Homily for Memorial of St. Andre' Bessette

Homily for the Memorial of
St. André Bessette

Jan. 6, 2022
Collect
Luke 4: 14-22
Salesian HS, New Rochelle

Can you imagine a funeral in which a million people took part?  Many people witnessed one when JPII died in 2005.  Another, which none of us witnessed, was that of a humble Holy Cross brother in 1937 in Montreal.

In the gospel today Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah:  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor” (Luke 4:18), indicating his mission among us.  That quote also describes well the mission of St. Andre, a brother in the Congregation of the Holy Cross.

In the prayer of the Mass, God is addressed as “friend of the lowly.”  St. Andre was lowly—uneducated, given jobs like receptionist and lighting the lamps in the house (before they had electricity).

But because he was lowly—humble would be another word—but also prayerful, the poor and the sick of Montreal came to him for advice, hundreds of them on many days, for more than 40 years.  Because he had “great devotion to St. Joseph,” God used him to heal many of the sick by his prayers to St. Joseph, and the prayers of the sick themselves.  St. Andre had “a special commitment to the poor and the afflicted”; he brought glad tidings to the poor.

Most of us are going to lead relatively obscure lives.  It’s not likely we’ll be super athletes, important businessmen, powerful politicians.  Bro. Bernie and I will never be Pope—not even bishop, not even provincial!  So in a sense we’re all lowly.

But Bro. Andre shows that we can still do great things by caring for people, which Salesian tries to teach you thru food assistance, midnite run, service projects, and just plain good manners—being polite and sensitive to people around us.  Pope Francis has said more than once that the most important words in family life—or with anyone—are “please,” “thank you,” and “I’m sorry.”  These are some ways that we care greatly for the people in our lives.

And, like Bro. Andre, we pray for people.  Your teachers pray for you.  The Salesians pray for you.  Pray for your families, pray for the sick and the grieving, pray for those who’ve experienced war and natural disasters, pray for refugees and the hungry—and so many others.