St. Joseph of Cupertino (September 18) — From Dom Guéranger’s Liturgical Year

A meditation for the Feast of the St. Joseph of Cupertino, from Dom Guéranger’s “The Liturgical Year”, Volume V of the Time after Pentecost.St. Joseph of Cupertino was an Italian Franciscan friar renowned for his profound humility, simplicity, and extraordinary mystical graces. Born in Cupertino in 1603, he endured poverty and difficulties in his youth before eventually being received into the Conventual Franciscan Order. He became particularly famous for his frequent ecstasies and miraculous levitations, especially when contemplating sacred subjects, and was sometimes unable to remain on the ground during Mass or other acts of devotion. Despite these extraordinary phenomena, St. Joseph considered himself a poor and unworthy sinner and sought to obey his superiors with great humility. He had a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Holy Eucharist, and his life was marked by prayer, penance, charity, and a childlike trust in God. He died in Osimo in 1663 and was canonized by Pope Clement XIII in 1767. He is traditionally invoked by students, particularly those facing examinations, because of the difficulties he himself experienced in his studies.Please note that Servant of God Dom Prosper Guéranger went to his eternal reward in 1875; at this point, Volumes I-IX (Advent to Pentecost Saturday) had been completed, but Volumes X-XV (Trinity Sunday to Advent) had not yet been completed. Thus, the remaining readings of the Liturgical Year, from Trinity Sunday until Advent, were not directly authored by Dom Prosper, but were the work of his disciple Dom Lucien Fromage. Dom Prosper Guéranger's The Liturgical Year, a monumental fifteen-volume work, offers a comprehensive exploration of the Catholic Church’s liturgical calendar, guiding readers through the spiritual and historical richness of the Church’s worship. Written in the 19th century, the series provides daily meditations, historical context, and liturgical texts for the Mass and Divine Office, covering the entire cycle of seasons—Advent, Christmas, Lent, Passiontide, Easter, and the Time after Pentecost—as well as feast days of saints. Guéranger’s work, rooted in a deep contemplative spirit, aims to immerse the faithful in the Church’s prayerful life, emphasizing the unity of faith through the axiom lex orandi, lex credendi ("the law of prayer is the law of belief"), and remains a cherished resource for Catholics seeking to deepen their spiritual lives. Dom Prosper Guéranger (1805–1875) was a French Benedictine monk, liturgical scholar, and founder of the Solesmes Abbey, renowned for his pivotal role in reviving the Benedictine Order in France and restoring the Roman liturgy after the disruptions of the French Revolution. Born in Sablé-sur-Sarthe, he entered the priesthood in 1827 and, inspired by a vision to restore monastic life, reestablished the Benedictine community at Solesmes in 1833, becoming its first abbot. A staunch defender of ultramontanism and traditional Catholic worship, he also championed the revival of Gregorian chant, significantly influencing the liturgical renewal movement.Link to the Dom Guéranger's Liturgical Year playlist (updated daily): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZKdyYnV_bkh7rH6piW0ShgsdcefFoOvJIf you would like to support this channel:  Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/InprincipioPodcast PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=U5EZ9X2CE2V7W Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/InPrincipioPodcast Zelle: inprincipiopodcast@gmail.com; or search for Zelle tag “inprincipiopodcast”  Checks may be written out to ‘InPrincipio Podcast’ and mailed to: P.O. Box 117 Cedar Ridge, CA 95924Sincere thanks to all who are able to contribute, by your prayers, your patronage, or otherwise. Your support sustains this work and helps make these readings available to others.Artwork: “A Miracle of Saint Joseph of Cupertino” by Placido Costanzi c.1750