(Statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in St. Aloysius Retreat House, Los Gatos, California)
Have you ever seen the movie about today's saint, the Flying Friar, St. Joseph of Cupertino? I'm told that the film takes some liberty with the story, but it still inspires viewers with the gentle humility of the saint, and it brings back childhood memories of seeing this movie many times! We especially liked his bossy Italian mother. (Not, of course, that there aren't bossy mothers of every ethnic group, but she was a gem!) We also loved his impressive explanation to the bishop of the Most Holy Trinity. You can check it out on youtube here:
The Reluctant Saint: St. Joseph of Cupertino
His simplicity and humility are worth imitating...he always accepted humbly the things that happened to him as coming from the hand of God. Archbishop Goodier says that his absentmindedness was because he was seeing the things of God. He tells a charming story about this saint and the shepherds and the sheep. He used to gather the shepherds every Saturday morning and pray the Litany of Our Lady with them. One day, no one showed up, so he called the sheep together.
"'Sheep of God,' he cried, 'come to me. Come and honor the Mother of God, who is also your Mother.'
"Immediately the sheep all around looked up. They left their pasture, leaped over hedges and ditches, formed themselves into orderly companies, and gathered round Joseph at the chapel door. When all were assembled, Joseph knelt down and began:
"'Kyrie eleison.'
"'Baa,' answered the sheep.
"'Christe eleison.'
"'Baa.'
"'Sancte Maria.'
"'Baa.'
"And so it went on till the litany was finished. Then Joseph stood and blessed his congregation; and the sheep went back to their pastures as if nothing unusual had happened."
In F.J. Sheed,'s Saints are Not Sad, you can read Archbishop Goodier's essay on St. Joseph of Cupertino. He writes this of his death:
His simplicity and humility are worth imitating...he always accepted humbly the things that happened to him as coming from the hand of God. Archbishop Goodier says that his absentmindedness was because he was seeing the things of God. He tells a charming story about this saint and the shepherds and the sheep. He used to gather the shepherds every Saturday morning and pray the Litany of Our Lady with them. One day, no one showed up, so he called the sheep together.
"'Sheep of God,' he cried, 'come to me. Come and honor the Mother of God, who is also your Mother.'
"Immediately the sheep all around looked up. They left their pasture, leaped over hedges and ditches, formed themselves into orderly companies, and gathered round Joseph at the chapel door. When all were assembled, Joseph knelt down and began:
"'Kyrie eleison.'
"'Baa,' answered the sheep.
"'Christe eleison.'
"'Baa.'
"'Sancte Maria.'
"'Baa.'
"And so it went on till the litany was finished. Then Joseph stood and blessed his congregation; and the sheep went back to their pastures as if nothing unusual had happened."
In F.J. Sheed,'s Saints are Not Sad, you can read Archbishop Goodier's essay on St. Joseph of Cupertino. He writes this of his death:
"There came constantly to his lips the words of St. Paul: 'I wish to be dissolved and to be with Christ.' Someone at the bedside spoke to him of the love of God; he cried out: 'Say that again, say that again!' He pronounced the Holy Name of Jesus. He added: 'Praised be God! Blessed be God! May the holy will of God be done!' The old laughter seemed to come back to his face; those around could scarcely resist the contagion. And so he died. It was September 18, 1663. He was just sixty years of age."Accepting God's Will cheerfully throughout our lives, like St. Joseph of Cupertino, will help us to do it at death!
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