Feast of St. Joseph of Cupertino was celebrated on 17th September. He is the patron saint of air travelers, pilots and persons with learning disabilities. Born at Cupertino, in the Kingdom of Naples, in 1603, as a child, St. Joseph showed a fondness for prayer.
In his early life, it is said that his mother often considered him a nuisance and treated him harshly. Joseph was slow to learn and absent-minded. It is said that he frequently wandered aimlessly, with his mouth gaping open. In Addition to this, he had a bad temper. So, he was not at all popular. He tried to learn the trade of shoemaking, but failed. He asked to become a Franciscan, but they initially would not accept him. Finally he joined the Capuchins, for a very short period of time. Eight months later, they sent him away. Sources say it was because he could not seem to do anything right.
He dropped piles of dishes and kept forgetting to do what he was told. His mother was not at all pleased to have the eighteen-year-old Joseph back home again, so she finally got him accepted as a servant at the Franciscan monastery. He was given the friars habit and put to hard work taking care of the horses. Then he joined the Franciscan Friars Minor Conventual where he began studying for the priesthood.
After his ordination to the holy priesthood, he gave himself up entirely to a life of devotion to the Lord and his church. His deep devotional life led him to the kind of holiness which was forged through humility, voluntary mortification and obedience. He consecrated himself to the Blessed Virgin Mary and promoted devotion to her among all classes of people as wonderful path to a deeper Christian life and love for Jesus Christ. Joseph began to change and grow in humility and gentleness. He became more careful and successful at his work. He also began to pray more and do more voluntary acts of penance.
Although he was a good and holy friar, he had a very hard time with studies. During his seminary exams, the examiner happened to ask him to explain the only thing he knew well, and so he was ordained a deacon, and later a priest.
After his ordination, the Holy Spirit began to work many amazing miracles through St. Joseph. The life of St. Joseph was marked by ecstasies and levitations. Over seventy times, people say they saw him rise from the ground while offering mass or praying. Once as Christmas carols were being sung, he soared to the high altar and knelt in the air, rapted in prayer. On another occasion he ferried a cross thirty-six feet high through the air to the top of a Calvary group. Often he went into ecstasy and would be caught up in talking with God. He fell so deeply in love with God that everything he saw only drew him into a deeper union. He said that all the troubles of this world were nothing but the “play” battles children have with popguns.
The people flocked to him in droves seeking help and advice in the confessional, and he converted many to a truly Christian life. However, this humble man had to endure many severe trials and terrible temptations throughout his life. He died on September 18, 1663. Pope Clement XIII canonized him in 1767.
