Be Weird, Catholics, by Casey Chalk

Did you miss it? I almost did. It’s not even a feast day the Church actively celebrates as part of the liturgical calendar. I’m talking, of course, about the feast day of St. Joseph of Cupertino, which technically is on September 18, though, per the USCCB website, it is simply listed as the “Thursday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time.”

Though I’ve been a Catholic for 15 years, I confess the only reason I first learned about St. Joseph of Cupertino was because of the children’s book by Tomie de Paola—The Little Friar Who Flew. It’s an endearing story about an innocent, if somewhat hapless, 17th-century Italian friar named Joseph who starts flying all over the place, much to the consternation of his fellow brothers who are almost more annoyed than amazed by his sudden airborne abilities. ….