Two important saints for this day: St. Juan Macias and St. Joseph Cupertino.

S. Juan Masias

S. John Macias, feast September 18. Years ago I sent to Rome for first class relics of St. John, St. Martin, and St. Rose, all mystics and humble lay saints from Lima, Peru, each devoted to the Infant Jesus. I waited months and months without hearing a word; I had also sent a generous donation, so I half expected some sort of acknowledgement. Nothing came. Then after praying to St. John I had a dream one night. In it he showed me the nuns who assemble relics in Rome, and let me know the relics were being prepared and would be sent to me shortly. A few days later, the relics arrived from the same convent of nuns I had seen in the dream.

S. Joseph Cupertino

When I lived in Assisi I was permitted to make an 8 day retreat in the solitude of his newly renovated apartments at the Sacred Convent. It was in these apartments that St. Joseph had been 'imprisoned' because of the extraordinary mystical phenomena that surrounded him. He was kept in solitude to keep him away from the curious who flocked to him because of the gift of levitation, for which he is best known. I had a friar who acted as my 'Martha" in the solitude of my retreat, bringing me food and drink and celebrating Mass for me in the saint's oratory. It was a memorable experience for my life. Immediately afterwards, on the feast of the Stigmata, I was professed in the third order of St. Francis at the tomb of our Holy Father in the crypt of the Basilica.