Need some prayers to help you through your finals?

Call on St. Joseph of Cupertino!  St. Joseph Cupertino is a patron saint of students and those travelling by air.  Why is St. Joseph Cupertino a patron saint of students?  Well, he was not so good at studies and only by the grace of God did he pass an examination by his bishop.  When he was studying for the diaconate and priesthood he was supposed to be able to expound on many passages in the Gospels, but he was only able to expound on one verse from the Gospel of St. Luke, "Blessed is the womb that bore you." Here is the recounting of the story from EWTN:

"...for the diaconate and the priesthood a special examination had to be passed, in presence of the bishop himself. As a matter of form, but with no hope of success, Joseph was sent up to meet his fate. The bishop opened the New Testament at haphazard; his eye fell upon the text "Beatus venter qui te portavit [Blessed is the womb that bore you]," and he asked Joseph to discourse upon it. To the surprise of everyone present Joseph began, and it seemed as if he would never end; he might have been a Master in Theology lost in a favorite theme. There could be no question about his being given the diaconate."

Why is St. Joseph Cupertino a patron saint of those travelling by air?  St. Joseph Cupertino was a mystic and very often had experiences of levitation.

St. Joseph Cupertino was incredibly humble.  One phrase that I love from EWTN's account of his life is this: "Joseph's absent-mindedness, from his childhood upwards, had not been only a natural weakness, it was due, in great part, to a wonderful gift of seeing God and the supernatural in everything about him, and he would become lost in the wonder of it all. "  St. Joseph Cupertino saw beauty in all of God's creation and would get so caught up in awe that he would go into ecstasy. He saw beauty in ordinary things.  If only we would all do the same - to be in utter awe at what we usually see as completely ordinary such as a bird flying by, a cloud lingering in the sky, a flower blooming or the face of a friend.

So as you students continue to take your final exams this week, don't forget to ask St. Joseph Cupertino to pray for you!  Study well and may the things you've studied be what is asked on the exam, just as in St. Joseph Cupertino's case!