"A new king, who knew nothing of Joseph, came to power in Egypt". Since this king knew nothing of Joseph, life turned very difficult for the Jews in Egypt: they were subjected to oppression, persecution, and genocide.

We may derive some fruit for ourselves from this observation. Our religion is rooted in history. God became man for us in the historical person of Jesus of Nazareth. Therefore, if we are to live our Christian life to the full we cannot "know nothing of Jesus". In the same way, our Church is rooted in the history of the human race: the Church shares in "the joys and the hopes, the griefs and anxieties" of all humanity (Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes). Therefore, we cannot "know nothing" about the history of our Church. Most of us can generally best learn that history through the lives of the saints. In the lives of the saints we see how the spirit of Jesus becomes alive in different ages and against different cultural backgrounds. The saint whose memorial occurs today, Saint Camillus de Lellis was an incurably sick man who converted to Christ and gave his life to the suffering sick - a model for all of us.