SAINT FEAST DAY 16 MARCH: BL. JOSE GABRIEL DEL ROSARIO BROCHERO

BLESSED JOSE GABRIEL DEL ROSARIO BROCHERO

“THERE’LL BE TROUBLE IF THE DEVIL ROBS ME OF A SINGLE SOUL.”

In September a Beatification Mass took place to give the Church its newest Blessed. This new Blessed, Jose Gabriel del Rosario Brochero, is known as ‘the Gaucho Priest’ who travelled around on a mule. Blessed Jose was born in 1840 in Argentinia and was ordained a priest at the age of 26.

A VERY LARGE MOUNTAINOUS PARISH

He was given a very large mountainous parish to look after, which contained about 10,000 impoverished parishioners. Blessed Jose travelled on the back of a mule to bring the Gospel of Jesus and the sacraments to his people. When he visited families in his vast parish they said it was ‘like getting a visit from Jesus’. Blessed Jose would bring with him and image of the Virgin Mary and a prayer book. While explaining the Faith he would ‘speak in a way that everyone understood because he spoke from his own heart.’

WELL KNOWN FOR HIS CARE OF THE SICK

Blessed Jose was well known for his care of the sick and the dying, particularly during a cholera epidemic in 1867. After very many years of this exhausting lifestyle Blessed Jose caught leprosy, but he was faithful to the end celebrating daily Mass even as a blind leper. In an article in a newspaper in 1887 it was said of Blessed Jose that ‘He practised the Gospel. Are you missing a carpenter? He’s a carpenter. Are you missing a labourer? He’s a labourer.’

APOSTOLIC COURAGE

Pope Francis said of Blessed Jose: ‘His apostolic courage, his missionary zeal, the bravery of his heart, compassionate like the heart of Jesus – that made him say: ‘There’ll be trouble if the devil robs me of a single soul’ – spurred Jose to win over crooks and difficult fellow countrymen to God. One can count by the thousands of men and women who, thanks to Jose’s priestly ministry, gave up their vices and quarrels…

Jose was an ordinary man, frail like the rest of us, but he knew the love of Jesus, his heart forged by God’s mercy. He was able to come out from the cavern of ‘I-me-my-with me-for me’, of the small-minded selfishness from which we all suffer.'

From: Spiritual Thought from Fr Chris

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Blessed Jose may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

WELCOME

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