St. Joseph Cupertino was definitely at a disadvantage intellectually. He simply couldn’t understand or retain what he tried to learn. He was awkward, nervous, dull and a trial to one’s patience. He couldn’t tell a story to the end because he couldn’t find the right words. He was so forgetful he forgot his meals.
He constantly dropped and broke things, was always, sick, and could not even distinguish between white and brown bread. He was counted as worthless. No relatives wanted anything to do with him. What could God do with such an individual?
After being rejected countless times by monasteries, Joseph felt himself the poorest creature in the universe. When he was dismissed from the Franciscans and deprived of his habit it was as if the brothers had torn off his own skin. It was the hardest day of his life. He believed heaven and earth had shut him out. After finding the strength to pull out of his stupor he went out to the streets draped in rags only to be attacked by dogs and beaten by shepherds. A nobleman reported him as a suspicious tramp to the police who threw him in jail. After questioning him, they concluded that Joseph was too stupid to be harmful and they let him go.
Today modern psychiatry would write off such a sorry man as hopeless and predict suicide or psychopathic behavior. But what happened to Joseph? God's love happened. The power of God's love laughs at all human barriers. How true it is that He chooses to confound the wise and reveal Himself to the poorest of His children. Joseph's call was to be a miracle worker, a holy brother and priest — nothing less than a saint.
No matter what kind of human material God has to work with, He will give what is needed to have the cooperating human serve Him as He desires. Joseph's life is surely an example of this. To pass to minor orders, Joseph had to be given a special exam. It so happened that the only text in all of Scripture that he could speak eloquently about was from the Gospel of St. Luke: “Blessed is the womb which bore Thee” (11:27) — the very passage the bishop happened to ask him to speak about! He did so brilliantly. A year later, being examined with the other candidates for the priesthood, he was skipped over by the bishop due to how well his fellow candidates were performing. A short time later Joseph was ordained. So when God wants a child to have something, the child gets it.
Remember that your vocation may not be the same as a friend or relative's. God calls each person uniquely, and this is for the betterment of the individual and the world in ways we frequently don't understand. So do not fear walking an uncharted path. If God is calling you in a particular direction, go that way.
Fr. Sullivan, M.J., is a priest with the Miles Jesu order. Miles Jesu is an Institute of Consecrated Life dedicated to promoting reverence to the Blessed Sacrament, devotion to Our Lady and faithfulness to the official teachings of the Church. For information on Miles Jesu and its Seminary Program, please call 1-800-654-7945 or visit their website at www.MilesJesu.com.
