Gift of prayer - Saint Andre Bessette:

Saint Andre Bessette of Montreal was a French Canadian lay brother of the Congregation of the Holy Cross. He lived during the period 1845-1937 and became renowned for his gift of healing and devotion to Saint Joseph. Thousands of miraculous healings were attributed to him though he would always re-iterate that it was St. Joseph who healed them. He served as a porter at the Notre Dame College in Quebec and carried our additional duties of sacristan, laundry worker and messenger. Today we look at one of the gifts that he was blessed with – the gift of prayer.

Every moment that he was not taken up by work he would give it to prayer. Often, he would earnestly beg one of the Brothers to take his place at the door so that he could make an hour of adoration. After daily Holy Mass and Communion too he would linger on in prayer for nearly an hour. Since all the Brothers knew of his strong desire to spend hours in prayer they would agree to take his place at the door with a warning not to be in prayer for too long.

Once a new Brother who was not aware of his ways agreed to take his place at the door so that he could make his hour of adoration. But the poor Brother soon realised that Saint Andre was long gone. Wondering where he might be, the Brother went looking for him in the Chapel. He found him in deep prayer on his knees before the altar. Reluctantly, he whispered, “Brother you have been praying for two hours. Surely that is enough” to which Saint Andre looked up and pleaded “just five more minutes”!!

Again after fifteen minutes when Saint Andre did not turn up, the Brother went to the Chapel and again whispered “But Brother, listen, I must go to my classes now.” This time Saint Andre stood up and apologised for the extra time he took but with shining eyes and heart full of happiness after spending hours with the Lord he returned to his duties.

When he was asked how he managed to pray for so long, he would reply “When I am tired of being on my knees I stand up, and when I am tired of standing, I get back on my knees.”

Praying is indeed a gift from God and staying in prayer for hours is surely a gift to cherish. Our Lord Jesus Himself spent hours in regular prayer and at times prayed the whole night. This is inspite of Him being the Son of God. The life stories of most of the Saints reveal a keen desire to spend time in prayer and in the company of God which contributed to their holiness. As Saint Josemaria Escriva said “A saint, without prayer? I don’t believe in such sanctity.”