Is there such a vocation as idiot for God?

[Nom_the_Wise]

…and I don’t mean to imply that you *weren’t *being nice, Marauder. Just an expression.

 

[Marauder]

I
But let’s be nice; according to sources, his IQ actually *wasn’t *high. I read that he only was able to enter the Franciscans because they had an oral exam (I think?!?) and they asked him one (1) question and it just happened to be the only question that the knew (I have a biography around here somewhere–if needed I can produce a quote).

I never said his IQ was high, just that he wasn’t an idiot. Saying someone is an idiot implies certain other things as well. Your remembrance of his history is correct. People sought him out for his advice, to see his miracles, etc.

I hear a lot about him because my fraternity meets at the St. Joseph Cupertino friary (AKA Shrine of Saint Anthony.) Needless to say we hear a lot about St. Joseph Cupertino, St. Anthony, St. Clare, and St. Francis.

Here are some good links for him:
Entire book St. Joseph of Cupertino by Rev. Angelo Pastrovichicchi, OMC

ST. JOSEPH OF CUPERTINO: THE DUNCE—1603-1663 - EWTN

 

[Nom_the_Wise]

Here are some good links for him:
Entire book St. Joseph of Cupertino by Rev. Angelo Pastrovichicchi, OMC

ST. JOSEPH OF CUPERTINO: THE DUNCE—1603-1663 - EWTN

Whoah! Thanks! I think I recognize this book.

 

[Monica4316]

You might be interested in Saints like St Philip Neri or those who had to deal with much criticism, like St Bernadette:

Bernadette professed on October 30th, 1867 with the name of Sister Marie Bernard. She was 23 years old. The happiness of this moment, however, was stained by cruel humiliation. When time came to distribute the newly professed sisters their work, Mother Superior responded to the Bishop’s question: “What about Sister Marie Bernard?” “O Bishop, we do not know what to do. She is good for nothing. If you desire, Bishop, we can try to use her as a helper in the infirmary.” The Bishop agreed. Sister Marie Bernard received the pain of this humiliation in her heart without any complaints or tears, she simply accepted the chalice.

She had to go through many tribulations; big and small humiliations bombarded her. She said: “When my emotions are too strong, I remember the words of Our Lord: ‘It is I, don’t be afraid.’ I immediately appreciate and thank Our Lord for this grace of rejections and humiliations from my Superiors and sisters. It is the love of this Good Master who would remove the roots from this tree of pride. The more little I become, the more I grow in the Heart of Jesus.” Source: piercedhearts.org/theology_heart/life_saints/bernadette.htm

Here’s a bit about St Philip Neri:

Humility was the most important virtue he tried to teach others and to learn himself. Some of his lessons in humility seem cruel, but they were tinged with humor like practical jokes and were related with gratitude by the people they helped. His lessons always seem to be tailored directly to what the person needed. One member who was later to become a cardinal was too serious and so Philip had him sing the Misere at a wedding breakfast. When one priest gave a beautiful sermon, Philip ordered him to give the same sermon six times in a row so people would think he only had one sermon.

Philip preferred spiritual mortification to physical mortification. When one man asked Philip if he could wear a hair shirt, Philip gave him permission – if he wore the hair shirt outside his clothes! The man obeyed and found humility in the jokes and name-calling he received.

There were unexpected benefits to his lessons in humility. Another member, Baronius, wanted to speak at the meetings about hellfire and eternal punishment. Philip commanded him instead to speak of church history. For 27 years Baronius spoke to the Oratory about church history. At the end of that time he published his talks as a widely respected and universally praised books on ecclesiastical history!

Philip did not escape this spiritual mortification himself. As with others, his own humbling held humor. There are stories of him wearing ridiculous clothes or walking around with half his beard shaved off. The greater his reputation for holiness the sillier he wanted to seem. When some people came from Poland to see the great saint, they found him listening to another priest read to him from joke books.

Philip was very serious about prayer, spending hours in prayer. He was so easily carried away that he refused to preach in public and could not celebrate Mass with others around. But he when asked how to pray his answer was, “Be humble and obedient and the Holy Spirit will teach you.”

catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=97

I think it’s good to realize that a lot of these things are oriented to teach us greater humility. They must be done humbly and lead to more humility. It might seem attractive at first, - but when you actually get into these situations, at times they might be difficult to go through as you get more and more humbled. If you feel joy about it now, that could be a grace (that’s something to discern, maybe with a good spiritual director) - but there might be a time when it would be difficult too, because thats how we grow. If this happens, eventually you might have joy in it again as you get more purified. I guess all Im saying is, keep your eyes on the spiritual benefit, and seek humility, and if God sends you any humiliations, use them to learn greater humility for His sake. Focus on Gods glory always and not your own: this is probably one of the key things whatever our vocation is :) I know there were Saints who were drawn to being humiliated for Christ, - then I guess the difficult part is actually living it out :) God can grant joy about this to encourage the person or as an indication that this is His will. It might help to get a spiritual director. In any case focus on humility and love for God first :) As for vocations, I dont know if its a separate vocation, but it could be a part of a vocation. It doesnt matter what the person`s IQ is etc, they could be intelligent.

Check out the story of Fr Solanus Casey, who was a priest but was only allowed to be the porter in his monastery, yet God worked through him to heal and help many: americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1190

Its happened many times that God used those who are weak, despised, etc in His Church and this glorifies Him cause then its obvious that it`s not just human effort.

 

[Cominghome89]

Catherine Doherty writes in some of her works about the Russian “fool for God”, one who abandons everything (literally) for the Gospel, as was said above. I think the word is urodivoi. Anyway, even the idea of this requires much careful consideration. It’s easy enough (as was also said above) to romanticize the idea, but think of day-to-day details. “Fool for God” doesn’t pay, so you literally live the life of a beggar. Whatever clothes you have, relying on the generosity of others for food, having no shelter. This is what that vocation entailed: absolute trust in God in every aspect of daily life.

This desire for the Gospel lived radically is not something you should dismiss as romantic, however. All great saints have a desire to forsake everything for God. But, we must do that in the way He wills. Consider that He may be calling you to a religious vocation, perhaps to a very extreme one. Pray, and find a trusted spiritual director (a priest, or someone you can trust with the depths of your spiritual life). This idea of vocation will grow as you grow in your prayer, and your understanding of/meditation on Jesus, especially in the Gospels.

You may also want to check out the life of St. Benedict Joseph Labre. He’s quite a powerful saint, and one that hasn’t yet been mentioned above. He entered various monasteries in France, but was seen as…hmm…too eccentric, too extreme? His desires to please God manifested themselves in powerful, and very unique, ways. He eventually left the idea of monastic life, and lived as a pilgrim saint. He lived as a beggar, made pilgrimages to the holy sites of Europe, lived as a poor fool for God, so to speak. He may be a good guide for you in this journey! May God bless and lead you to His holy will for your life.

In Christ through Mary,
Frank