인창동성당 게시판
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3월5일 십자가의 성 요한 요셉수도자♬십자가 지고 가시는 |
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2004-03-04 ㅣ No.1646
축일 3월5일
성 요한 요셉은 나폴리 연안의 이쉬아섬에서 태어나 까를로 가에따노란 이름으로 세례를 받았다. 그의 부모는 교양있는 모범적인 부부였다. 그들의 집은 거의 항상 가난한 사람들에게 열려있었는데, 어머니인 마우라 부인은 음식을 미리 준비해 놓고서 걸인들에게 나누어 주곤하였다. 이 부부의 일곱 아들 가운데 다섯 명이 수도원에 들어갔는데, 그들 중에서도 까를로가 가장 뛰어났다.
까를로는 스페인계의 두 프란치스칸이 지키는 엄격한 청빈에 큰 감명을 받고 수도원에 입회하였다. 불과 16세의 어린 나이로 지원기를 시작했으나 그의 절제나 신심은 훌륭한 수도자의 바로 그것으로 판단된것이다. 이때 그는 십자가의 요한 요셉이라는 수도명을 받았다.
그는 천사적 사부님이신 성 프란치스꼬를 본받고자 부제로 남아 있기를 간절히 바랐으나, 장상들의 결정에 따라 사제품을 받았다. 마음이 한없이 순결한 이 사제는 악을 모르고 자랐기 때문에 특별한 통찰력과 영적 지혜가 충만하여 고해자들에게 깊은 감명을 주었던 것이다. 이즈음에 그는 수도원 가까운 곳에 은둔소를 세울 계획을 장상께 말씀드려서 허가를 받았다. 그러나 하느님은 그를 수련장이란 중책을 맡겼다.
그는 성 프란치스꼬 당시의 엄격한 규율을 수련자들에게 적용시킬 허가를 받고서야 이 직책을 맡았다. 그는 가끔 이미 세상을 떠난 형제들의 환시를 보았는데, 이때부터 이상한 기적까지 행하곤 하였다. 그는 치유의 은사로 병을 고치는가 하면, 음식을 많게 하는 기적까지 베풀었다. 그는 자신이 죽으리라고 예언했던 산따 루치아에서 운명하였다.
*아시시의 성프란치스코 축일:10월4일.게시판676번,1403번. ☞http://home.catholic.or.kr/gnbbs/ncbbs.dll/chinchang
성 프란치스코가 직접 그린 폰테 콜롬보 경당의 타우 십자가
권고10 사실 사람은 육체를 통해서 죄를 짓게 되는데 누구나 그 원수 즉 육체를 다스릴 수 있습니다.
타우(T)는 그리스어 알파벳의 아홉 번째, 그리고 히브리어의 스물 두 번째 즉 마지막 글자이다. 타우는 성서적으로 ’하느님의 것’이란 표지요 ’구원의 표’로 인식되었다. 이에 대한 언급은 에제케엘 예언서에 나온다. "이마에 표(타우)가 있는 사람은 건드리지 말아라"(에제 9,6). 여기서 말하는 타우 표시는 타우 표를 지니는 사람은 구원의 표를 지니고 있음을 의미한다. 이 타우 표시는 성서적인 표지일 뿐 아니라 로마의 까따꼼바들에서도 볼 수 있는 것으로 오랜 그리스도교 전통을 지니고 있다. (작은형제회홈에서)
오락
요즈음은 노는 것도 일처럼 한다. 주말 내내 볼거리, 놀거리, 먹을거리를 찾아 다니느라 지쳐서 정작 월요일에는 쉬고 싶었던 경험이 있을 것이다. 휴식은 피곤한 몸과 마음을 회복시켜서 일상 업무로 돌아갔을 때 다시 활기차게 일하도록 하기 위한 것인데 그 본래의 목적을 잊는 것이다. 적당한 휴식은 반드시 필요하다. 휴식이 없다면 권태에 빠지고 생활에 활력을 잃게 된다.
믿기 어렵겠지만 십자가의 성 요셉은 오락의 챔피언이었다. 나폴리에서 좀 떨어진 이스키아라는 섬에서 어린 시절을 보낸 그는 남다르게 경건한 생활을 했고, 16살의 어린 나이에 프란치스코회 수사가 되었다. 그는 새로 들어온 다른 수사들에게 자신과 똑같이 엄격하고 경건하게 살 것을 요구했다. 후에 그는 수도원 건물에서 멀리 떨어진 곳에 조용한 은둔처를 짓고 거기에서 더욱더 강하게 수련을 했다.
그러나 요셉이 수도원의 규칙만 강요한 것은 아니었다. 그는 수련자들이 규칙적인 오락 시간을 갖도록 특별한 관심을 쏟았다. 오락은 사치가 아니라 정신 건강에 꼭 필요한 것임을 알았기 때문이다.
올 봄에는 재미를 좇아서 시간을 힘들게 소비하지 말고, 단순히 즐기는 시간을 가져 보라. 풍선껌을 불어 본다든지, 아이스크림을 먹는다든지, 재미있는 노래를 부른다든지, 아기에게 입을 맞춰 준다든지, 개를 데리고 산책을 하며 지내 보자. 그리고 자연 속에서 하느님을 찬미하자.
나는 시간을 현명하게 사용하는가? (까리따스수녀회홈에서) 십자가의 성 요한 요셉(Joannes Josephus a Cruce)은 이탈리아 나폴리(Napoli) 연안의 이스키아(Ischia) 섬에서 태어나 카롤루스 가에타누스(Carolus Gaetanus)라는 이름으로 세례를 받았다. 그의 부모는 교양 있는 모범적인 부부였다. 그들의 집은 거의 항상 가난한 사람들에게 열려있었는데, 어머니인 마우라 부인은 음식을 미리 준비해 놓고 걸인들에게 나누어주곤 하였다. 이 부부의 일곱 아들 가운데 다섯 명이 수도원에 들어갔는데, 그들 중에서도 카롤루스가 가장 뛰어났다. 카롤루스는 에스파냐 출신의 작은 형제회 회원들이 지키는 엄격한 청빈에 큰 감명을 받고 수도원에 입회하였다. 불과 16세의 어린 나이로 지원기를 시작했으나 그의 절제나 신심은 훌륭한 수도자의 모범으로 인정되었다. 그는 서원하면서 십자가의 요한 요셉이라는 수도명을 받았다. 그는 천사적 사부인 성 프란치스코(Franciscus, 10월 4일)를 본받고자 부제로 남아 있기를 간절히 바랐으나 장상들의 결정에 따라 사제품을 받았다. 한없이 순결한 마음을 지녔던 그는 악을 모르고 자랐기 때문에 특별한 통찰력과 영적 지혜가 충만하여 고해자들에게 깊은 감명을 주었다. 그즈음에 그는 수도원 가까운 곳에 은둔소를 세울 계획을 장상에게 말씀드려 허락을 받았다. 그러나 하느님은 그에게 수련장이란 중책을 맡겼다. 그는 성 프란치스코 당시의 엄격한 규율을 수련자들에게 적용시킬 허가를 받고서야 그 직책을 맡았다. 그는 가끔 이미 세상을 떠난 형제들의 환시를 보았는데, 그때부터 이상한 기적까지 행하곤 하였다. 그는 치유의 은사로 병을 고치는가 하면, 음식을 많게 하는 기적까지도 베풀었다. 그는 자신이 죽으리라고 예언했던 산타 루치아(Santa Lucia)에서 운명하였다. 그는 1789년 복자품에 올랐고, 1839년 교황 그레고리우스 16세(Gregorius XVI)에 의해 시성되었다
♬십자가 지고 가시는(Guitar)-가톨릭성가123번
Carlo Gaetano Calosirto nacque a Ischia nel 1654. A 15 anni entrò come Giovan Giuseppe della Croce tra i Francescani scalzi della riforma di san Pietro d'Alcantara, detti anche alcantarini, nel convento napoletano di Santa Lucia al Monte, dove condusse vita ascetica. Insieme a 11 frati fu mandato, poi, nel santuario di Santa Maria Occorrevole di Piedimonte d'Alife, dove fece costruire un convento. Poi fu contemporaneamente a Napoli come maestro dei novizi e a Piedimonte come padre guardiano. Quando agli inizi del Settecento ramo spagnolo e italiano dell'ordine si divisero (fino al 1722), lui guidò il secondo come ministro generale. Morì nel 1734. Fu canonizzato nel 1839 con Alfonso Maria de'Liguori e Francesco de Geronimo, dei quali era stato consigliere. Le sue spoglie riposano nel convento di Santa Lucia al Monte. (Avvenire) Martirologio Romano: Sempre a Napoli, san Giovanni Giuseppe della Croce (Carlo Gaetano) Calosirto, sacerdote dell’Ordine dei Frati Minori, che, sulle orme di san Pietro di Alcántara, ripristinò la disciplina religiosa in molti conventi della provincia napoletana. Le doglie colgono donna Laura Gargiulo il 15 agosto 1654, mentre sta passeggiando nel borgo di Ischia, ad una certa distanza dal signorile e fortificato palazzo in cui abita. Così Carlo Gaetano, il suo terzo figlio, viene alla luce nella modesta stanzetta di una donna del popolo che generosamente e prontamente accoglie la partoriente. Quasi un segno che, quel bambino, non è destinato ad abitare a lungo nel palazzo dei Calosirto, una delle famiglie più in vista a facoltose di Ischia. Sarà per inclinazione naturale, sarà per “colpa” della famiglia profondamente religiosa in cui si prega molto, si digiuna a pane ed acqua in ogni vigilia di festa comandata, e dove si respira una grande devozione alla Madonna, ma quel bambino sembra davvero portato alla vita religiosa, complici anche i padri agostiniani cui i genitori affidano la sua preparazione culturale e religiosa. Ma non è da questi che il ragazzino si rivolge, a 15 anni appena compiuti, per realizzare la sua vocazione: ha conosciuto nel frattempo i frati alcantarini e si sente attratto dall’austerità di vita di questi Francescani che si ispirano alla riforma attuata da san Pietro d’Alcantara. A 16 anni entra così nel loro convento napoletano di Santa Lucia al Monte; qui, insieme al nuovo nome di Giovan Giuseppe della Croce, riceve una forte spinta verso la vita ascetica, grazie ad un Maestro dei novizi particolarmente ispirato. Dopo la professione religiosa, insieme a 11 confratelli si trasferisce a Piedimonte d’Alife, per costruire un nuovo convento nelle vicinanze del santuario di Santa Maria Occorrevole. E’ giovanissimo, ed è qui che si innamora: del silenzio abitato da Dio, della preghiera lunga e fervorosa, della meditazione prolungata e trasformatrice. Che però, come sempre avviene per i santi autentici, non riescono ad estraniarlo dal mondo, ma gli donano una sensibilità maggiore per scoprire, soprattutto fra le pieghe della sua Napoli, le mille contraddizioni e le tante miserie, nelle quali egli si muove perennemente scalzo, anche e ben al di là della sua Regola, con qualsiasi tempo e malgrado ogni intemperie. Tanto che una volta si ammala, così gravemente da temere per la sua vita; appena guarito, eccolo nuovamente per strada, instancabile tra un malato da curare ed un moribondo da assistere. Perché Padre Giovan Giuseppe, non aspetta che i poveri arrivino a lui, preferisce andarseli a cercare direttamente nei tuguri e nelle soffitte. Cadono su di lui le responsabilità della sua famiglia religiosa: umilmente le svolge, e anche con successo, come dimostra la delicata situazione che porta alla spaccatura tra gli Alcantarini di Spagna e quelli d’Italia. Di questi ultimi egli diventa superiore, ma continuando a lavorare per la riunificazione della famiglia alcantarina che riesce ad attuare dopo vent’anni, durante i quali colleziona critiche e calunnie capaci di smontare chiunque. Ma non lui, che nel silenzio al quale si è votato trova il suo più prezioso alleato per non rispondere male per male e per generosamente perdonare anche il più accanito calunniatore. Sulla sua strada fioriscono miracoli: parlano di bilocazioni, lievitazioni, profezie, guarigioni, moltiplicazioni, addirittura della risurrezione di un bambino: ma prima di ogni cosa è autenticamente prete, ricercato per la confessione e la direzione spirituale anche da santi autentici, come S. Alfonso Maria de’ Liguori e San Francesco de Geronimo, insieme ai quali (quando si dice scherzi della Provvidenza!) Padre Giovan Giuseppe della Croce Calosirto verrà canonizzato nel 1839. Ma santo nel cuore della gente lo era già da vivo e soprattutto da quel 5 marzo 1734 in cui, ottantenne, aveva chiuso gli occhi, nello stesso convento napoletano in cui era entrato 65 anni prima. Autore: Gianpiero Pettiti Nacque ad Ischia con il nome di Carlo Gaetano Calosirto, il 15 agosto del 1654 nel borgo di Ponte, figlio del nobile Giuseppe e di donna Laura Gargiulo. Frequentò nell’isola i padri agostiniani da cui ricevette la prima formazione umanistica e religiosa; a 15 anni scelse la vita religiosa per la grande attrazione che esercitava sul suo animo, aderendo ai Francescani scalzi della Riforma di s. Pietro d’Alcantara, detti anche alcantarini, per la loro vita austera, dipendenti dal convento di S. Lucia al Monte in Napoli. Autore: Antonio Borrelli
Joined Franciscans at age 16. Ascetic. First Italian to follow the reform movement of Saint Peter Alcantara who sought to make the Order more devoted to penance and austerity. John had such a reputation for holiness that his superiors put him in charge of establishing a new friary before he was ordained. He joined the work crew, serving as a hod carrier, then a mason. Novice master, guardian, and provincial of the Order. When his term as provincial expired, he dedicated himself to hearing confessions and practising mortification, two concerns contrary to the spirit of the dawning Age of Enlightenment. Had the gifts of prophecy and healing, and would swoon into ecstasies; known to levitate and bilocate. Born
How do you think that with a bone only three fingers high we should understand the meanings of the designs of God? - Saint John Joseph, tapping his forehead
The sanctity of his boyhood merited for him the grace of a divine call to a state of holiness; and feeling an interior movement to quit the world, he sedulously sought counsel from the Father of lights, as to the manner in which he should obey this inspiration. For this end he redoubled his ordinary devotions and mortifications, performed a novena to the Holy Ghost and threw himself upon the tender patronage and powerful intercession of Our Lady. God hearkened to his fervent appeal; for his providence so disposed that at this period the renowned servant of God, Father John da San Bernardo, a Spanish Alcantarine, came into the country of our saint, with the view of establishing his order in the kingdom of Naples. The mean habit and devout demeanor of this holy man and his companions, touched and won the heart of Joseph; he desired to imitate what he beheld and doubted not but the desire came from God. Wherefore he journeyed to Naples, that he might impart to the fathers of the order his inclination; and they, having prudently considered his vocation, admitted him to the novitiate. He manifested so much ardor, that the superiors deemed it fitting to clothe him with the habit before the usual time had expired. This happy consummation of his wishes took place before he had completed his sixteenth year. He adopted the name of John Joseph of the Cross, and on the feast of St. John the Baptist, in the year of our Lord 1671, he completed his edifying novitiate, and took the solemn vows of his order; whose holy founder, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Peter of Alcantara, he proposed to himself as models. In obedience to the express desire of his superior, our saint submitted to receive the dignity of the priesthood, and was appointed to hear confessions; in which task he displayed a profound theological learning, which he had acquired solely at the foot of the cross. But, carried onward by an ardent love of the cross, whose treasures he more and more discovered as he advanced in the dignity and functions of the sacred ministry, he resolved to establish in the wood adjoining his convent a kind of solitude, where, after the manner of the ancient Fathers of the Desert, he might devote himself entirely to prayer and penitential austerities, and give to the Church an illustrious and profitable example of the sacerdotal spirit exercised in a perfect degree. There was found in the wood a pleasant fountain, whose waters healed the sick; and hard by he erected a little church, and round about it, at intervals, five small hermitages, wherein, with his companions, he renewed the austere and exalted life of the old anchorites, and advanced greatly in spirituality. And in order that no care or worldly thought might ruffle the sublime tranquillity of this contemplative life, the convent had charge of daily supplying the holy solitary with food. But the superiors, who knew the rich treasure they possessed in our saint, when he had attained the age of twenty-four, chose him for master of the novices; in which new office, so far from allowing himself the smallest dispensation, he was foremost in setting the example of a scrupulous observance of every rule; assiduous in his attendance in choir, constant in silence, in prayer, and recollection. He was careful to instil into the hearts of those under his charge an ardent love of Our Lord Jesus, and a desire of imitating him; as also a special veneration for, and tender attachment to His blessed mother. From Naples, where he was employed as master of the novices, our saint was transferred to Piedimonte, and invested with the office of guardian. The zeal which this new and more responsible charge called for, was surpassed only by the profound humility its exercise demanded. Ever a rigid enforce. of the rule, he was careful to make his enactments agreeable to others, by being the first to observe them himself. The beneficial result of such conduct was soon made manifest, for he thereby won the hearts of all the religious, who under him advanced with rapid strides towards the most heroic perfection. Still his humble and gentle spirit sighed to be disburdened of so heavy a charge, and having, after two years, obtained the de" sired release, turned its charitable energies to the direction of souls, the assistance and alleviation of the dying and distressed, and the conversion of sinners. When he was released from his post of guardian, it was only to reassume that of master of the novices, which he held for four successive years, and exercised partly in Naples, and partly in Piedimonte. But now succeeded the accustomed visitation of crosses, to be afterwards followed by an increase of grace and supernatural favors, an alternation which checkered the whole course of his life. He was summoned to his native country, Ischia, in order to discharge the painful duty of filial affection, and receive the last sighs of his dying mother. Her death ensued, full of hope, and calm, in the presence of her beloved; and, stifling the swelling emotions of sensible grief, this incomparable son followed her remains to the church, and offered up for her soul the sacrifice of propitiation. Who shall adequately conceive his feelings during the celebration of that mass? Was his grief less filial, less poignant, because it was reasonable and Christian? and because, instead of breaking into wild laments and barren demonstrations, it remained pent up in the recesses of his strong heart, and left free play and exercise to calm judgment and the salutary measures of Christian charity? Christian fortitude requires that we should bear up against the stroke of death not despondingly, because inevitable, but firmly and cheerfully, because it is the season of better hope, whereby we plant the ensign of salvation upon the grave. 'This will be no unnatural check to those emotions, which it is so great and yet so painful a consolation to indulge. They will flow no less freely, and far more profitably, when the calls of religion have first been satisfied. Was St. Bernard a violator of the sentiments of humanity, when he followed with tearless eyes and calm countenance the body of his brother to the grave, assisting at all the offices of religion, and officiating thereat himself? Was that great heart insensible, when its uncontrollable grief burst out in the midst of a discourse on other topics, into an impassioned address to his departed brother, and a magnificent tribute to the virtues of this partner of his soul and affections? Or does not such an instance of Christian fortitude and magnanimity favorably contrast with the pusillanimous and almost heathen despondency and desolation which overwhelm many at the sight or news of death, even as the Catholic faith-warm, generous, and confident cheers beyond that cold and gloomy creed, that bids farewell to hope at the brink of the grave? In the provincial chapter of 1690, he was appointed to the office of definitor, in addition to that which he already held. The difficulties of these two functions, requiring a union of the virtues of the active and contemplative life, our saint marvellously and happily surmounted. But now an event happened which well-nigh extinguished the institute to which he belonged, in Italy, and which gave occasion to an illustrious evidence of his exceeding utility to the order. The Spanish Alcantarines, having some differences with the Italian, procured from the apostolic see their dismemberment from the latter, who, being thus abandoned, recurred to our saint for succor. Suffering himself to be overcome by their entreaties' he undertook the advocacy of their cause with the pontiff, and succeeded, in a congregation held in 1702, in changing the sentiments of the cardinals and bishops. previously disposed to their suppression; so that on the day after the feast of St. 'Thomas the Apostle, a decree was issued by which the order was established in Italy under the form of a province. A chapter was convoked, "in which the arduous task of government was, by the unanimous voice of all, forced upon the humility of our saint, who, surmounting incredible hardships and obstacles, had at length the satisfaction of seeing the necessary means provided, and the order firmly established. Before the chapter-general of the order met, he was named definitor by the provincial chapter; but on his remonstrances at being thus so often compelled to assume offices, in spite of his repugnance, he at length obtained a papal brief, exempting him from all charges, and annulling even his active and passive vote in the chapter. During the course of the year 1722, another brief made over to the Alcantarines the convent of St. Lucy, in Naples, and thither our saint retired, never afterwards to be brought out into the public light, which he so much shunned, but left to edify his brethren during the remainder of his life, and to build up the fabric of those extraordinary virtues, of which we shall now proceed to give a sketch. Faith, like the keystone of the arch, is that which gives the fabric of Christian virtue solidity and stability. Of the attachment of our saint to this necessary virtue, it would be superfluous to say any thing, as his whole life was a speaking evidence of that attachment, as well as of the eminent degree in which it pleased God to enable him to appreciate its consoling mysteries. But he was content to thank God for having admitted him to the truth, without rashly or profanely lifting the veil of the sanctuary, and scrutinizing that which is within. He was persuaded that the attempt to fathom the secrets of God, or to measure his designs, would prove as hopeless as it would be impious, and therefore he bowed to the truths of faith with implicit submission. From this attachment of our saint to the virtue of faith, proceeded his zeal to instruct the ignorant in the mysteries of religion, as well as the force. fervor, and clearness, with which he expounded the sublime dogmas of the Trinity and Incarnation, and even of predestination and grace; the gift he possessed of quieting doubts respecting faith; and finally, that constant exercise of the presence of God which he practiced uninterruptedly, and constantly recommended, saying: "whoever walks always in God's presence, will never commit sin, but will preserve his innocence and become a great saint." Hope in God rendered our saint of even temper in the midst of the various contradictions he experienced in establishing his order in Italy. He used to say to his companions, when they were dismayed by the persecutions they suffered, "Let us hope in God, and doubtless we shall be comforted: "and to the distressed who flocked to him, "God is a tender father, who loves and succors all;" or, "Doubt not; trust in God, He will provide." Hence his heart enjoyed a peace which no sufferings could molest, and which did not desert him even when he lay under the stroke of apoplexy that terminated in his death. For his hope was based upon the Catholic principle, that God, who destined him for an eternal kingdom, would not refuse the succors necessary to attain it. Still, though his hopes, through the merits of our Lord's blessed passion, knew no bounds, yet was he tremblingly sensible of the guilt of sin, and the awful character of God's judgments; whence were derived that intense grief with which sin inspired him, and that astonishing humility which led him to bewail unceasingly his want of correspondence to divine grace, to proclaim himself everywhere a sinner, and implore the prayers of others. To complete the crown of theological virtues, charity in both its branches preeminently characterized our saint. This divine virtue burned so warmly in his heart, as to be transfused through his features, over which it spread a superhuman and celestial glow, and gays to his discourse a melting tenderness. "Were there neither heaven nor hell," he would say, "still would I ever wish to love God, who is a father so deserving of our love." Or "Let us love our Lord, love him verily and indeed, for the love of God is a great treasure. Blessed is he that loveth God." But it was towards the sick that his charity displayed itself. He used to attend the infirm in his convent with unwearied assiduity; nor was he less anxious to serve those who were without, but generously sought them out, and visited them, even during the most inclement seasons. And as God maketh his sun to shine upon the wicked as well as the good, so our saint would not exclude even his enemies from the boundless range of his charity. For one who had insulted him he once labored strenuously to procure some advantageous post; and being warned that the man was his enemy, he replied, "that therefore he was under the greater obligation of serving him." Besides these general virtues, he possessed in the highest degree those which belonged to his religious state, especially a prompt and implicit obedience to all commands, however painful or difficult. That obedience which he practiced himself, he was careful to enforce upon others, which his office of superior made it his duty, for he justly regarded this virtue as essential to a religious. Nor was his love of poverty less remarkable. A rough seat and a table, a bed, consisting of two narrow planks, with two sheep-skins and a wretched woollen coverlet, a stool to rest his wounded legs upon, these, with his breviary, formed the whole furniture of his cell. And although the order allowed each one to possess two habits, yet during the forty-six years that he was a member of it, he never had any other than that which he put on in the novitiate. But it was in his vigilant guard over chastity, that our saint was most remarkable. His unremitting mortifications, his extreme modesty, and perpetual watchfulness over all his senses, preserved him from the slightest breath of contamination. Never during the sixty years of his life was he known to look any one not of his own sex in the face. His every word and action bespoke purity, and inspired the love thereof. Our saint, so solidly grounded in this virtue, was not without its only sure foundation,-humility. He delighted in performing menial offices in the convent, and when the task allotted to him was finished, he was anxious to fulfil that of others. Hence he also avoided all posts and honor, as much as was consistent with his vow of obedience. When he journeyed through Italy as provincial, he would not make himself known at the inns, where he lodged, lest any distinction should be paid him. To the same cause may be ascribed his unwillingness to revisit his native country, his aversion to being in company with the great, when their spiritual affairs did not require it, his not accepting the invitations of the viceroy and his consort to the palace, his calling himself, as he was wont, the greatest sinner in the whole world, ungrateful to God for his benefits, a worm on the face of the earth; his custom of frequently kissing the hands of priests; his unwillingness to declare his opinion in council; his care to break off every discourse touching upon his birch or connections, his gratitude to God for enlightening those who disparaged him; his never being scandalized at the sins of others, how great soever; and finally, his never evincing the smallest resentment at any insult or injury. He was studious to conceal and dissemble the great gifts of miracles and prophecy with which God favored him; ascribing the miracles he performed to the faith of those in whose be. half they were wrought, or to the intercession of the saints. Not unfrequently he desired those whom he restored to health, to take some certain medicine, that the cure might be attributed to a mere natural remedy and with regard to his prophecies, which were numerous, he affected to judge from analogy and experience. To the numerous penitential austerities enjoined by his order, he added as many more as an ingenious self-denial could devise. Silent as long as possible, when he spoke, it was in a low voice. Bareheaded in all seasons, he wore under his rough and heavy habit divers hair-shirts and chains, which he was careful to vary to keep the sense of torment ever fresh. Besides, he used the discipline to a severe degree; and when, at the age of forty, his superior obliged him to wear sandals, he placed between them and his feet a quantity of small nails; but the most tremendous instrument of torture, which he devised against himself, was a cross about a foot in length, set with rows of sharp nails, which he fastened tight over his shoulders, so as to open there a wound which never afterwards closed. In sooth, these things would appear incredible, did we not remember that St. John Joseph of the Cross had taken up the instrument of our Lord Jesus's blessed passing, and was miraculously supported under its weight. If we are not blessed with equal strength, still we are all capable of enduring much more than is demanded of us for gaining heaven. Is not the life of a worldling more irksome and more painful than that of a mortified religious man? How many heart-burnings, and aching heads, and palled appetites, and disordered faculties, and diseased frames could bear out this assertion,-that the way to heaven would be easy on the score of mortification, if men could consent to sacrifice to virtue but one half what they sacrifice to feed their passions? It was usual for our saint to be absorbed and rapt in heavenly ecstasies and visions. In this state he was lost to all that passed around him, seeing hearing, and feeling nothing, he stood like a statue of marble, and when he was awakened, his countenance glowed like a burning coal. In a condition so closely resembling that of the blessed, he was, from time to time, made a partaker of their glories. Thus, during prayer a halo of light often encircled his head; and, during mass, a supernatural brightness overspread his countenance. In the practice of every virtue, and in the enjoyment of sublime graces, our saint passed the days of his pilgrimage, glorifying God and giving alms and doing good, until it pleased the Lord to close his career on earth, not without a previous forewarning as to the time and circumstances of his death. In the year when it occurred, his nephew writing to him from Vienna, that he would return home in May, he sent back answer that he would not then find him living. And only a week before his departure discoursing with his brother Francis, he said, "I have never asked a boon of you till now; do me the charity to pray to Almighty God for me, next Friday, do you hear? mind, do not forget." It was the very day he died. Two days before his last mortal attack, accosting Vincent of Laines, 'We shall never," said he, "meet on earth again." Now, upon the last day of February, after hearing mass, and receiving communion with extraordinary fervor, he betook himself to his room, to deliver to the crowds that resorted to him his last paternal admonitions. He continued without interruption till mid-day, and at that hour precisely, turning to the lay-brother that assisted him, said, "Shortly a thunderclap will lay me prostrate on the ground, you will have to raise me thence, but this is the last I shall experience." Accordingly, at two hours and a half after sunset, an apoplectic stroke threw him on the ground. At first the nature of his disease was mistaken. It was thought that over-fatigue had brought on giddiness but the next day the symptoms manifested themselves alarmingly, and spread in defiance of remedies. Yet though he was thus, to all appearances, senseless during the five days that ho survived, doubtless his soul was occupied in interior ecstasies and profound contemplation; as indeed his countenance, his lips. and gestures, expressive of the tenderest devotion, indicated. His eyes, generally shut, opened frequently to rest upon the mild image of Our Lady, whose picture was opposite him: Sometimes, too, he turned them towards his confessor, as if demanding absolution, according to what had been previously concerted between them. A pressure of the eyes and an inclination of the head were also perceptible, and he was seen to strike his breast when he received, for the last time, the sacramental absolution from the hands of the superior. At length the morning dawned, which was to witness the passage of our saint from this vale of tears and land of sorrow to a better life. It was Friday, the 5th of March, a day yet unoccupied in the calendar, as if purposely left for him. He had spent the previous night in unceasing fervent acts of contrition, resignation, love, and gratitude, as his frequent beating of his breast, lifting his hands towards heaven, and blessing himself, testified. Before the morning was far advanced, turning to the lay-brother that attended him, as if awoke out of an ecstasy, he said, "I have but a few moments to live." Hereupon the lay-brother ran in all speed to give notice to the superior, who, with the whole community, at that moment in choir, hastened to the cell of the dying man. The recommendation of a departing soul was recited with an abundance of tears. The father-guardian perceiving he was in his agony, imparted to him the last sacramental absolution; which he, bowing his head to receive, instantly raised it again; opened, for the last time, his eyes, now swimming in joy, and inebriated with heavenly delight; fixed them, just as they were closing, with a look of ineffable tenderness, upon the image of Our blessed Lady, and composing his lips to a sweet smile, without farther movement or demonstration, ceased to breathe. Thus expired, without a struggle, John Joseph of the Cross, the mirror of religious life, the father of the poor, the comforter of the distressed, and the unconquerable Christian hero: but when death came to pluck him from the tree he dropped like a ripe fruit, smiling, into his hands; or, even as a gentle stream steals unperceived into the ocean, so calmly that its surface is not fretted with a ripple, his soul glided into eternity. To die upon the field of battle, amidst the shouts of victory, in presence of an admiring throng, surrounded by the badges of honor and respect, bequeathing to history a celebrated name, may merit the ambition of the world, or to perish in some noble cause, buoyed up by enthusiasm, conscious worth, and the certainty of having the sympathy and applause of all from whom meed is valuable, may make even selfishness generous, and cowardice heroic: but to suffer during life the lingering martyrdom of the cross; and then to expire, not suddenly, but like a taper, burnt out; to fall like a flower, not in its prime and beauty but gradually shedding its leaves and perfume, and bearing its fibres to the last, till it droops and lies exhaled and prostrate in the dust; is a death too pure, too self-devoted, too sublime, for any but the annals of Christian heroism to supply. And assuredly a day will come when the conqueror's crown shall not be brighter than the Christian's halo, nor the patriot's laurel-branch bear richer foliage than the palms of Paradise, which the humblest denizen of heaven shall carry. A day will come that will give to all their proper measure and dimensions; yet even before that day shall God glorify those who have died the peaceful death of the just, by embalming their memory and rendering their tombs and relics illustrious, so that, for the one who shall have heard of the hero, thousands shall bless and invoke the saint. He alone is a perfect Christian who is crucified to the world, and to whom the world is crucified, and who glorieth in nothing save the cross of our Lord Jesus. Nor without embracing the cross at least in heart and affection, can any one belong to the religion of Christ. Upon entering life we are marked with the cross; through the various vicissitudes thereof our every step is encountered by it-go whithersoever thou wilt and thou shalt find it impossible to escape the cross-and it accompanies us even unto death and the grave. For a Christian dieth pressing the cross to his lips; and the cross is engraver upon his tomb that it may bear witness of his faith and hope. But if Our Lord has said, in general terms, "Whosoever will be my disciple, let him take up his cross and follow me;" and if it be true that through many tribulations it is necessary to enter into the kingdom of heaven, then are all without exception called upon to assume this burden. It is not strange, then, that saints should have delighted to blend their names with the cross wherewith their hearts were so closely entwined; or that men, after their departure to glory, should have designated them by the title of that whereof they were so deeply enamored. (Taken from Vol. I of "The Lives or the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints" by the Rev. Alban Butler, the 1864 edition published by D. & J. Sadlier, & Company) Reflection
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