Joe Wilson

I recently learned of Joe Wilson. Never heard of him? No reason you should have since, like the overwhelming number of saints, he seems to have lived a quiet life, humbly pursuing communion with God and loving people in small, simple ways. And that is why I love the cut of his jib. He only lived to be 17 due to a heart condition. There are millions of quiet souls like this kid, who ripen for Heaven with amazing speed under the secret tutelage of saints and are welcomed into the Beatific Vision long before the rest of us. This, not the roided up fake manliness of the tedious Warrior Christian the MAGA Cult roars about, is the kind of man we need.

Here’s a little quote from the Joe Wilson Association page over on the Book of Face:

In one diary entry, Joe wrote:

“I read about St Thérèse and her ‘little way’. I would like to try to live like her when I go to the cinema tonight.”

It might seem like a passing line, but in that simple sentence is the whole heart of Joe’s faith. He had read about St Thérèse of Lisieux — the young Carmelite nun who taught that holiness isn’t about grand gestures, but about doing small things with great love, quietly and faithfully. Joe took that to heart.

Joe had travelled to Lisieux and visited her childhood home. He was amazed to see a Saint’s bedroom and to learn how extraordinary her love became through the smallest acts.

Joe lived her “little way” not by quoting saints or showing off his piety, but by always looking out for those on the edges — the quiet ones, the overlooked, the poor, the awkward, the lonely. In every room, he gravitated not to the centre, but to the margins.

Even something as ordinary as a trip to the cinema became, for Joe, an opportunity to live out that love: who he invited, where he sat, how he treated the staff, the way he noticed someone who’d otherwise go unseen. This quote from his diary showed he lived his faith purposely, intentionally.

For young men today, Joe’s life is a powerful reminder: you don’t need a platform or a pulpit to live like a saint. You need eyes to see who’s hurting, the humility to step aside, and the courage to love quietly in the ordinary of every day life.

Joe lived the “little way” — and in doing so, he lived the Gospel.