Daily Gospel Reflection
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January 6, 2024
This is what John the Baptist proclaimed:
“One mightier than I is coming after me.
I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.
I have baptized you with water;
he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee
and was baptized in the Jordan by John.
On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open
and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him.
And a voice came from the heavens,
“You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
In today’s reading, there are interesting parallels between the ministry of St. John the Baptist and the ministry of Holy Cross Brother St. André Bessette, whose optional memorial we celebrate today.
John the Baptist, the forerunner of the long-promised Messiah, proclaimed a baptism of repentance, which led to the forgiveness of sins. John utilized a ritual of baptism with water, and great crowds followed him, including several who would later become disciples of Jesus. Despite his popularity, John insisted that “one mightier than I is coming,” and “he must increase, while I must decrease.”
Brother André Bessette served as a porter and infirmarian at our school in Montreal. He had a great devotion to St. Joseph, special patron of the Holy Cross Brothers. In his duties, he often encountered people who were ill or distressed, and he offered to pray with them in their need. He ritualized this prayer by anointing them with oil from a votive lamp that burned before a statue of St. Joseph.
Many of these people experienced healing of mind and body, and, like John the Baptist, André found crowds of people coming to him to pray for healing. Brother André often described himself as “St. Joseph’s little dog,” attributing all favors to the intercession of the great “Guardian of Jesus.”
Our own practice of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy may bring about healing of the spirit, mind, body, psyche, emotion, or ignorance in others. Do we remember that we are merely instruments of God’s mercy, compassion, healing, or grace in such instances? On this day, when we recall the holy lives and works of St. John the Baptist and St. André Bessette, let us also acknowledge that God’s grace must increase, and we must decrease.
Prayer
Saint André Bessette, you knew what it was like to be rejected. Your own religious family of the Holy Cross did not accept you at first. You yourself said, “When I first arrived to the college, I was shown the door… and I remained there for forty years!” Yet even more painfully, when the Lord chose you to be God’s healing hand in others’ lives, you incurred the misunderstanding and rejection of those who failed to see God’s greatness through you. Intercede for us, Saint André, so that we may have the same strength in the face of ridicule. May we remain steadfast to the mission God has entrusted to us. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. André Bessette is the first saint from the Congregation of Holy Cross, the religious community that founded the University of Notre Dame. In the United States, his feast day falls on the date of his death, January 6, but in the Congregation of Holy Cross and in Canada, his memorial is perpetually transferred to January 7.
Alfred Bessette was born in the town of Mont-Saint-Grégoire in Quebec on August 9, 1845, and he was orphaned by the time he was 12. He had to work to support himself and had little formal education, but from an early age, he had a lively faith and a strong devotion to St. Joseph. After a few years trying to find work in the United States, he returned to Quebec, where his childhood pastor encouraged him to consider a vocation to religious life. He sent Alfred to the Holy Cross Brothers with a note that said, “I am sending you a saint.”
Upon entering Holy Cross, Alfred took the name André and was assigned as doorkeeper of Notre Dame College in Montreal. Among his many duties, he greeted visitors and tended to their needs. Eventually, many people began to experience physical healings after praying with Brother André.
His reputation began to spread. So many people flocked to see him that the Congregation allowed him to see sick people at a trolley station across the street. The crowds got larger, more cures were reported, and Brother André became increasingly well-known. Through it all Brother André remained humble, often seeming confused that people would lavish such praise on him. He knew that the real source of these miraculous cures was St. Joseph’s intercession.
His desire to increase devotion to St. Joseph inspired him to found a shrine to his favorite saint across the street from Notre Dame College. He saved the money he earned from giving haircuts at five cents apiece, eventually earning the $200 he needed to construct a simple structure. This shrine opened in 1904, and in 1909 Brother André was released from his duties as doorkeeper and assigned full-time as the caretaker of the Oratory of St. Joseph.
The Oratory attracted large numbers of pilgrims, and plans were made to construct a large basilica. Brother André’s full-time ministry for the rest of his life was to receive the long lines of sick visitors who flocked to the Oratory to see him. He became known as the “Miracle Man of Montreal”, and thousands of miraculous healings were attributed to his intercession over the following decades.
Brother André died on January 6, 1937, at the age of 91. During the week that his body lay in state outside of St. Joseph’s Oratory, it is estimated that one million people braved the bitter Montreal winter to pay their respects. The basilica was eventually completed and remains a major pilgrimage site, attracting more than two million visitors a year. The side chapels are filled with the crutches of people healed through St. André’s prayers.
The reliquary chapel on campus contains relics of Br. André, and he is depicted in statuary and stained glass in many parts of campus. Our featured stained glass image is in the chapel in the Stinson-Remick Building. The first statue of St. André is from the chapel in Columba Hall, the residence for Holy Cross brothers on campus. The second statue adorns the front of the Eck Visitor's Center, the home of the Notre Dame Alumni Association and FaithND. His presence there reminds us that we carry out his ministry of service and hospitality to the Notre Dame family and the world. The image of the statue is from 2010, when it was adorned with wreath and garland on the occasion of his canonization. The portrait of Br. André is the work of Holy Cross priest, Ron Raab, '78, '82 M.Div.
St. André Bessette, C.S.C., who was devoted to St. Joseph and who welcomed the sick with the hospitality of Christ—pray for us!
To learn even more about Saint André Bessette, C.S.C., watch this video lecture from the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame. To view, personalize, and share a digital card with a prayer to St. Andrè, click here.