Saturday, September 19, 2009

The Flying Saint


Yesterday I celebrated the the Feast of St Joseph of Cupertino, the flying saint. His miracle working abilities, his levitations make him a little difficult for us to palate in a world of rationality, which presumably is why in the Ordinary Form he is not even an Optional Memoria. I love saints who do challenge us, they are real signs of contradiction.
Da Mihi Animas has a short account of his life.
And here for your weekend entertainment are my favourite parts of "The Reluctant Saint: The Life of St. Joseph of Cupertino", the whole of it can be found here.




7 comments:

Volpius Leonius said...

The men who arranged the OF did not believe in miracles? What a lack of faith or perhaps it was fear of been mocked by the world.

Volpius Leonius said...

If a man finds it hard to believe that another man flew how much harder is will it be for that man to believe that bread becomes the body and blood of Christ, God Himself?

All things are possible with God.

johnf said...

Wasn't he made the Patron Saint of Astronauts in the 1950's Father?

gemoftheocean said...

Thanks for the vids. I love this particular saint for the levitating. I went to the EF yesteray and for the first time in years had the pleasure of celebrating this saints day on my birthday. [I'd been "robbed" of him by the OF.]

Johnf: he is the patron Saint of Aviators -- which would certainly include astronauts. Whomever has the gig in the Vatican of assigning patron saints has the best job in the world..definitely a sense of whimsy!

Enbrethiliel said...

+JMJ+

My slightly retarded (I suppose the PC term is "mentally challenged" aunt) went to a school named after St. Joseph of Cupertino.

I became devoted to him as a university student and mentioned him a time or two to my own students when I started teaching.

Now that I am suddenly working with many special needs children, I am feeling very drawn to him again.

Thanks for this post, Father. =)

Discreet Observer said...

I have had a devotion to St Joseph of Cupertino since the late 1950s. Although at grammar school I was not the greatest academic and always found the exams very difficult. When my GCE O Levels were approaching my mother suggested I pray to St Joseph because he, himself, had not been considered very bright. So I did. The result? I passed all my exams which a major miracle in itself. Was it the intervention of St Joseph? Who knows, but it was my introduction to this saint and I have never forgotten him. There is a beautiful painting of him at the seminary of the FSSP in Wigratzbad.

Bryan said...

Clearly the author of the Collect for the Feast had a sense of humour.

Let us pray. O God, Who didst purpose to draw all things unto Thy Son when He was **lifted up** from the earth, mercifully grant that we, by the merits and example of Thy seraphic confessor, Joseph, being **lifted above** all earthly desires, may be worthy to come unto Him. Who with Thee livest and reignest, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God,
Forever and ever.
R.Amen.

The extracts from the film vividly show how St Joseph willingly put up with humiliations and even incarceration by his superiors.

Perhaps a good possible candidate for Patron Saint for those who write on blogs and are too inclined to respond, put others right and express their opinions.

Thank you for including the extract of the film.

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