Bro. Reegan J. Ledet, SDB
(Los Angeles, California) – I want to share a little about my experience with St. André Bessette with you, my Salesian Family. This past December, I had the opportunity to visit Canada for a vocation conference with the Eastern Province in Ottawa. This happened to coincide with our Christmas break. With that said, I have been waiting to make a pilgrimage to St. Joseph’s Oratory and to visit a good saintly friend of mine, St. André Bessette, a French-Canadian Brother of the Holy Cross.
One may ask, why? Brother André has been influential in my discernment and vocation to religious life, and St. Joseph, not only being the patron saint of Salesian Coadjutor Brothers, is also my baptismal patron. I wanted to offer my next stage of initial formation to Jesus through the intercession of my patron, St. Joseph, and to ask Brother André to pray for me as I continue to understand my vocation as a Salesian Brother.
Once I arrived at St. Joseph’s Oratory, I was immediately overcome with emotion and a sense of belonging. This sense of belonging was not only to the Universal Church through the prayers of St. Joseph, but also a validation of the calling God has given me to live as a Salesian Coadjutor. While hiking up the beautiful hill to the Basilica, I was reminded of the many brothers who have impacted my relationship with Jesus: the Marianist Brothers who taught and coached me in high school—Brother Al SM, Brother Hugh SM, and Brother Louis SM—and the many Salesian Brothers who have exemplified what Salesian life is all about, including Brother John Rasor SDB and Brother Pat Maloney SDB, who lived with me during the Novitiate.
As I was in the museum section of the Oratory, which shared the life of St. André, I recognized the need for healing in the world and dedication to St. Joseph. I share this with you, my Salesian Family, to express that through St. Joseph, so many things are possible. St. Joseph learned his vocation through his action and contemplation as foster father, protector, and lover of the Holy Family. Our own vocation is also a testament to this. I ask each of you to spend a moment today to thank God, through Mary and Joseph, for our vocation and for God’s love in our lives.