May 1st is Religious Brothers Day! — Oblates of St. Francis de Sales

In 2021, I was both honored and humbled to be invited to deliver the keynote address for the Annual Religious Brothers Conference. It was a virtual event rather than a live one due to Covid restrictions, which was fine with me because I didn’t have to travel and get all dressed up. The theme I was given to muse on was “Brotherhood in the 21st Century,” which inspired a whole new series of images of my favorite Brother saints from across the ages and cultures of Church history. Each of these holy Brothers in his own way has inspired me over the years to creatively be who I am, perfectly well. I would love to share a few of them with you on this 2023 Religious Brothers Day. But first, let us look at a more recent image of Jesus, the Big Brother of all Brothers.

JESUS THE GARDENER In recent years, one of my favorite images of Jesus is inspired by the Easter story in John’s Gospel wherein Mary Magdalene approaches the empty tomb on Easter morning and mistakenly thinks Jesus is the humble gardener- not a high priest or bishop, nor a chief rabbi or pope, but a simple gardener! A humble Brother laborer! A creator of life in all its glorious color! Whether it’s Gethsemane or the Garden of the Resurrection, we are called to be there for and with each other, walking in the Garden of Life and creating glimpses of heaven on Earth.

SAINT JOSEPH THE WORKER May 1 was established as the Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker to create a Christian alternative to May Day, the day established by the Communists to celebrate the common worker. Dorothy Day, who had great devotion to Saint Joseph, used this feast day to launch the Catholic Worker newspaper in New York City. While the Communists were holding their big rally in Union Square, she and her fellow workers were distributing copies of the newspaper as a way to present Catholic Social Teaching to the hungry, jobless masses in the midst of the Great Depression.

SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI Like Jesus the Gardener, Francis was interested in nothing more than celebrating the life-giving beauty of all creation and all creatures. He even called the sun his Brother, and his sister the moon. At the very heart of Franciscan Spirituality was, and still is, the importance of living life in humility, simplicity and goodness, all the goals of a good religious Brother! Because Francis never desired elevated status or privilege of any kind, he remained an unordained Brother, a simple friar who discovered the holy presence of God in all things and all people.

SAINT MARTIN DE PORRES With all due respect to Dominic, Catherine and Thomas Aquinas, I must admit that Brother Martin is my favorite Dominican Saint. Rising above the racist and clerical teachings and practices of the Catholic Church in his day, Martin evolved out of the margins with mature and self-confident spirituality to become not only a model of gentleness and compassion in his own day but also what he is today: the Patron Saint of Race Relations; Biracial People; Public Health Workers; Hairdressers and Barbers; and Veterinarians! He did it all by simply being himself perfectly well.

BLESSED FRA ANGELICO Giovanni de Fiesole earned the nickname “Fra Angelico” because of his sweet and gentle nature. Not only was he a most impressive Dominican Brother, but was one of the great master painters of the Italian Renaissance. The walls of his home at San Marco Priory in Florence are adorned with beautiful frescoes illustrating the lives of Jesus, Mary and the saints. These frescoes were created to inspire the prayers and meditations of his fellow Dominican friars and community mates and they still do that for visitors today. Go to Florence and see for yourself!

A CLOSING THOUGHT FROM POPE FRANCIS In these modern times of declining numbers of Brothers, sisters and priests in religious life, it is good to recall that each of these saintly Brothers also lived in challenging times of reform and division, but each one did joyfully what he was called to do and each one was the person he was called to be: hard-working and devoted; generous and compassionate; active and contemplative men of their times and timeless messengers of the Gospel. Let us follow their lead in our own unique way today.

Happy National Brothers Day!

Brother Mickey McGrath, OSFS

Salesian Artist

Camden, NJ

*Brother Mickey's books, prayer starters, Christmas Cards and Calendars are available at Clear Faith Publishing. Brother Mickey's images can be purchased at Trinity Stores.

DeSales Weekly, news