Spring/Summer 2021
Contents Page 5
The Story of a Statue
Page 7
Brother André of Montreal
Page 8
Novena
Page 9
The Sleeping St Joseph
Page 11 St Joseph the Torch-Bearer Page 12 With a Father’s Heart Page 14 The Carpenter and the Staircase
Prayer to St Joseph Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer, Spouse of the Virgin Mary, To you God entrusted his only Son; in you Mary placed her trust; with you Christ became man.
Blessed Joseph, to us too, show yourself a father and guide us in the path of life. Open for us grace, mercy and courage, and defend us from every evil.
Page 15 Obituaries
Silver Circle
Acknowledgments Contributors: Fr Tom O’Brien Fr Jim O’Connell
This prayer concludes the Apostolic Letter of Pope Francis
NOTICE TO ALL OUR FRIENDS AND BENEFACTORS As we begin a new year it appears that our lives will continue to be restricted for some time to come, in spite of the encouraging new vaccines being rolled-out. Here in St Joseph’s House we continue to pray for you all in these difficult days. The announcement of the ‘Year of St Joseph’ has given us great joy and gives added purpose to our annual novena to our Society Patron, St Joseph. This shortened version of the ADVOCATE is devoted entirely to St Joseph, and we hope it will provide ample material for prayer and reflection. Please send in your petitions which we will pray for during the Novena. Fr Bernard Fox mhm, Rector Fr John Doran mhm
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Fr Hugh O’Donnell mhm Fr Bill Tollan mhm
St. Joseph’s Advocate is the magazine of the Mill Hill Missionaries in Scotland, published from St. Joseph’s House, 30 Lourdes Avenue, Cardonald, Glasgow G52 3QU. Tel: 0141 883 0139. Email: tollanmhm@yahoo.co.uk Registered Charity Number: SCO39809 Produced by: Burns Print Management Ltd., Caledonia Business Centre, Thornliebank Industrial Estate, Glasgow G46 8JT Tel: 07799 645 420 Email: frank.burns@burnsprintmgt.co.uk
Editorial Fr. Bill Tollan, mhm, Editor
Pope Francis and the Year of St Joseph On 8th December 2020 Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Letter, ‘Patris Corde’ in which he recalls the 150th anniversary of St Joseph having been proclaimed ‘Patron of the Universal Church.’ He also proclaimed a Jubilee Year in honour of St Joseph which should last until 8th December 2021. In the letter Pope Francis recalls the brief appearances of St Joseph in the infancy narratives of the Gospels of St Matthew and St Luke. He then refers to the teachings of the Popes which helps us appreciate more fully St Joseph’s central role in the history of salvation. Pius IX declared him ‘Patron of the Church’, Pius XII proposed him as ‘Patron of Workers’, and Pope John Paul II as ‘Guardian of the Redeemer.’ Pope Francis goes on to illustrate how St Joseph is so close to our own human experience. This became especially apparent in the months of the Covid-19 pandemic which has swept the world. The crisis has made us all realise how ‘our lives are woven together and sustained by ordinary people, people often overlooked…men and women working
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to provide essential services…They understood that no one is saved alone.’ “Each of us can discover in Joseph – the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence – an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble. St Joseph reminds us that those who appear hidden in the shadows can play an incomparable role in the history of salvation. A word of recognition and of gratitude is due to them all.” On July 15th 2010 a new fountain was inaugurated in the Vatican Gardens. It depicts a series of six bronze panels set into the granite structure. The panels recount the life of St Joseph. The sculptor and designer of the panels, Franco Murer, spoke of his work on the occasion of the ceremonial opening of the fountain. He said he had spent a year meditating on St Joseph, and reading the Gospels. He imagined the man who raised Jesus
as “both strong and humble….an extraordinary man.” Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) on the same occasion spoke movingly of his beloved patron, St Joseph, a “figure close to the heart of the People of God and to my heart.” He went on to say, “The Gospel has not kept any word from Joseph, who carries out his activity in silence… To trust God does not mean to see everything clearly according to our criteria. It does not mean to carry out what we have planned; to trust God means to empty ourselves and to deny ourselves. Only one who accepts losing himself for God can be ‘just’ as Joseph was.” May we all use this special Year of St Joseph to reflect more deeply on the life of St Joseph, and learn the values of silence, simplicity, and humility. May we also realise better how we can play our part in the mystery of salvation.
The Story of a Statue
Please support our annual prize draw. Please support our annual prize draw. Proceeds this year will go to the Tertiary Franciscan Sisters who work throughout the two English-speaking Provinces of Cameroon where a conflict has raged now for five years. Hundreds of thousands of people have had to flee their homes, many in neighbouring Nigeria. Thousands of people have been killed – even children in a school that dared to open its doors. Houses and farms have been destroyed; schools forced to close. Even the Sisters’ Hospitals and Health Centres and ambulances have been attacked. The Bishops, including 90-year old Cardinal Tumi, have tirelessly worked for a peaceful solution. On behalf of Pope Francis Cardinal Parolin was due to make a five-day visit to the country at the end of January 2021. 4
Venerable Maria Hueber, Foundress of the Tertiary Sisters.
The statue of St Joseph that helped secure our first College.
Fr Herbert Vaughan was convinced that God had called him to establish a College in Britain to form missionaries who would leave their own country to proclaim the Gospel to the unevangelised. With the blessing of his Archbishop, Cardinal Wiseman, Vaughan set out on a long and adventurous journey to raise the necessary funds. He returned to England in July 1865 and set about looking for a suitable property. A friend advised him of an ideal property, Holcombe House, in the village of Mill Hill, just north of London. The leaseholders, however, reacted with hostility to Vaughan’s repeated enquiries, and instructed their servants to refuse him admittance. A respected nun advised him to buy the large piece of ground along with the house…”for your work will take an extension, of which at present you have no idea.” Vaughan now began a novena to St Joseph, and reinforced his prayers with a ‘spiritual prank.’ Knowing he was unwelcome, he called at Holcombe House and, before being ejected and giving the householder no chance to refuse, asked if he might
Holcombe House.
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St Joseph’s in Mil Hill.
leave a parcel to be collected later; with that he deposited the parcel containing a statue of St Joseph in the cupboard just inside the front door. On the last day of the novena he received news that the leasehold would be transferred to him. After the lease was signed it was discovered that a clause forbade the use of the house as a seminary. He then tried, though unsuccessfully, to buy the freehold, and undeterred prepared to open his missionary college. In a letter to the Catholics of England Fr Vaughan appealed for young men of any nationality with generous apostolic hearts who would work in mission areas until a good native clergy was established…Sacrifice for the foreign missions would not go unrewarded. On 28th February 1866 Vaughan arrived in Holcombe House with the first student. During supper they read the Life of St Joseph and rose in the morning to celebrate the first Mass in the new ‘College’. Two weeks later, as they prepared to celebrate the Feast of St Joseph, the freehold was sold to Vaughan for the sum of £5,000. On the 19th of March, Archbishop Manning of Westminster declared that St Joseph’s College of the Sacred Heart
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had now opened. In mid-summer its founder could report that he had four students, ‘and more coming.’ Among the latter were two from Scotland: Fr Thomas Matthews from Dumfries, and Fr James Prendergast from Dundee. Fr Matthews was among the pioneer missionaries who arrived on foot in Kampala on 6th September 1895; he served in Uganda for 47 years until his death on 5th April 1942. Fr Prendergast was also in that pioneer group; sadly he died of blackwater fever in 1900. Father Vaughan was wise in following the nun’s advice to buy ‘the large piece of land along with the house… for your work will take an extension, of which at present you have no idea.’ By 1st March 1871 part of a new College building was opened with a community of 34 students, and on 19th March the foundation
Brother André of Montréal Friend of St Joseph
“When I entered community, my superiors showed me the door, and I remained there for 40 years without leaving!” So said this humble lay-brother, who spent most of his long life carrying-out unobtrusive tasks for his community.
St Joseph adorns the top of the College tower.
stone for a memorial chapel in honour of St Joseph was laid by Archbishop Manning in the presence of great crowd that included the Lord Chancellor of Ireland. The new chapel would have a tower surmounted by a large statue of St Joseph, ‘the first foreign missionary’, with the child Jesus displaying his heart to the world. St Joseph’s oratory, Montreal.
Through faithfully carrying out his duties he also became well-known in the city of Montréal, and later far and wide. He gained the reputation of being a miracle-worker, a claim he vehemently denied. “I am nothing... only a tool in the hands of Providence, a lowly instrument at the service of St. Joseph.” Another time he said, “People are silly to think that I can work miracles. It is God and St. Joseph who can heal you, not I. I will pray for you to St. Joseph.” Brother André was born on August 9th 1845 in Quebec, Canada, to a poor family; he was one of ten children. His father died in an accident at work when André was 9, and his mother of tuberculosis when he was 12. Later André said, “I rarely prayed for my mother, often I prayed to her.” With poor health and minimal education, André set-off to find his way in the world. He worked in construction, as a farm boy, a tinsmith, a blacksmith, a baker, a shoemaker, and as a coachman. He also worked in textile mills in the USA for four years. At the age of 25, in 1870, he became a Novice in the Congregation of the Holy Cross in Montréal. For 40 years he was the doorkeeper at Notre-Dame College. Gradually he spent more and more time in his small office, receiving and advising the many people who came to see him. Repeatedly he told people to take their troubles to St. Joseph, and
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he himself prayed that their requests would be granted. He had a great sense of fun. “You must not be sad,” he would tell people, “it is good to laugh a little.” Yet often, as people came to him with their sorrows and sickness, he would be moved to tears. In 1904 he built a small chapel in honour of St. Joseph with help from his friends, and the money he got from cutting hair for the College students. Gradually he conceived the plan to build a great Shrine to St. Joseph on a prominent hill overlooking the city of Montréal. By 1917 a crypt-chapel was opened which was able to hold over a thousand people. In 1929 the economic crisis brought the construction to a halt. In 1936 the leaders of the Holy Cross Congregation met to decide if the project should continue or not. Brother André was summoned to give his opinion. The ageing Brother had only a few words to say: “This is not my work, it is the work of St. Joseph. Put one of his statues in the middle of
The Sleeping St. Joseph Frère André Bessette - 1845- 1937.
the building. If he wants a roof over his head, he will take care he gets it.” Brother André died on January 6th 1937, aged 91. Over a million people attended his funeral. Today, his body lies in a simple tomb in the great Oratory of St. Joseph. Thousands of people come to honour St. Joseph, and to pray at Brother André’s tomb. In 1982 he was beatified by Pope John Paul II, and canonized on October 17th 2010.
Novena in honour of St. Joseph
Entering the study of Pope Francis to conduct an interview, an Italian journalist happened to see an unusual statue of Saint Joseph. “I notice” he records “that this is not the usual Saint Joseph with staff in hand, looking thoughtful. No, here Joseph is lying on his side, asleep. Pope Francis explained to the surprised journalist: “The statue comes from South America, I don’t remember if it’s from Argentina, Chile or some other country. I like it very much, because Joseph received the most important and decisive messages -- for Jesus and for the whole Holy Family – in dreams. The journalist goes on: “I look more closely and I see that under the statue there are a lot of folded papers with phrases in tiny handwriting. What are these?”, “These are” Pope Francis replies “my prayer intentions”. I put
them all here. I write my requests on them, and Joseph thinks about them.. Pope Francis explained to one of his collaborators: “See, the statue now begins to rise up. No, not by some miracle, but because of the intentions we slip underneath it. You must be faithful. Like any carpenter, Joseph is a bit slow to hear the requests, but sooner or later the grace will arrive, always!” In a conversation with some families in Manila in 2015, Pope Francis spoke about his devotion to the Sleeping Joseph, the popular origin of which is linked with the Pope’s personal story, for he loved to pray in the basilica of San Jose de Flores in Buenos Aires: “I would like to tell you something very personal. I love Saint Joseph a lot, because he is a strong silent man. On my table I have an image of St. Joseph sleeping. And while he sleeps he takes
Join us in our Novena of Prayer to St Joseph The Novena begins on Wednesday March 10th. • Novena Prayers will be said at the weekday Masses in St Joseph’s House, Cardonald. • The Feast of St Joseph will be celebrated on Friday March 19th in St Joseph’s House, Cardonald. • Copies of the Novena Booklet are available from St Joseph’s House, Cardonald priced £2.00. 8
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care of the Church! Yes! He can do it, we know he can. And when I have a problem or difficulty, I write a note and put it under St. Joseph, so that he can sleep on it! My gesture means: Pray about this problem!” In the meeting with these families, the Pope gave three points for reflection on the figure of Joseph in Matthew’s gospel (2:13-23): first, rest in the Lord; second, rise with Jesus and Mary; third, be a prophetic voice.
Rest in the Lord To know the will of God, says the Pope, you must pray: “If we don’t pray, we will never know the most important thing of all: God’s will for us”. St. Joseph, during his rest, welcomed the Word of God and became attentive to the intimate sound of his voice.
Rise with Jesus and Mary “Like St. Joseph, once we have heard the voice of God, we must shake off sleep; we must be up and doing” says the Pope. “St. Joseph heard the voice of the Lord’s angel and answered the divine call to take care of Jesus and Mary”.
Be a prophetic voice Francis has underlined the importance of “being prophetic voices in our communities”. In taking care of Jesus and Mary, the Pope emphasises, St. Joseph became a model for the child Jesus while he grew in wisdom, age and grace”.
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Guardian of the Church “Joseph did what the angel of the Lord told him to do and took Mary as his wife” (Matthew 1:24). “These words already encapsulate the mission that God entrusted to Joseph, the mission of being a guardian. Whose guardian? The guardian of Mary and Jesus: but it is a guardianship that includes the Church, as St John Paul II underlined: “Just as St. Joseph took loving care of Mary and committed himself joyfully to the education of Jesus Christ, so also he guards and protects his mystical body, the Church, of which the Blessed Virgin is the figure and model”. (Pope Francis)
SAINT JOSEPH THE Torch bearer In a beautiful work of art the Dutch painter Petrus Van Schendel has provided us with an unusual image of St Joseph.
He is no longer the one in the shadows or background – as he is often portrayed. He is carrying a torch (a live, lighting flame) in front of him that lights up the darkness. He is walking beside Mary, slightly in front of her. He is staring intently ahead, pushing forward with his left arm stretched out as if clearing the way. He and Mary are young and strong and healthy-looking. Mary is holding a cloth in her hands and looking at it. You can see that she has other things on her mind. Perhaps she is planning ahead, thinking of the birth of her child. It is clear she has complete trust in Joseph, staying close to him and letting him lead her forward to the right place. Joseph is the torchbearer, carrying the flame that lights up the way in the darkness. Mary is carrying the True Light, the Child Jesus, who will lead his people out of darkness into his own wonderful light.
Our Torchbearer
Looking at the painting we see Joseph as the Torchbearer for Mary and we can look on Joseph as our torchbearer. He can lead us to Jesus the True Light. When we are trying to find our way in the darkness that weighs heavily upon us at times (as in this time of the Covid-19 Pandemic), we are encouraged to turn to St Joseph for help and guidance. In the words of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, “If discouragement overwhelms you, think of the faith of Joseph. If anxiety has its grip on you, think of the hope of Joseph. If exasperation or hatred seizes you, think of the love of Joseph, who was the first man to set his eyes on the human face of God in the person of the infant conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Let us praise and thank Christ for having drawn so close to us as an example and model of love.”
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With a Father’s Heart An outline of the Apostolic Letter of Pope Francis for the Year of St Joseph. I. A BELOVED FATHER “The greatness of St Joseph is that he was the spouse of Mary and the father of Jesus. In this way, he placed himself, in the words of St John Chrysostom, ‘at the service of the entire plan of salvation.’”
II. A TENDER AND LOVING FATHER “The history of salvation is worked out ‘in hope against hope (Romans 4:18) through our weaknesses. All too often, we think that God works only through our better parts, yet most of his plans are realised in and despite our frailty… We must look upon our weaknesses with tender mercy. The Evil One makes us see and condemn our frailty, whereas the Spirit brings it to light with tender love.”
III. AN OBEDIENT FATHER Matthew tells us how God, on four occasions, guided the decisions of Joseph through dreams. “In his role as the head of a family, Joseph taught Jesus to be obedient to his parents, in accordance with God’s command. During the hidden years in Nazareth, Jesus learned at the school of Joseph to
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do the will of the Father. That will was to be his daily food. (cf. John 4:34)” “Saint Joseph was called by God to serve the person and mission of Jesus directly through the exercise of his fatherhood, and that in this way, he cooperated in the fulness of time in the great mystery of salvation and is truly a minister of salvation.” (John Paul II)
IV. AN ACCEPTING FATHER “Joseph accepted Mary unconditionally. He trusted in the angel’s words. ‘The nobility of Joseph’s heart is such that what he learned from the law he made dependent on charity. Today, in our world where psychological, verbal and physical violence towards women is so evident. Joseph appears as the figure of a respectful and sensitive man. Even though he does not understand the bigger picture, he makes a decision to protect Mary’s good name her dignity and her life. In his hesitation about how best to act, God helped him by enlightening his judgement.” “Joseph is certainly not passively resigned, but courageously and firmly proactive. In our own lives, acceptance and welcome can be an expression of
the Holy Spirit’s gift of fortitude. Only the Lord can give us the strength needed to accept life as it is, with all its contradictions, frustrations, and disappointments.” “Nor should we ever think that believing means finding facile and comforting solutions. The faith Christ taught us is what we see in St Joseph. He did not look for shortcuts, but confronted reality with open eyes and accepted personal responsibility for it.”
V. A CREATIVELY COURAGEOUS FATHER “God always finds a way to save us, provided we show the same creative courage as the carpenter of Nazareth, who was able to turn a problem into a possibility by trusting always in divine providence.” “The Holy Family had to face concrete problems like every other family, like so many of our migrant brothers and sisters who, today too, risk their lives to escape misfortune and hunger. In this regard I consider Saint Joseph the special patron of all those forced to leave their native lands because of war, hatred, persecution and poverty.” “In his continued protection of the Church, Joseph continues to protect the child and his mother, and we too, by our love for the Church, continue to love the child and his mother.”
VI. A WORKING FATHER “Saint Joseph was a carpenter who earned an honest living to provide for his family. From him, Jesus learned the value, the dignity and the joy of what it means to eat bread that is the fruit of one’s own labour.” “Work is a means of participating in the work of salvation, an opportunity
to hasten the coming of the Kingdom, to develop our talents and abilities, and to put them at the service of society and fraternal communion. It becomes an opportunity for the fulfilment not only of oneself, but also of that primary cell of society which is the family.” “St Joseph’s work reminds us that God himself, in becoming man, did not disdain work. The loss of employment that affects so many of our brothers and sisters, and has increased as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, should serve as a summons to review our priorities.”
VII. A FATHER IN THE SHADOWS “Fathers are not born, but made. A man does not become a father simply by bringing a child into the world, but by taking up the responsibility to care for that child. Whenever a man accepts responsibility for the life of another, in some way he becomes a father to that person. Children today often seem orphans, lacking fathers.” “Being a father entails introducing children to life and reality. Not holding them back, being overprotective or possessive, but rather making them capable of deciding for themselves, enjoying freedom and exploring new possibilities. Perhaps for this reason, Joseph is traditionally called a ‘most chaste’ father. That title is not simply a sign of affection, but the summation of an attitude that is the opposite of possessiveness. Chastity is freedom from possessiveness in every sphere of one’s life. Only when love is chaste, is it truly love.”
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Obituaries
The
Carpenter
LET US PRAY FOR OUR DEAD
and the
Recently deceased Mill Hill Missionaries
Staircase The State of New Mexico to this day has a fascinating mix of NativeAmerican, Spanish-Mexican, and ‘Anglo/European’ influences. New Mexico was for centuries part of Mexico. Many ‘Missions’ were established with their distinctive ‘adobe’ architecture, and many of the Native-Americans became Christian, while preserving many of their own traditions and customs. However, there was a lack of priests – and for centuries a kind of ‘folk-Catholicism’ flourished, with men in particular taking the lead in preserving the Faith. A fascinating picture of life in New Mexico up to the 19th century is given in the famous novel by Willa Cather, Death Comes to the Archbishop. The Bishop in question was the Frenchman Jean Baptiste Lamy, Bishop of Santa Fe. It was Bishop Lamy who commissioned the building of a convent Chapel for the Sisters of Loretto, to be named the Chapel of Our Lady of Light. He chose a French architect who drew up a Gothic Revival plan, and imported materials from France. The architect died suddenly before the chapel was completed, and when it was it was realised there was no stairway to the choir loft. To build an ordinary staircase in the restricted space available would have ruined the fine proportions in the building. In
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other churches of the time there was simply a step-ladder to the choir-loft, but this wouldn’t do for the Sisters’ long robes. The Sisters began a Novena to St. Joseph for a solution. At the end of the nine days a shabby-looking stranger appeared at their door and said he would build a suitable staircase, but that he wanted to do it in without being observed, and it would take about three months. After three months the work was completed, and the carpenter disappeared without being paid. The spiral staircase he had constructed was made of non-native wood, with no nails used, and seemingly without support. It rises twenty feet, making two complete revolutions. Subsequently it was thought the carpenter must have been St. Joseph. Today the chapel and its staircase is visited by thousands who can admire the architecture, the stained glass, and the ‘miraculous’ staircase.
Fr Caspar Rietbergen Brother John de Groot Fr Nico Schipper Fr Bill McAvoy Fr Walter Stifter
Recently Deceased Friends and Benefactors Archbishop Philip Tartaglia Bishop Vincent Logan Fr Brendan Healy Miss M. Mullen Irene Harris (Formby, Merseyside) Frank Doran (Merseyside) Pauline Pocock (Bootle) Mrs June Barton (Preston) Mr Pat Harris (Wallington)
Fr Bill McAvoy dies in Philippines, aged 91 Fr Bill was born in Bathgate, and
was ordained a MHM in 1957. He was appointed to Uganda where he taught in the Seminary until 1970. After some further studies in London he was appointed to Kenya where again he worked in the Seminary, was involved in education, and coordinated the Diocesan Religious Education programme. In 1994 he was appointed to the Philippines where he spent the rest of his long life. He was involved in education and various pastoral activities, and in particular as chaplain to the local Mensa Domini Sisters. His quiet, unassuming and generous presence touched and changed many lives. In his last days he was lovingly cared for by the Sisters and his good friend Dr Erispe.
Silver Circle Winners September ‘20 332 Quigley
£25 111 Mary Hughes
£15 117 John Gallagher £10
October ‘20 359 David Orr £25 335 Mr McInnes
£15 102 Ann Armstrong £10
January
£15 360 Leonard
‘21
Williams
£25 125 Stadilius
£10
Congratulations to them all. Many thanks to all who support the Silver Circle. Your help is greatly appreciated, and contributes to supporting our missionary work.
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St. Joseph’s House, 30 Lourdes Avenue, Cardonald, Glasgow G52 3QU. Tel: 0141 883 0139. Email: tollanmhm@yahoo.co.uk Registered Charity Number: SCO39809
A PRAYER TO BE ABLE TO DREAM “Grant to all of us the ability to dream, that when we dream great things, we might draw near to the dream of God, the things God dreams about us. May he give young people (because he was young) the capacity to dream, to risk, to undertake the difficult tasks they have seen in dreams. And I ask him to give to all of us the faithfulness that tends to grow when we have a just attitude – Joseph was just – the faithfulness that grows in silence, with few words; that grows in tenderness, that guards our own weaknesses and those of others.” Pope Francis in a homily for the Feast of St Joseph 2020
Visit our website to learn more about the work of the MHM’s
www.millhillmissionaries.co.uk