. We can do this, too, whether we are a formal spiritual director, or just a friend or fellow parishioner who makes time to listen.

 

Second, St. John of Avila helped Juan Ciudad gain practical experience. As Juan Ciudad recovered, he began to experience a desire to serve Christ by helping the sick and mentally ill. St. John of Avila connected him to a city with a school for medicine and outstanding hospitals. We, too, can help discerners in this way, connecting them with opportunities to exercise leadership, or work with children, care for the sick, etc., helping them explore and develop good desires.

 

St. John of Avila then recommended a shelter for the sick where Juan Ciudad could help while continuing to discern. How Juan Ciudad would go on to found multiple hospitals, ministries, and the world-wide religious order of the Hospitallers—all that is history. Juan Ciudad—or St. John of God—was canonized in 1690.

 

St. John of Avila gave time and help with practical experience to a man whose potential was unclear. In this way, he helped foster the vocation of a great saint, as well as the many men and women religious of the Hospitaller order!