When life just seems to give me lemons, I do not make lemonade. I pray to St.Jospeh Cupertino.
Nobody had it harder than him, not even the martyrs. This poor boy was unwanted, unloved, and even those who had a good and generous heart found it hard to love him. He was dull, witless, strange and odd, "stupid" (their words), couldn't seem to learn anything. He had no ambition within him to do anything with his life and compared himself to a mule. Later in life, he even nicknamed himself Brother Ass. On top of all of this, he was sickly with the most annoying and disgusting illnesses. Not enough to kill him but enough for him to be a burden to others. Colds and even ulcers that would ooze and make a mess of him.
He flunked out of school even though he tried his best. He was made to be a shoemaker but couldn't make shoes. He was absent minded and would often stare off into space, trying to remember what he was supposed to do. His parents couldn't stand him and just wanted him to go away, because he was a disgrace to the family. He tried to enter a monastery to become a brother but was rejected by all of them. One finally took him in, but after a while, when they saw that he couldn't seem to do anything right, they kicked him out and stripped him of his garments. On top of this, he couldn't seem to find all of his lay clothes that he had come in, and so he was forced to leave only half-dressed. Dogs came after him and attacked him, ripping his clothes to shreds even more. He wandered the streets but because of his appearance and his strangeness, he was either beat up or ignored. He went to his Uncle who sent him to his mother, and he went to his mother, who was so angry that he was back in her care that she forced the Franciscans to take him back.
And so he was made to be a keeper of a mule, thus came the name Brother Ass. But soon despite his clumsiness, his strangeness and dullness, he found humor in everything, because he learned that everything bad that happened actually had something humorous about it. He took care of the animals, was happy to sleep on his bed that was a plank of wood, and took in the poorest of the poor that approached him. Soon, the brothers were seeking him out, attracted by his grace and love for others.
They decided to give him another try. And again, he failed at everything. And yet, somehow, by the grace of God, he was ordained a priest.
Soon, his "absent-mindedness" became a deep mental prayer where he lost all sight of everything but God. In these "fits" as he called them, the brothers would poke him with pins or burn his hands. When he would come to, he would awaken to find his hands either bloody or burned, although he never suffered pain. He would laugh about this too and say, "You see what my brothers have to do to awaken me from my fits! They have to cut my hand or burn them!"
And then, the most famous story of all, is when Joseph began to levitate. He levitated so often that it wasn't unusual to find him sitting in trees, or to suddenly levitate during a meal. At one point, when a cross was being erected onto a church, Joseph took the cross and flew into the sky and put it on himself.
He had the gift of healing and could cure the blind and make the lame walk. He had the gift of bi-location as well and was seen in many places at once. He had the gift of communing with the animals; he said the litany of Mary with the sheep with them "baaing" in response. In thanksgiving to the nus that lived nearby who he went begging to, he told them he would send a little sparrow to sing their morning and evening prayers with them. This little bird came every morning and evening for many months, as long as Joseph lived in the same area.
And then for some strange reason, Joseph was excommunicated though no one knows why--not even Joseph. He was held prisoner for ten years and during this time, Joseph simply spent it loving God. However, there wasn't much that could be done with his gift of bi-location--though he was held prisoner, he was still seen around the neighborhood.
Eventually Joseph died (after being released for the last six years of his life to the Franciscans), and his only request was that his body be buried in a location where no one would think to find it and to simply be forgotten. Because this was how St.Joseph knew how to live his life, even at the very end.
I failed my test the other day and was so tempted to give in to self-pity. It seems that I fail at a lot of things and sometimes I wonder if God is just "setting me up." But then I think of St.Joseph of Cupertino and by perspective, no one had it worse than him. I simply can't complain.
More than that, I remember that God lifts up the lowly and this is what He did with Joseph. I guess we all need a saint who had it worse than us, that was "dumber" than us, that was a failure more than anyone I have known--including myself--to the point that even the religious couldn't stand being around him.
Rather sad, but true.
Thank you, St.Joseph of Cupertino, for willing to be that saint, for allowing God to keep lowly in the eyes of the world. For showing us what He will do if we are faithful, if we are patient, and allow Him to mold us in His hands. May we all have the deep humility that you have had, to be disgraced and humbled, at least once in a while.
And finally, to be lifted up high in His hands, letting the world see what God can make out of us, despite our biggest disappointments and failures. That it's not about us at all--only Him!
St.Joseph of Cupertino, pray for us!!
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