MARY, OUR MOTHER

A POEM FOR JOSEPH OF CUPERTINO

Today (September 18) is the Feast of St. Joseph of Cupertino, once celebrated by the entire Church in the old calendar, but now only in the Traditional Extraordinary Form of the Mass & Breviary. I mentioned this to some of the parishioners after Mass one morning and we had a good laugh as I told them what I knew about the "Flying Saint."
Just before Mass, one of the men who attends daily Mass too stopped me for a moment and gave me a sheet of paper. He said that after our conversation the other day, he went home and composed a poem in honor of St. Joseph of Cupertino. I asked him if I could post it on my blog and he said Okay! So here it is, enjoy!

JOSEPH OF CUPERTINO
(1603-1663)

How will God be all in all if something human survives.
Bernard of Clairvaux

Giuseppe Desa could not learn.
He seemed to be without a brain,
not smart enough to be ordained,
at first, then disrespected for his holiness.

Not plain enough to walk in Jesus' steps,
God taught him how to fly,
and brought on him derision, and the sigh,
sequestered him in solitaire unto his rest.

Giuseppe lived his latter life entombed,
so like his Master whom he emulated,
enkindled spite, as He was immolated;
at last, gave up himself, to be outcast.
by Bernie Welch

Joseph is most famous for levitating at prayer.

Already as a child, Joseph showed a fondness for prayer. After a short career with the Capuchins, he joined the Conventuals. Following a brief assignment caring for the friary mule, Joseph began his studies for the priesthood. Though studies were very difficult for him, Joseph gained a great deal of knowledge from prayer. He was ordained in 1628.

Joseph’s tendency to levitate during prayer was sometimes a cross; some people came to see this much as they might have gone to a circus sideshow. Joseph’s gift led him to be humble, patient and obedient, even though at times he was greatly tempted and felt forsaken by God. He fasted and wore iron chains for much of his life.

The friars transferred Joseph several times for his own good and for the good of the rest of the community. He was reported to and investigated by the Inquisition; the examiners exonerated him.

Joseph was canonized in 1767. In the investigation preceding the canonization, 70 incidents of levitation are recorded.

Comment:

While levitation is an extraordinary sign of holiness, Joseph is also remembered for the ordinary signs he showed. He prayed even in times of inner darkness, and he lived out the Sermon on the Mount. He used his "unique possession" (his free will) to praise God and to serve God’s creation.

Quote:

"Clearly, what God wants above all is our will which we received as a free gift from God in creation and possess as though our own. When a man trains himself to acts of virtue, it is with the help of grace from God from whom all good things come that he does this. The will is what man has as his unique possession" (St. Joseph of Cupertino, from the reading for his feast in the Franciscan breviary).