Companion of our ancestors

“Work ennobles man”, goes the saying, but, we immediately add, “it can enslave him and reduce him to slavery”. With this wisdom in mind, the Assemblée des évêques catholiques du Québec is sounding the alarm on the current food crisis. In a beautiful message that I invite you to read, our bishops invite us to pay attention to the current food crisis, to analyze the situation in the light of the Gospel, and to consider various courses of action so that everyone can eat their fill.

It is recounted that during his expedition to the Hurons in 1615, Samuel de Champlain was accompanied by the Franciscan Recollet, Father Joseph Le Caron, who celebrated the first mass in Huron country on August 12, 1615 and named this first mission, at Quienonascaran, after Saint Joseph. In 1624 (around July 16 through August 15), Father Le Caron entrusted this new colony to the care of Saint Joseph as he wrote in his memoirs: “Sixteen hundred and twenty-four, we made a great solemnity…, by a vow we made to Saint Joseph whom we chose as the patron saint of the country and protector of this nascent Church.” (Annales de Saint Joseph, 13ème Année, Janvier 1924, p. 11).

Brother André, a listening heart. A man of prayer and great simplicity, he embodied John the Baptist’s words to Jesus: “He must increase but I must decrease” (Jn 3:30). His reputation as a miracle worker and saint spread quickly. Yet the humble religious man never even sought recognition, let alone glory. He never stopped calling himself “the instrument of Saint Joseph,” his companion in spiritual life.