Brother André Bessette joked, “My superiors showed me the door and I stayed there,” and, “I was at the door forty years without going out.” According to the Holy Cross constitutions of the time, the porter lived, ate and prayed somewhat separately from the community, near the entrance. Brother André’s first room had a roughly upholstered bench for a bed, a wardrobe, a pitcher and a bowl. Only a crucifix and an image of Saint Joseph hung on the walls. …. Speaking later in life of all his responsibilities, Brother André said, “I never refused to do what was asked of me. I always answered, ‘Yes,’ and I finished at night what I couldn’t do in the day.” Many nights he got little sleep but still rose early in the morning to start his round of work all over again. In light of all these jobs, Brother André once said, “A good-for-nothing is good for everything.”
— from the book God’s Doorkeepers: Padre Pio, Solanus Casey and André Bessette
