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| St. Joseph of Cupertino by Aodhagain |
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph of Cupertino. No, he is not the patron of Apple computers and iDevices. Instead, he is the patron of astronauts, pilots and students taking exams.
Born in a Stable
On June 17, 1603, like our Lord, Joseph was born in stable. His father, who was a carpenter, died when Joseph was still very young. By all accounts Joseph was not a particularly bright boy, but he was subject to mystical ecstasies as early as the age of seven. Because of these ecstasies, he could not keep a steady job. Eventually he worked for as a stable hand for a Franciscan monastery. When the friars discovered his holiness, he was encouraged to become a priest. Unfortunately, he did not have the aptitude to do well in those studies. Joseph prayed and was only given one question to answer for his final exam. It so happened that he knew the answer to that one question.
Flying Friar
It was difficult for Joseph to celebrate mass publicly because he would levitate during the consecration. In fact, he often began to levitate at the mere mention of the name of Jesus. The ecstasies and levitations became so frequent that members of his order actually had him sequestered. Some even suspected that he was being used by Satan. This was certainly St. Joseph's time to suffer for the cross. The excerpt from Saints for Sinners provided by EWTN does a wonderful job of describing this time in his life.
St. Superman
If you have been a regular reader of Joe Catholic, you know I like to tap into my childhood memories of reading super-hero comic books. While I grew up mostly a Marvel Comics reader, my little brother Matt was more of a DC guy. I think that had to do with the popular WB TV cartoons. Nevertheless, my brother grew up a big fan of Superman; he wanted to be Superman. I still remember him running around the house with his little red cape when he was a toddler.
Pick a Patron
My brother wasn't confirmed until a few years ago as an adult. I was honored that he asked me to be his sponsor, his Godfather. During the final days leading up to the Easter Vigil, I recommended to him that he should take on the name of an additional patron so that he would have one more saint interceding on his behalf. I gave him some Internet links and maybe even a book or two. I thought he would pick somebody like St. Anthony or St. Francis. Instead, he told me had picked St. Joseph of Cupertino because "this saint could fly like Superman." Matt beautifully shared at our Joe Catholic gathering last week that the God has used his childish selection process to nurture a mature devotion to a saint he has learned from and can relate to. He shared that St. Joseph of Cupertino has taught him humility and obedience. He also shared that he learned that Joseph was rejected throughout his life, yet always responded with joy infused by his love for God. We could all do well to learn that lesson.
While I was conducting research for this post, I discovered the film The Reluctant Saint which is based on the life of St. Joseph of Cupertino. It's now available on DVD from Ignatius Press.
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