St. Joseph and Blessed Andre

Today the Church celebrates the feast day of a little known saint, at least in this country, Blessed Andre Bessette. The life of this simple, humble Holy Cross brother touched so many. One story says of him: “He spent his whole life speaking of others to God, and of God to others. It is difficult to say at what point in his life work began and ended, and at what point prayer started and ended: the two seemed to flow so naturally one into the other. He died Jan. 6, 1937, at the age of 92, and newspapers reported that more than a million people attended his wake and burial.”

To read the entire story click http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/BROANDRE.HTM

Blessed Andre is famous for spreading devotion to St. Joseph. He established the Oratory dedicated to St. Joseph in Montreal, Canada and thousands flock there every day to pray to Blessed Andre and to St. Joseph, the Guardian of the Holy Family. As I was thinking about him today I thought of St. Joseph and how during this Christmas season he is often overlooked. Of course St. Joseph is there in the manger, standing quietly beside our Blessed Mother and the crib where Jesus was sleeping. But how much do we know about him?

Early in his pontificate Pope John Paul II wrote an Apostolic Exhortation about St. Joseph which laid out for the Faithful “an admirable meditation” about this foster father of the child Jesus. (see one of my favorite pictures above!) It is titled Redemptoris Custos (Custodian of the Redeemer). I strongly encourage you to click on the following link to read the document. I copied and pasted it onto a WORD document so that I could read it slowly and plumb the depths of its treasures. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_15081989_redemptoris-custos_en.html

Our house of formation here at Marymount has been placed under St. Joseph’s patronage. He is the chosen guardian of our community.

St. Joseph pray for us! Blessed Andre pray for us!