Optional Memorial of St. Saint André Bessette, religious



Brief Background:

Saint André Bessette (1845–1937) was a humble Holy Cross brother in Canada who served most of his life as a doorkeeper. Orphaned and in poor health, he had little education but great faith. He was deeply devoted to Saint Joseph and encouraged people to trust in God through Saint Joseph’s intercession. Many who prayed with him reported healings, but he always said, “It is Saint Joseph who heals.” His simple ministry led to the building of Saint Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal, now a major pilgrimage shrine. He is often invoked as patron of the sick and those who serve quietly and humbly.

REFLECTION:

I first learned about Saint André Bessette when I was studying at Mount Angel Seminary. I was struck by his simple and humble story. He spent most of his life as a doorkeeper, doing what many would consider the smallest and most ordinary job. With his usual humility and gentle humor, he once said, “When I joined the community, they showed me the door—and I stayed there for forty years.” Yet from that doorway, God touched countless lives, reminding us that great holiness is often found in very simple faithfulness.

Yesterday, our Maryknoll School celebrated the Epiphany of the Lord with the blessing of the doors. And today, the Church closes the Holy Doors, marking the end of the Jubilee Year. All of this invites us to reflect more deeply on what a door truly means in our faith.

Jesus Himself tells us in the Gospel: “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved.” Christ is not only the one who opens the way to the Father—He is the Way.

Saint André Bessette understood this deeply. He never saw himself as the destination. He saw himself as a humble door, a simple doorkeeper whose only purpose was to help people pass through—to God, to hope, to healing, to trust. People came to him burdened, sick, and discouraged, and he gently pointed them not to himself, but to Saint Joseph and to the Lord.

In today’s reading from the First Letter of John, we hear: “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God.” Saint John reminds us that love is not just something God does; love is who God is. And then he tells us where that love leads: “In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son.” Jesus is God’s love made visible, God’s mercy made accessible, God’s door opened to the world.

The Jubilee doors may be closing today, and the blessed doors at Maryknoll have been marked with holy water—but the most important question remains: What kind of doors are we?

In our homes, our classrooms, our offices, our parish, and our daily encounters, are we walls—or are we doors? Do people find in us a passage to God’s mercy, patience, and hope? Or do they find barriers, judgment, or indifference?

Saint André shows us that we do not need to be important to be useful. We just need to be available. He did not do extraordinary things. He did ordinary things with extraordinary love.

As the Jubilee doors close, may our hearts remain open. And as we remember that Christ is the true Door, may we, like Saint André, become humble doors—through which others may catch a glimpse of God’s love.

So today, let us ask ourselves: Am I a door that leads others closer to Christ—or a wall that keeps them away?