"He who chooses ST. Joseph as his Patron and Protector is most fortunate. St. Joseph will protect him in this world and accompany him to the next. To be spouse of the Blessed Virgin, the true Mother of God the Saviour of the world ….. is a dignity too exalted for word".
St. Lawrence, Doctor of the Church.
By
Leena Rego 402, Pravin Apts., Sunder Nagar, Kalina, Bombay 400 098.
(Taken from Approved Sources)
The sole purpose of this publication is to make known this loving father of Jesus, Virgin Spouse of Mary, guardian of the treasures of heaven and to express deep gratitude for his timely assistance whenever called upon. Remember, St. Joseph never fails you. Go to Joseph …..
The tendency to honor the memory of illustrious men seems to spring spontaneously from one of the deepest instincts of human nature. In all the tribes and races of men, in all the varying stages of civilization, we find the effort always made to rescue the names of their great heroes from complete oblivion. Tombs and mausoleums preserve their mortal remains, monuments are erected to them, their statues are placed in our public squares, while poets enshire their memory in immortal verse. Indeed all history has been defined as but the biography of great men.
Before the admiring eyes of each generation, history unfolds the panorama of their lives, the story ancient yet ever new. To the school children of today, the names of Alexander the Great, of Hannibal, of Julius Ceaser, are almost as real and vivid as those of the great contemporaries of the day. Their names have survived the wear and tear of centuries and all the devastation of the blighting finger of time; thus does the world pay ceaseless homage to her heroes.
The Immortality of True Greatness
If we strive to hold in enduring fame the names of those illustrious men who accomplished great temporal success, or achievement of a material character, with how much greater earnestness should we enshire in the sanctuary of a deathless memory the names of those who wrought great spiritual and moral victories, the effect whose work will never die, but will gather into the granaries of heaven the ceaseless harvest of human souls? If we honour earthly heroes whose achievements frequently crumble and perish, how much more should we honour heavenly heroes, the saints of God, the influence of whose lives will continue throughout the ages to inspire the souls of men, and to guide their footsteps safety through the winding labyrinth of life? To the saints can most fittingly be applied those words of the poet Longfellow :
Were a star quench on high
For ages would its light
Still travelling downward from the sky
Shine on our mortal sight
So when a great man dies,
For years beyond our ken,
The light he leaves behind him lies,
Upon the paths of men.
On the nineteenth of March we cekebrate the feast day of one of the greatest of all the saints of God, St. Joseph. Alone, from among all the sons of men, he was singled out by the omniscient mind of the eternal Godhead who reads the hearts of men as an open book, to be the spouse of Mary and the foster-father of Jesus. How pure and holy in the sight of Almighty God must Joseph have been to have been deemed worth of so great an honor! The evangelist characterizes Joseph simply as "just man". But what volumes of praise are contained therein, when one realises that such is not simply the judgement of men but the unerring verdict of the Holy Spirit!
St. Joseph in the Gospel Story
Seldom, does Joseph appear in the pages of the Gospel story. Even on those occasions he seems to stand, as it were, in the background. We see him journeying with Mary to Bethlehem seeking in vain to find for her a place in the inns. With what great anxiety his paternal heart must have throbbed as he went tirelessly from house to house seeking lodging and the needed comforts for Mary who was with child!. We find him present in the rude stable at Bethlehem, ministering to Mary, at the birth of the Infant Jesus. With what sentiments of reverence and affection he prostrated himself - the first worshipper of all mankind - before the Incarnate God.
See Joseph again when he is awakened from his sleep by an angel saying : "Arise, and take the child and His mother, and fly into Egypt." Without a moment’s hesitation or delay, Joseph set our in the darkness of the night on that long journey into Egypt to save the life of the Infant Jesus from the designing Herod. With what infinite tenderness did he shield Mary and the Child from the dangers, fatigue and hardships of that flight!
At Nazareth
The picture which the thought of St. Joseph usually conjours up in our minds, however, is that of the saint toiling humbly as a carpenter in his obscure home at Nazareth. It was thus that he spent nearly all of his life as the spouse of Mary and the foster-father of Jesus, earning by the sweat of his brow the necessities of life for his holy family. With the devotion and love he must have cared for Mary and the Divine Child jesus, in their little cottage at Nazareth. It is thus that St. Joseph is revealed to us - toiling faithfully, day by day, at the humble trade of a carpenter, providing of the Child and His Mother. When at last his work was done he died, according to tradition, sometime before the marriage feast of Cana, in the arms of Jesus and Mary; because of the rare beauty of his death, he is invoked as the patron of a happy death.
If one cause to pauses to pass in review the whole earthly life of St. Joseph, he is able to discover therein no single gesture of grandiloquence to mar, for even an instant, the humble tenor of that simple life. The white spotlight is rarely upon him : the dramatic elements are totally lacking. There are no flourishing of the band; no tumultuous cheering crowds dog his footsteps. He walks not on the mountain top before the eyes if the world, but labours down below in the darkness and silence of the valleys, away from the gaze of the world. And yet the Church honours St. Joseph as the Patron of the Universal - after Mary the greatest among the Saints of God. And why? Because of his humility, his holiness, his love, his patience, his sacrifices and self-denial.
A Contract
When we read of Peter offering himself to the executioner to be crucified, head downward, not considering himself worth to die like his Master; or of Francis Xavier, leaving all that life holds worthwhile to go as a missionary to win souls to Christ in far-off lands, finally dying on a lonely isle in the South China Sea, with his arms outstretched to China, the land of promise which he yearned so ardently to bring to the feet of the Crucified; or when we read of Ignatius of Antioch, who, rather then deny his faith, walked bravely into the arena to be torn to pieces by wild beasts, we are thrilled with admiration. We recognize, however, that they were chosen by Almighty God to do extraordinary works, and seem more appropriate models for heroic souls than for ordinary mortals like ourselves. St. Joseph, however, did only the common everyday work of the world. He is better suited therefore, to serve as a model for the farmer in the field, the labourer in the factory, the clerk in the store, the student in the school, the father in the home - all doing the ordinary of everyday life.
The Saint of the Commonplace
St. Joseph may be said, therefore, to be the Saint of the Commonplace. He reached the heights of heroic sanctity, not by doing extraordinary things, but by doing the little ordinary duties of life supremely well. How fittingly he was chosen as the Patron of the Universal Church! Most of us are destined to do the ordinary, commonplace work of the world, humbly and obscurely. It is only the few who can scale the heights of extraordinary achievements to the accompaniment of the plaudits of admiring multitudes. But however lowly or obscure may be our lot, the life of St. Joseph teaches us that if we discharge the daily round of our simple duties supremely well, in the eyes of the Almighty God we may be placed higher thant he kings or generals or statesmen who strut their brief hour in the centre of the stage before the limelight of this world’s gaze.
In the life of St. Joseph there is found inspiration for the great toiling masses of mankind. There is offered to all of us an antidote for the false philosphy of this world which looks upon a good deed as lost unless it attracts human attention and receives the plaudits of men. From a natural point of view, the words of the poet Thomas Gray may be true, when he says :
Full many a gem if purest ray serene,
The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear:
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.
They are not true, however, from the supernatural or Christian viewpoint; for, every kindly deed, every holy thought witnessed by no human being, is seen by the all-seeing eye of God. Regardless of this world’s praise or blame, He gives to every one his just reward.
The Artist
The story is told of an old man who approached the architect in charge of the adornment of one of the great cathedrals of Europe and begged permission to do some, work. The architect wishing to get rid of him told him he could go up near the roof and carve upon one of the rafters. Day after day he laboured up there in the semi-darkness. One day he did not come down. Going up they found him lying dead upon the scaffolding, him sightless eyes turned upward.
There upon a rafter they saw the face of Christ wrought with exquisite beauty and wonderful charm. Beneath it were inscribed the word : "God at least will see and understand". Artists and architects and the great men of the earth, bared their heads as they recognized the superb master in him, whose ears were not deaf to all the words of praise.
There are times when a ray of light from a window falls upon this portion of the rafter. When it dies, the guide points out to the visitors this exquisite face as the masterpiece of the cathedral which still thrills them with its appealing beauty.
Beneath every kindly word, or holy though, or virtuous deed, done in the darkness or in the obscurity of the valley, where no human eye is witnessing, could be engraven with equal truth those words of the dead sculptor: "God at least will see and understand". And when the time of great revealing comes, and the searching white light of eternity plays upon it, that good deed will stand uncovered before the eyes of all mankind to thrill them with its Christlike beauty. Perhaps some humble peasant from the fields or lowly toiler in the factory will then be exalted above the lords of the earth, to occupy one of the highest places in Heaven. That is what the life of St. Joseph teaches us in a striking manner.
The Intercessory Power of St Joseph
Devotion to St. Joseph is a powerful means of obtaining favours, both spiritual and temporal. At the Council of Constance in 1416, when the legates of the Holy See, twenty cardinals, two hundred bishops, besides, large number of the doctors and theologians of the Church were gathered together to device the best means to stem the tide of corruption then inundating the Church, there appeared before them Gerson, the learned Chancellor of the University of Paris. He pointed out that as St. Joseph was guardian of Jesus on earth, he still remains the guardian of the Mystical Body of Jesus, which is His Church, and as his wishes were obeyed by Christ while on earth, so now, when he is in heaven, will his intercession still be granted. Gerson strongly counseled devotion to St. Joseph as the effective remedy. His counsel was accepted by all, as the counsel of one who had a mission from on high. Within a few years after the spread of this devotion throughout the Church, the schisms were heated and the troubles had all disappeared.
In practically every Catholic Church throughout the land, there is a side alter dedicated to the Spouse of Mary. Before that altar or in the solitude of one’s own home, or under the vault of the open skies, a person appear to St. Joseph for aid in life’s struggle. The assistance which thousands of the faithful have secured through their devotion to St. Joseph in the overcoming of moral difficulties is by its very nature not susceptible of external observation but can be vouched for by the introspection of the individual conscience. The attainment of moral and spiritual values and the continued growth of the soul in holiness should be the supreme objectives in the life of every human being, rather than the gaining of temporal favours, which may have no real bearing upon the attainment of the individual’s ultimate salvation, his eternal union with God in Heaven.
There are instances, however, where the attainment of a temporal good has an obvious bearing upon the moral and spiritual life of the individual. At such times recourse may well be had to prayer to supplement the individual’s efforts to attain the same through the use of natural means.
So today in all the continents under the sun and in the islands out in the sea, millions and millions of Catholics can exclaim as with a single voice : "Holy Joseph, guardian of Mary and the Infact Jesus, on that long dark journey into Egypt, guard and guide us safety in the journey across this earthly life. And when our steps falter at the journey’s end and the lengthening shadows fall, when life’s fitful fever is o’er, and the angel of death comes to close our eyes, ah! then take us by the hand and lead us across the frontier of eternity into that heavenly Nazareth, where with thee we shall see the smiling face of Mary, and feel the embrace of Jesus, the Eternal King".
(Taken from the book: "The Faith of Millions" - The Credentials of the Catholic Religion by john A. O’ Brien, Ph. D., LL.D. with Nihil Obstat : Rev. Edward A. Miller, Censor Librorum and Imprimatur: + John Francis Noll, D.D., Archbishop, Bishop of Fort Wayne).
JOSEPH - Second Greatest Saint
***** Holy Scripture proclaims the pharises of St. Joseph by calling him "just." In the early days of the Church St. John Chrysostom, one of the greatest orators, has interpreted the expression "just" applied to St. Joseph in the Gospel, as indicating the synthesis of all virtues. In studying the name of Joseph, Iselamo notices that all letters in his name pointed to the saint’s out-standing virtues : J for Justice, O for Obedience, S for Silence, E for Experience, P for Prudence, and H for Humility. *****
However, the greatest proof of the eminent sanctify of Joseph is in God’s choice of him to be the husband of Mary and the foster-father of His son.
No one doubts that the measure of a saint’s greatness is the importance of his God-given role upon earth. Therefore, with the exception of Mary, no one is greater than St. Joseph, was chosen by God Himself for the awesome threefold role : the Head of the Holy Spirit Family, the most chaste spouse of the Mother of God, and the foster-father of the Son of God.
During His earthly life, the King of Heaven was obedient to him, as was the Mother of that King. He was the chaste guardian of Mary’s virginity and divine Motherhood. He had the privilege of clasping the Christ Child to his breast before any other man, and of providing by the labour of his hands for the needs and wants of Jesus and Mary. His only aim in life was to please them.
No words can ever express the bond of love that existing in that Holy Family. Joseph’s role as the "virginal father" of the Son of God, and the "virginal spouse " of the Mother of God placed him in an intimacy with Jesus and Mary no one else ever entered. Daily, he had the privilege of beholding Jesus and Mary and working for Them. Jesus and Mary were his! There was nothing more he could want! No one on earth was ever so blessed!.
Giovanni di Cartagena tells us that Joseph was superior to all the angels and saints. He states, "The offices of the angels the guardianship of men, but the office of St. Joseph was the guardian of Jesus, the God - man and the faithful spouse of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Hence, in the office, holiness and dignity, St. Joseph surpassed all the angels and saints for none of them was entrusted with such a sublime mission."
During the 15th century, John Gerson, the chancellor of the University of Paris and one of the greatest proponents of devotion to St. Joseph, said that words failed him to extol worthily that admirable Trinity on earth – Jesus, Mary and Joseph – and that after Mary, Joseph is nearest to Jesus in Heaven, even as, after her, he was nearest to Jesus on earth. Since Jesus, Mary and Joseph are so intimately united, it is impossible to speak of one without speaking of the other two.
Father Francis L. Filas, S.J. makes this beautiful comments : "As Mary’s heart forever is world-mothering, so the heart of Joseph is world-fathering." When Holy Mother Church constituted Joseph Universal Patron and Protector, She recognized the great love the Blessed Trinity had implanted in Joseph for fathering, not only the Holy Family, but also, all God’s larger family, the Church. So this "silent" loving Father listens to all prayers addressed to him, just as he sees the needs of all the faithful from the innumerable and complicated problems confronting our Holy Father, down to the common everyday difficulties of us all.
In Genesis Chapter 41, verse 55, we are told "GO TO JOSEPH" and he will intercede for you. When Father Drumgoole, the Founder of the Mission of the Immaculate Virgin, built a house dedicated to the Immaculate Virgin for needy "boy-brothers" of the once needy Boy Jesus, he made St. Joseph his provider.
Fr. Drumgoole confided to a young student, who later became Cardinal Hayes, that Mary and Joseph were his two best friends. He explained how he called upon Joseph when the bills piled high and asked him to provide for his boys, since he was the provider for the GREATEST of all boys, the Boy Jesus. When the young man asked, "And Fr. Drumgoole, did St. Joseph come to your assistance?" In a tone, the future Cardinal Hayes could never forget, Fr. Drumgoole exclaimed : "SAINT JOSEPH ALWAYS PROVIDES!"
Let us not miss this important lesson of the saintly old priest. Let us tell all the world about good St. Joseph! Let us ask all to "GO TO JOSEPH!" Above all, let us also "GO TO JOSEPH" remembering that SAINT JOSEPH ALWAYS PROVIDES.
Trustingly, let us go to Joseph, but let us remember that the surest way of being heard by him is to imitate his outstanding virtues – especially his humility, his silence, his spirit of prayer, his great love for Jesus and Mary, and his desire to do God’s Will.
To choose St. Joseph as our special protector is to offer the greatest proof of our love for Jesus and Mary. To praise Joseph is to praise Jesus and Mary! Therefore, it is fitting that we have recourse to St. Joseph, our very special friend, protector and companion during our life and at the hour of death. Daily, we should pray fervently to this powerful Patron of the dying for ourselves and all persons in their last agony. He will intercede for each of us – so that when the hour of our death comes, we too, may die as he did, in the loving arms of Jesus and Mary.
St. Joseph, Patron of the Dying, pray for us!.
Given below are some Prayers and Invocations to help us grow in a loving intimacy with each member of the Holy Family so that, at all times, the sacred Names of Jesus, Mary and Joseph will be found in our heart and on our lips.
An Act of Consecration to St. Joseph
O dearest St. Joseph, I consecrate myself to thy honour and give myself to thee, that thou mayest always be my father, my protector and my guide in the way of salvation. Obtain for me a great purity of heart and a fervent love of the interior life. After thy example, may I do all my actions for the greater glory of God, in union with the Divine Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. And do thou, O blessed St. Joseph, pray for me that I may share in the peace and joy of thy holy death. Amen. (Imprimatur : MICHAEL J. CURLEY D.D. –Archbishop of Baltimore and Washington) 5.
(By Rev. Louis Lallement)
It consists in turning to St. Joseph four times a day (It does not matter when or where) and honouring him in the four points of :
1. HIS FIDELITY TO GRACE.
Think of this a minute, thank God and ask through St. Joseph to be faithful to grace, and make your petition.
2. HIS FIDELITY TO THE INTERIOR LIFE.
Think, thank God, and ask as above .
3. HIS LOVE FOR OUR BLESSED LADY.
Think, thank God, and ask as above.
4. HIS LOVE FOR THE INFANT.
Think, thank God and ask as above.
Only one point is to be taken for each visit or each meditation.
N.B. : It has been found to be so efficacious that one is advised to be sure that one really wants what one asks for.
Pray each Day
JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH, I give you my heart and my soul!
JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH, assist me in my last agony!
JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH, may I breathe forth my soul in peace with you!
JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH, I love you, save souls!
JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH!
JESUS! JESUS! JESUS!
MARY1 MARY! MARY!
JOSEPH! JOSEPH! JOSEPH!
(with ecclesiastical approval – Bishop Urban McGarry, TOR)
Joseph – Patron of a Happy Death
(Taken from : Devotion to St. Joseph, Model of La, Support of Families. Nihil Obstat :Gulielmus J.J. C.L. Imprimatur : + Joannes P. Cody, Administrator Apostolicus et Ordinarius Sancti Joseph).
It is undeniable that St. Joseph is a special protector of his dying clients and all those in their last agony. This has been experienced by numberless persons who practiced special devotion to St. Joseph during life. At the hour of death, man is subject to untold suffering and anguish. At the supreme moment, every Christian must undergo a terrible trial, upon the final outcome of which depends eternal joy or endless woe. The fury of hell, the remembrance of past sins, the uncertainty of the future, the pains of death, the terror of the judgement – all those are sources of untold sufferings. What saint could defend us better than St. Joseph, whom the whole Christian world acknowledges as the protector and patron of the dying!
There are three reasons why St. Joseph is a special patron of the dying : (1) He is the foster father of the Eternal Judge who can refuse him no request. (2) He is terrible to the demons: the Church calls him the conqueror of hell. (3) His own death was most glorious, for he died in the arms of Jesus and Mary. This is the principal reason why he is the patron of a happy death; the death of no other saint was so blissful, so glorious. It is said that for days before St. Joseph died, hosts of angles came down from heaven to console him and to sing heavenly canticles. We may well imagine that Jesus poured out streams of interior bliss and heavenly consolation upon His foster in return for all St. Joseph had done for Him. And what love and solicitude must not the Blessed Virgin have shown him! Jesus and Mary together closed his eyes in death, and shed tears at his departure. If Jesus wept over Lazarus how must He have wept over St. Joseph.
Wonderful examples could be cited from the lives of many ordinary Christians of how St. Joseph obtained for them a happy death because during life they had prayed to him for this grace. Let us daily ask him to assist us at the hour of death and remind him of his own glorious departure in the arms of Jesus and Mary.
St. Joseph’s Stairway
(By : Brother Thomas Augustine, M.I.C.M. in the Benedictine Magazine, FROM THE HOUSETOP and reproduced in the Newsletter of Josephite Mission Baltimore MD 21202 under the title : Was it St. Joseph?)
A century ago, a very remarkable miracle took place in Santa Fe, New Mexico, that just now seems to be making the headlines. The people who witnessed it were very excited and jubilant indeed, but surprisingly little mention is made of it in any written form – and then only briefly; to us, this is the mystery of the miracle. This miracle, however, is still with us today for all to see. Perhaps, it was meant to be its own witness, to stand the test of time and prove the worth of tradition.
But what is this miracle? It is a beautiful wooden stairway that makes two complete circles as it rises gracefully and uniformly in perfect symmetry. Amazing, it has no center pole, as every other spiral staircase has, for support. There are no nails or screws in any part of it, nor are there steel plates, angle iron nor anything else but wood and wooden pegs throughout. The curved stringers, which hold the steps, bend in perfect circles as they rise to nearly twenty feet. They are solid boards two inches thick of a variety of fir not native to the place, but claimed by some to be found only in the Holy Land. The steps have been trod upon continuously in the past, yet show little wear.
Carpenters an builders from all over the world are amazed that the whole structure did not collapse the first time someone stepped upon it. But there are pictures showing fifteen people walking down them at the same time. Another outstanding fact is that this master piece was built by just one man. And witnesses, present at the time of the construction, remarked that the only instruments he used a hammer, a saw, a T-square, and a few other hand tools, all of which were kept in a small tool chest.
And where is this marvelous stairway/ In New Mexico, in the Royal city of the Holy Faith of St. Francis of Assisi" commonly called Santa Fe, in a Gothic chapel dedicated to Our Blessed Mother under the title of "Our Lady of Light". And most important of all, the people of this "City of Holy faith’ have always believed, and assure us even today, that the man who built this miraculous stairway was none other than the prince of Carpenters, St. Joseph. You may see it for yourself, if you go there, and, as so many architects and engineers have, you will stare in wonderment and disbelief. Questions will come to your mind. "What holds it up?" and "who were the craftsmen?"
In 1872, bishop Jean Baptist Lamy, bishop of Sante Fe, commissioned the building of a convent chapel for the Sisters of Loretto. During construction the architect died suddenly, and only afterwards did the builders discover an error in the plans. There was no staircase to the choirloft! But worse, at that point of construction, any stairway would take up needed space and disfigure the design.
The Sisters, on first hearing of this, could not understand why it was considered such a problem. Someone explained then that since the choir loft was so high, a conventional staircase would extend far into the chapel, taking up too much room and spoiling the beauty of the interior. The carpenters after much consideration came up with a drastic solution. "There is nothing else to do", they said, "but to rip down the loft and rebuild it considerably lower." But the Sisters would not hear of such a thing. From the very beginning of its construction, the chapel had been placed under the care of St. Joseph and the Sisters had prayed to him every Wednesday since Wednesday is dedicated by the Church to St. Joseph, that he might assist them.
The nuns began nine days of prayers in honour of St. Joseph. On the day after their novena ended, a shabbily dressed man appeared at the door. He said he heard they needed stairs built and he could build them. He had with him a donkey bearing a tool chest. He explained to the Superior that he was a carpenter by trade. The Sister was only too eager to accept his offer, but failed to ask his name or where he was from. Going to the chapel he pointed out where he could make a set of stairs, and how they would be built so as not to take up much space. Having done this, he asked for total privacy while he worked. They hired him and he locked himself in. For three months he permitted no visitors; the he opened the doors.
When the mother superior entered, she stared in amazement. There in the corner was a free-standing staircase rising in a double spiral to the choirloft. But – it appeared to have no support. There was no central pole, no wall attachment, no sign of a nail or screw – just a few wooden pegs. Moreover, the wood he used was unlike any that Mother has ever seen. Yet the carpenter had brought no wood with him!.
When she returned with the other nuns, the carpenter had gone. Inquiries were made in the area, for he had not been paid, but no one had seen him come or go. A reward was offered; no one ever claimed it.
In the magazine, "Liguorian," (March ’97) author Richard Bauman wrote beautifully of this mystery. He asks : "Was it St. Joseph or simply a wood-working genius who gave his time, talents, ..... PLEASE CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE