Old Calendar: Epiphany of Our Lord
St. André was born near Quebec, and entered the Congregation of the Holy Cross as a Brother. He performed humble tasks for over forty years and entrusted all of the poor and sick who flocked to his cell to the care of St. Joseph. During his life he was able to have a chapel built to the spouse of the Virgin Mary. After his death, the shrine grew into the great basilica known as St. Joseph's Oratory in Montreal.
According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord.
According to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) calendar, the Optional Memorial of St Andre Bessette is celebrated in Canada not on January 6 but on January 7.
Click here for commentary on the readings in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.
The Thirteenth Day of Christmas
St. André Bessette
Brother André expressed a saint's faith by a lifelong devotion to Saint Joseph.
Sickness and weakness dogged André from birth. He was the eighth of twelve children born to a French Canadian couple near Montreal. Adopted at twelve, when both parents had died, he became a farmhand. Various trades followed: shoemaker, baker, blacksmith-all failures. He was a factory worker in the United States during the boom times of the Civil War.
At twenty-five, he applied for entrance into the Congregation of the Holy Cross. After a year's novitiate, he was not admitted because of his weak health. But with an extension and the urging of Bishop Bourget (see Marie-Rose Durocher, October 6), he was finally received. He was given the humble job of doorkeeper at Notre Dame College in Montreal, with additional duties as sacristan, laundry worker and messenger. "When I joined this community, the superiors showed me the door, and I remained forty years."
In his little room near the door, he spent much of the night on his knees. On his windowsill, facing Mount Royal, was a small statue of Saint Joseph, to whom he had been devoted since childhood. When asked about it he said, "Some day, Saint Joseph is going to be honored in a very special way on Mount Royal!"
When he heard someone was ill, he visited to bring cheer and to pray with the sick person. He would rub the sick person lightly with oil taken from a lamp burning in the college chapel. Word of healing powers began to spread.
When an epidemic broke out at a nearby college, André volunteered to nurse. Not one person died. The trickle of sick people to his door became a flood. His superiors were uneasy; diocesan authorities were suspicious; doctors called him a quack. "I do not cure," he said again and again. "Saint Joseph cures." In the end he needed four secretaries to handle the eighty thousand letters he received each year.
For many years the Holy Cross authorities had tried to buy land on Mount Royal. Brother André and others climbed the steep hill and planted medals of Saint Joseph. Suddenly, the owners yielded. André collected two hundred dollars to build a small chapel and began receiving visitors there-smiling through long hours of listening, applying Saint Joseph's oil. Some were cured, some not. The pile of crutches, canes and braces grew.
The chapel also grew. By 1931 there were gleaming walls, but money ran out. "Put a statue of Saint Joseph in the middle. If he wants a roof over his head, he'll get it." The magnificent Oratory on Mount Royal took fifty years to build. The sickly boy who could not hold a job died at ninety.
He is buried at the Oratory and was beatified in 1982. On December 19, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI promulgated a decree recognizing a second miracle at Blessed Andrés intercession and on October 17, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI formally declared sainthood for Blessed André. Saint of the Day, Leonard Foley, O.F.M.
Things to Do:
Saint André Bessette, Religious (Optional Memorial)
Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (I John 5:5)
The caretaker of a large estate felt very important when he was given a key ring filled with the keys to each building on the property. However, he was soon put in his place. He discovered that the estate owner carried only one key—the master key that could open every door.
John tells us faith is the master key to the spiritual life. If we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, we can open any door that takes us deeper into our life with him—not because of the keys we possess like our own intelligence or courage, but because we are trusting in who Jesus is.
So how do we use this master key to open any door? Lets look at a few examples.
One door may be the door of joy. You can open that door by believing that Jesus has redeemed you from every sin, every judgment, and all condemnation. Just as he said to the woman caught in adultery, he says to you, Neither do I condemn you (John 8:11). Imagine how it feels to have the burden of guilt lifted off of you—thats joy!
Another door may be the door of mercy—the grace to forgive someone who has hurt you. You can open that door by believing that Jesus is the Lamb of God (John 1:29). Not only has he taken away your sins, but he also has taken away the sins that other people have committed against you. Cry out to him, and ask him to soften your heart.
A third door may be the door of peace. We can become so anxious about a family member who has made poor choices that we end up feeling paralyzed and helpless. Open that door by believing that Jesus is the good shepherd who seeks and saves his lost sheep (John 10:11). In faith, hand this person over to Jesus, and ask him to lead them home.
No door is too heavy for you to open. No door has a Do Not Enter sign on it. Like the estate owner, you have the key to open them all. Let that truth sink in, and let it strengthen your faith.
Thank you, Jesus, for the gift of faith. Lord, I believe in you!
Psalm 147:12-15, 19-20
Mark 1:7-11