Trait D’espirit / Drawn by the Spirit
“It is with the smallest brushes that the artist paints the most exquisitely beautiful pictures,” said St. André Bessette.
He is just another man, a real person that I would have very much wanted to meet personally. Unfortunately, he was born way ahead of me and died 20 years before I was born. If you ask him who he is, the response was “I am only a man, just like you.”
André Bessette is a native of Canada born frail in a poor family in Quebec. He became an orphan at the age of 12 and had hardly any education at all. In his early twenties, he entered the Holy Cross congregation in Montreal. Nobody wanted him. The main task given to him was menial as a porter, someone who opens the door and greets people who come to visit the Oratory. Yet he did his duty for 40 years accepting the little he had and turning it into a holy act.
One would not think that he lacks formal education when he is an effective teacher of faith by his action, love, kindness, and example. He used the simplest means. It is his complete trust with divine providence is what made him an exceptional person.
His dream was to build a church devoted to St. Joseph. He trusted that if he is really doing the Lord’s will the Lord would bring it to fruition. And it did happen.
How I would have wanted to see him open the door for me when I visited the Oratory in Mount Royal. I felt small as an ant standing at the first rung of the steps looking up at the Oratory.
In a world filled with educated minds and an era of countless celebrity, glitz, and glamour, I am amazed at what a simple man can do.
Brother André is what I call him and has left me a legacy to place my trust in Jesus.
Photographs and Memories 
Oh how it personifies “leading by example” by simply living with gratefulness and grace.
He is a prime example. Thank you, Joanne.
I visited the St. Joseph Church one time during a trip to Montreal and got a chance to see some of Brother Andre’s belongings on exhibit. Oh, how God calls the simple and humble to instruct us. 🙂
There is so much to learn on being simple and humble. Thank you, Imelda.
Your posts mean so much. I just went to visit the Oratory, virtually, through the link you provided. I also submitted a prayer intention. You remind me of the beauty and importance of a spiritual presence in one’s life…
I prayed that your intentions be heard and granted what’s best for you. Blessings.
My devotion to St. Joseph, my intercessor to Jesus, is little compared to those of the Men of St. Joseph. But, it has been inspired by Brother Andre and his ‘small brushes’ that led to the magnificence of The Oratory.
Yes! St. Joseph for men, Mother Mary for women. Have a blessed Sunday, Ken.
It is amazing how much greatness emits from the seemingly insignificant people.
Children have the same greatness, small that they are. Thank you, Mr. DaG.
I know a Catholic priest who last summer rode his bicycle about 700 miles (one way) to visit that Oratory. He, too, has a devotion to Brother Andre.
Wow, that is a total of 1400m.
Yes. And he has ridden a couple of trips which are over 1,000 miles one way.
Wonderful post Perpetua.
Thank you, David.
Simple people do create some of the best examples we admire in human beings.
Very true, lets bring out the simplicity in life!
That’s the way to go. 🙂