A Community of Love, Unity and Service

St. Abraham

Abraham was a rich nobleman of Edessa, born in the year 300. Ceding to his parents’ desire, whilestill very young he married, but escaped to a cell near the city as soon as the feast was over. Hisfamily searched for him for seventeen days, and were still more astonished when they found him.“Why are you surprised?” he asked them. “Admire instead the favor God has granted me, the graceto bear the yoke of His service, which He has wanted to impose on me without regard to myunworthiness.” He walled up his cell door, leaving only a small window open for the food whichwould be brought to him from that time on.

The wealth which fell to Saint Abraham by the death of his parents ten years after his retirement,he gave to the poor by the good offices of a friend, to whose probity he entrusted the commission. Since many were seeking him out for advice and consolation, the Bishop of Edessa ordained himpriest, overruling his humility. Soon after his ordination, he was sent to an idolatrous city which hadhitherto been deaf to every messenger. He was insulted, beaten, and three times banished, but hereturned each time with fresh zeal. For three years he pleaded with God for those souls, and in theend prevailed. Every citizen came to him for Baptism. After providing for their spiritual needs hewent back to his cell, more than ever convinced of the power of prayer.

In that cell, then, for fifty years, he would continue to sing God’s praises and implore mercy forhimself and for all men. Saint Ephrem wrote of him that a day did not pass without his sheddingtears; but that despite his constant and severe penance, he always maintained an agreeable dispositionand a healthy and vigorous body. He never reproved anyone with sharpness, but all he said wasseasoned with the salt of charity and gentleness.

His brother on dying left an only daughter, Mary, to the Saint’s care. He placed her in a cell nearhis own, and devoted himself to training her in perfection. After twenty years of innocence she grewlax and fled to a distant city, where she drowned the voice of her conscience in sin. For two yearsthe Saint and his friend Saint Ephrem prayed earnestly for her. Then Abraham went in disguise toseek the lost sheep, and had the joy of bringing her back to the desert a true penitent. She receivedthe gift of miracles, and her countenance after death shone as the sun. Saint Abraham died five yearsbefore her, in about 360. All of Edessa came for his last blessing and to secure his relics.

St. Patrick

If the virtue of children reflects honor on their parents, much more justly is the name of Saint Patrickrendered illustrious by the innumerable lights of sanctity which shone in the Church of Ireland duringmany ages, and by the colonies of Saints with which it peopled many foreign countries. The Apostleof Ireland was born in Scotland towards the close of the fourth century, in a village which seems tobe the present-day Scotch town of Kilpatrick, between Dumbarton and Glasgow. He calls himselfboth a Briton and a Roman, that is, of mixed extraction, and says his father was of a good familynamed Calphurnius. Some writers call his mother Conchessa, and say she was the niece of SaintMartin of Tours.

In his sixteenth year he was carried into captivity in Ireland by barbarians. There he was obliged toshepherd cattle on the mountains and in the forests, in hunger and nakedness, amid snow, rain, andice. The young man had recourse to God with his whole heart, in fervent prayer and fasting, andfrom that time faith and the love of God acquired a constantly renewed strength in his tender soul. After six months spent in slavery, Saint Patrick was admonished by God in a dream to return to hisown country, and was informed that a ship was then ready to sail there. He went at once to theseacoast, though at a great distance, and found the vessel, but he could not obtain his passage —probably for want of money. Patrick was returning to his hut, praying as he went, when the sailors,though pagans, called him back and took him on board.

Some years afterwards he was again taken captive, but recovered his liberty after two months. Whilehe was at home with his parents, God manifested to him, by divers visions, that He destined him forthe great work of the conversion of Ireland. His biographers say that after his second captivity hetraveled into Gaul and Italy, and saw Saint Martin, Saint Germanus of Auxerre, and Pope SaintCelestine, and that he received his mission and the apostolical benediction from this Pope, who diedin 432. It is certain that he spent many years in preparing himself for his sacred calling. Greatopposition was raised to his episcopal consecration and mission, both by his own relatives and by theclergy. They made him great offers in order to detain him among them, and endeavored to affrighthim by exaggerating the dangers to which he exposed himself amid the enemies of the Romans andBritons, who did not know God. All these temptations cast the Saint into great perplexity; but theLord, whose Will he consulted by earnest prayer, supported him and he persevered in his resolution.

He therefore left his family, sold his birthright and dignity, and consecrated his soul to God, to servestrangers and carry His name to the ends of the earth. In this disposition he passed into Ireland, topreach the Gospel where the worship of idols still generally reigned. He traveled over the island,penetrating into the remotest corners, and such was the fruit of his preaching and sufferings that hebaptized an infinite number of persons. Everywhere he ordained clergymen, induced women to live inholy widowhood and continence, consecrated virgins to Christ, and founded monasteries, not withoutmany persecutions.

Saint Patrick held several councils to regulate the discipline of the Church he had planted. SaintBernard and the tradition of the country testify that he fixed his metropolitan see at Armagh. Heestablished other bishops, as appears by the acts of a council and various other documents. He notonly converted the whole country by his preaching and wonderful miracles, but also cultivated thisvineyard with so fruitful a benediction from heaven as to render Ireland a flourishing garden in theChurch of God, and a land of Saints. He converted and baptized the kings of Dublin and Munsterand the seven sons of the king of Connaught, with the majority of their subjects, and before his deathalmost the whole island. He founded three monasteries and filled the countryside with churches andschools of piety and learning. He died and was buried at Down in Ulster. His body was found therein a church of his name in 1185, and moved to another part of the same church.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem

Saint Cyril was born at or near the city of Jerusalem, about the year 315. He was ordained a priestby Saint Maximus, who gave him the important charge of instructing and preparing the candidatesfor Baptism. This office he held for several years, and today we still have one series of hisinstructions, given in the year 347 or 348. They are of singular interest as being the earliest recordof the systematic teaching of the Church on the Creed and Sacraments, and as having been given inthe church built by Constantine on Mount Calvary. They are solid, simple, profound, precise, andsaturated with Holy Scripture, and, as a witness and exposition of the Catholic faith, invaluable.

On the death of Saint Maximus, Cyril was chosen Bishop of Jerusalem. At the beginning of hisepiscopate a cross was seen in the sky, reaching from Mount Calvary to Mount Olivet, and so brightthat it shone at noonday. Saint Cyril gave an account of it to the emperor, and the faithful regardedit as a presage of victory over the Arian heretics.

While Saint Cyril was Bishop of Jerusalem, the apostate emperor Julian resolved to defy the wordsof Our Lord (Luke 21:6) by rebuilding the ancient temple of Jerusalem. He employed the power and resourcesof a Roman emperor; the Jews thronged enthusiastically to him and gave munificently. But Cyril wasunmoved. “The word of God abides,” he said; “one stone shall not be laid on another.” When theattempt was made, a pagan writer tells us that horrible flames came forth from the earth, renderingthe place inaccessible to the scorched and frightened workmen. The attempt was made again andagain, and then abandoned in despair. Soon after, the emperor perished miserably in a war againstthe Persians, and the Church had rest.

Like the other great bishops of his time, Cyril was persecuted, and was driven twice from his see;but on the death of the Arian emperor Valens, he returned to Jerusalem. He was present at theSecond General Council of Constantinople, and died in peace A.D. 386, after a troubled episcopateof thirty-five years.

St. Joseph

Saint Joseph was by birth of the royal family of David, but was living in humble obscurity as acarpenter, until God raised him to the highest office ever accorded a mortal man, by choosing him tobe the spouse of the Virgin Mother, the virginal father and guardian of the Incarnate Word. Joseph,says Holy Scripture, was a just man. He was innocent and pure, as became the husband of Mary; hewas gentle and tender, as one worthy to be named the father of Jesus; he was prudent and a lover ofsilence, as became the master of the holy house; above all, he was faithful and obedient to divinecalls.

His conversation was with Angels rather than with men. When he learned that Mary bore within Herwomb the Lord of heaven, he feared to take Her as his wife; but an Angel bade him put his fearaside, and all doubts vanished. When Herod sought the life of the divine Infant, an Angel toldJoseph in a dream to fly with the Child and His Mother into Egypt. Joseph at once arose andobeyed. This sudden and unexpected flight must have exposed both him and his little Family tomany inconveniences and sufferings; the journey with a newborn infant and a tender virgin was long,and the greater part of the way led through deserts and among strangers. Yet Saint Joseph allegesno excuses, nor inquires at what time they were to return.

Saint Chrysostom observes that God treats in this way all His servants, sending them frequent trialsto clear their hearts from the rust of self-love, but intermixing with afflictions, seasons of consolation. It is the opinion of the Fathers that when the Holy Family entered Egypt, at the presence of theChild Jesus all the oracles of that superstitious country were struck dumb, and the statues of theirgods trembled, and in many places fell to the ground. The Fathers also attribute to this holy visit thespiritual benediction poured on that country, which made it for many ages fruitful in Saints.

After the death of King Herod, of which Saint Joseph was informed in another vision, God orderedhim to return with the Child and His Mother into the land of Israel, which our Saint readilyaccomplished. But when he arrived in Judea, hearing that Archelaus had succeeded Herod in thatpart of the land, and apprehensive that the son might be infected with his father’s vices, he feared tosettle there, as he would otherwise probably have done, for the education of the Child. Therefore,directed by God through still another angelic visit, he retired into the dominions of Herod Antipas inGalilee, and to his former habitation in Nazareth.

Saint Joseph, a strict observer of the Mosaic law, journeyed each year at the time of the Passover toJerusalem. Our Saviour, in the twelfth year of His age, accompanied His parents. Havingparticipated in the usual ceremonies of the feast, the parents were returning with many of theirneighbors and acquaintances towards Galilee, and never doubted that Jesus was with some of thecompany. They traveled on for a whole day’s journey before they discovered that He was not withthem. But when night came on and they could find no trace of Him among their kindred andacquaintances, they, in the deepest affliction, returned with the utmost haste to Jerusalem. We areleft to imagine their tears and their efforts to find Him. After an anxious search of three days theydiscovered Him in the Temple, discoursing with the learned doctors of the law, and asking them suchquestions as aroused the admiration of all who heard Him. His Mother told Him with what grief andearnestness they had sought Him and asked, “Son, why have You dealt with us in this way? Behold,Your Father and I have searched for You in great affliction of mind.” The young Saviour answered,“How is it that You sought Me? Did You not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” In this way Jesus encourages all young persons who are called to serve God to persevere in that highvocation, whatever the cost. But we are told that although He had remained in the Temple unknownto His parents, in all other things He was obedient to them, returning with them to Nazareth, andliving there in all dutiful subjection to them.

 As no further mention is made of Saint Joseph, he must have died before the marriage feast of Canaand the beginning of our divine Saviour’s ministry. We cannot doubt that he had the happiness ofthe presence of Jesus and Mary at his death, praying beside him, assisting and comforting him in hislast moments; therefore he is invoked for the great grace of a happy death and the spiritual presenceof Jesus in that hour.

St. Brother Andrew of Mount Royal

Little Alfred Bessette, born at St. Grégoire, Quebec on August 9, 1845, had his roots in our ownsoil. The future Saint Brother Andrew of Mount Royal was a son of this land and of the FrenchCanadian family. The infant was baptized conditionally the day after his birth in the village “church”,which at that time was a stone house serving as the only sacred dwelling. He was so frail that hisparents had “undulated” him immediately after his birth.

Since the family was poor, they went four years later to Farnham, where the father could earn hisliving more readily. One fatal day he went with the lumberjacks to the forest and, as BrotherAndrew would say later, “the tree he was cutting became locked in the branches of another, and myunfortunate father was crushed to death.” The child was nine years old and remembered that hismother “remained as though frozen”. A widow with ten children, she scarcely recovered from theshock of the accident. She “faded away” and died three years later of tuberculosis, at the age of 43. “I rarely prayed for my mother, but I have often prayed to her,” Brother Andrew used to say.

Then the family was scattered. Alfred at the age of twelve had to face life, using his initiative. Forhim began, then, thirteen years of a wandering life which would take him even to the United States,looking for work. An orphan without schooling, he had to search where he should go and how tosurvive. Like many boys from large families, he had to leave school at thirteen or fourteen years andearn his bread. And it was also because of his uncertain health and lack of money that he couldnever undertake prolonged studies. His mother had given him something of her own knowledge, butit was only with great difficulty that he finally learned to sign his name and to read a little. He hadonly his two arms to offer an employer as guarantee, but despite his frail health, he put his wholeheart into his work. He himself said later: “In spite of my weakness, I didn’t let myself be outdoneby the others at work.”

After he entered the Community of the Holy Cross as a lay Brother, he spent forty years washing thefloors and windows, cleaning the lamps, entering the firewood, acting as porter and commissioner. Then, for more than twenty-five years, he received visitors in his little office — during six to eighthours a day, in all kinds of weather, and this until the age of 91. One day he was asked how he hadmanaged to live so long with so little health. With humor he explained his recipe for health: “Byeating as little as possible and working as much as possible...”

An immense work was being realized; crowds which became increasingly dense were pressing to theOratory of Saint Joseph, for which heaven had chosen him as founder. The great skeleton of thelargest sanctuary in the world dedicated to Saint Joseph could already be seen rising on the hilltop. And yet Brother Andrew never talked of “my work... my project.” On the contrary: “I am nothing,only a tool in the hands of Providence, a poor instrument of Saint Joseph.” “The good Lord tookme to humiliate the others. He took the most ignorant one to humiliate the people and theCommunity of the Holy Cross. If there had been one more ignorant than myself, God would havechosen him instead.”

What care he showed in receiving and meeting people! He spent long hours in the office wherethousands came to see him. And Brother Andrew remarked one day: “It is astonishing! They oftenask me for cures, but rarely for humility and the spirit of faith. Yet these are so important. If thesoul is sick, we have to begin by caring for the soul. Do you have faith? Do you believe the goodLord can do something for you? Go and make your confession, go and receive Communion, thencome back to see me.” Such were the words that always returned to his lips, when he was asked forfavors and cures. If he suggested making a novena to Saint Joseph, to use the oil or a medal ofSaint Joseph, it was because “those were as many acts of love and faith, confidence and humility.” In general, he encouraged the people to see doctors; sometimes he wept with those who weresuffering. But he never ceased to say, “How good the good Lord is! God loves you. God is love.” And Brother Andrew knew how to bring forth sprouts of hope in the hearts of those he met.

In the night of January 5-6, 1937, an old Brother 91 years old was dying in a modest room of SaintLaurent Hospital, in a suburb of Montreal. The few persons present at his bedside felt, however,that from this little man came an impression of strength, humanity, and moral power such as they hadnever known before. The dying man moved his head a little: “The great Almighty One is coming...” Then he raised his eyes to heaven... “O Mary, my sweet Mother and Mother of my Jesus, deign tohelp me!” Finally, they heard a few words scarcely intelligible, which were repeated again andagain: “Saint Joseph, Saint Joseph, Saint Joseph...” At 12:50 AM, Brother Andrew breathed hislast. The news of his decease was quickly relayed, and the following morning, all of Quebec knewthat Brother Andrew was dead.

“He spent his life talking to others about God and to God of others,” a friend said. This testimonygives a just appreciation of what his life was, filled with faith and love.

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