6 January – St André Bessette C.S.C.

[Weedy]

6 January – St André Bessette C.S.C.

(1845-1937)
Known as Brother André (French: Frère André) and since his
canonization as Saint André of Montreal, was a lay brother of the
Congregation of Holy Cross and a significant figure of the Roman
Catholic Church among French-Canadians, credited with thousands of
reported miraculous cures associated within his pious devotion to
Saint Joseph. Bessette was declared venerable in 1978 and was
beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1982. Pope Benedict XVI approved the
decree of sainthood for Blessed André on 19 February 2010, with the
formal canonization taking place on 17 October 2010.

St. André was born Alfred Bessette in Quebec, 1845. Sickness and
weakness dogged André from birth. He was the eighth of 12 children
born to a French Canadian couple near Montreal. Adopted at 12, 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 25, André 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,
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 there I remained 40 years,” he said.
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 honoured 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 80,000 letters he received each year. He prayed with
them to God through the intercession of St. Joseph. Hundreds credit
their cures to St. André’s prayers.

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 $200 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 50 years to build. By the 1920s, the Oratory hosted more
than a million pilgrims annually and hundreds of cures were attributed
to his prayers every year. The sickly boy who could not hold a job
died at 92.

St. André Bessette died in Montreal on January 6, 1937. It is
estimated that more than a million people attended his wake and
funeral. He is the first Saint of the Congregation of Holy Cross.

https://anastpaul.com/2017/01/06/

Thought for the Day – 6 January
Rubbing ailing limbs with oil or a medal? Planting a medal to buy
land? Isn’t this superstition? Aren’t we long past that? Superstitious
people rely only on the “magic” of a word or action. Brother André’s
oil and medals were authentic sacramentals of a simple, total faith in
the Father who lets His saints help Him bless His children and open
their eyes! St André was convinced of the goodness of God our Father
and the power of the intercession of the saints. Trusting that God is
lavish in His goodness , St André called upon that goodness
constantly. He was never disappointed. May such faith be ours! As
Pope Benedict XVI said at his canonisation, St Andre “lived the
beatitude of the pure of heart.”
St André Bessette Pray for us!


When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home…..Mt 1:24

REFLECTION – “When you invoke St Joseph, you don’t have to say much.
Say, “if you were in my place, St Joseph, what would you do? Well,
pray for this on my behalf.”….
--St André Bessette

PRAYER – Heavenly Father, You constantly provide us with examples of
holy life. St André Bessette is a wonderful example of service, as was
his hero, the foster Father of Your Divine Son, St Joseph. May both be
intercessors and examples to me, to give to You my all. St André
Bessette, Pray for us, amen!

Saint Quote:
When I joined this community, the superiors showed me the door, and I
remained forty years.
-- Saint Andre Bessette This was in regard to Saint Andre having
difficulty in being accepted into the order of the Holy Cross
Brothers, and upon being accepted was given the job of doorkeeper.

Bible Quote:
And Simon Peter answered him: Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the
words of eternal life. (John 6:69)


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Prayer to the Guardian Angel by Saint Peter the Studite

O Guardian Angel, protector of my soul and body, to your care I have been
entrusted by Christ. Obtain for me the forgiveness of the sins I have
committed today. Protect me from the snares of my enemy, that I may never
again offend God by sin. Pray for me, your sinful and unworthy servant that,
through your help, I may become worthy of the grace and mercy of the most
Holy Trinity and of the immaculate Mother of our Lord God, Jesus Christ.
Amen.