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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250617
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UID:13576-1750118400-1750204799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Blessed Joseph Cassant
DESCRIPTION:BLESSED MARIE JOSEPH CASSANT \nFrom an article by Fr Bernardo Bonowitz3 \n◊◊◊ \nJoseph Cassant was born on March 6\, 1878 in the southern French town \nof Casseneuil\, the younger son of Pierre and Marie Cassant… Whereas Joseph’s \nelder brother\, Emile\, was clearly marked out to continue his father’s agricultural \nwork\, Joseph’s single ambition was to be a priest. \nJoseph’s devotion to the Eucharist drew the attention of the pastor\, who \ntook him in and began to direct his studies toward seminary. However it soon \nbecame apparent that Joseph’s talent did not lay in academic studies. The \npastor then directed his interests toward the Trappist life\, thinking that \nacademics would not be of such importance there. The pastor took Joseph into \nthe rectory and established a Trappist way of life there for the two of them. \nPriest and teenager arose every night at two a.m. They celebrated the whole \nTrappist horarium including the whole Divine Office\, manual labor\, a rigorous \nsilence and kept to a vegetarian diet. \nJoseph entered the Trappist Abbey of Sainte Marie du Desert\, near \nToulouse at the age of sixteen. The novice was captivated by the Novice Master\, \nFr. Andre Malet. He was well equipped to help the novice overcome his natural \ntendencies to scrupulosity and discouragement. Instead of putting the emphasis \non Trappist asceticism and penance… he led Joseph to an emphasis on love\, \nthus bringing him to a spirit of peace rather than turbulence. He fought to give \nhimself in complete confidence in Jesus\, rather than succumbing to paralyzing \nanxiety… With the help of his director\, Fr Andre\, he sought to live as much as \npossible within the Sacred Heart of Jesus\, seeking to make Christ’s inner \nattitudes his own. \nHis greatest challenge was the studies\, as his pastor had originally \nexpected. It was during his time of studies that Joseph first showed ill health. \nHe suffered from migraine headaches and other difficulties… As he prepared for \nthe priesthood\, he started to show the classic symptoms of tuberculosis. But his \nfirm conviction was that God’s will was that he not complain. He was ordained a \npriest on October 12\, 1902. By this time\, everyone was aware that Joseph’s \nordination was a participation in the death of Jesus… But suffering was an art \nthat Cassant knew well because of his love of Jesus… In the early morning of \nJune 17\, 1903\, as Fr. Andre was celebrating Mass for his friend’s intentions\, \nJoseph went to the Lord. \nWe might ask: what does Joseph Cassant have to offer us today? First of \nall\, he instructs us. A man of little intellectual capacity and a very ordinary \nexperience of prayer\, Cassant is nonetheless a theologian of the monastic life. \nHe saw\, and makes us see\, that the personal relation with Jesus is the heart of \nChristian monasticism. He understood that the central monastic practices – \nobedience\, silence and humility – are Christological realities\, expressions of \nChrist’s Sonship and means of our conformity to Christ… \nTrappist vocation is a lifelong process of healing. Joseph Cassant is a \nmonk who was healed\, and Fr Malet by betting on and developing the \nessentially healthy aspect of Joseph was the instrument of the cure. Finally\, \nCassant challenges us. The tools that he brought to the monastery were few but \nindispensable: a good and upright will\, with a consistent practice of fidelity and \ngenerosity\, an interior and exterior obedience to the formation offered by his \nsuperiors. He staked his spiritual destiny on the sanctifying power of the \nconversatio and was sanctified by it. \n3 Cist. Studies Quarterly = vol. 39.1 2004 – pg 67.7
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-blessed-joseph-cassant/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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