Homily for the Memorial
of
St. André Bessette
Jan. 6, 2026
Collect
1 John 4: 7-10
Christian Brothers, St.
Joseph’s Residence, N.R.
The collect noted St.
André’s devotion. More important,
however, is “his example of prayer and love.”
That love, the collect observed, André expressed in “a special
commitment to the poor and afflicted.”
André listened to people, comforted them, advised them, and prayed for
them. He also obtained healings for some
of them. They responded by venerating
him as a saint—and turning out en masse for his funeral in 1937, a million
strong.
We’ll be happy if a
few dozen show up for our funerals. Not
that it’ll matter to us at that point, so long as we’re happy with our Lord.
Even if we can’t
obtain healings, Brothers, we can otherwise imitate St. André. In a house like this one, an ability to
listen to one another, to encourage and strengthen one another, and to share
joys and laugh with one another is a blessing.
O quam bonum et iucundum est fratres habitare in unum (“O how good it is, and how pleasant, where brethren dwell in unity! [Ps
133:1]). That’s a beautiful and necessary way to carry
out the teaching of St. John: “let us
love one another, because love is of God” (1 John 4:7). To listen to one another, encourage, comfort,
strengthen, and laugh with one another—and to pray for one another—is love in
practice.
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