1/6/2014 – Monday after Epiphany – 1 John 3:22 – 4:6

       We are to believe in the name of Jesus.  We are to love one another.  We are to keep God’s commandments.  Today we hear the basics of our faith, which we as followers of Christ know so very well.  Putting this into practice in our daily lives can be very different.  The saint we recognize today is named Andre Bessette.  He was born in Quebec, Canada to a working class family in the middle of the 19^th century.   When he applied to be a Holy Cross brother in Canada at the age of 25, he could not read or write, he had been orphaned since the age of 12, and he had a very poor work history due to ill-health.  You can imagine that the Holy Cross brothers, who devote themselves to education, would not see such a young man as a good candidate for their order.  However, he had a glowing recommendation from his pastor, who must have seen something in him.  He started his life as a Holy Cross brother as a doorman at Notre Dame College in Montreal.   Brother Andre gain a reputation for his holiness, for his devotion to St Joseph.  Huge numbers of the faithful started coming to him for his blessing as his reputation in the community grew.  At the time of his death in 1937 at the age of 91, more than a million of the faithful passed by his coffin to give their respects.  When we think of the saints, we often think of these brilliant thinkers and movers and shakers that got a lot of things done in their lives.  Yet, how we live our lives and the values we live out are often what most speak to people, are often what we are remembered for.  May we honor the name of Jesus.  May we follow God’s commandments and love one another.  But may we absorb all of this in the reality of our lives, no matter what that reality is.