Book Study: The Divine Favors Granted to St. Joseph

[Shin]

CHAPTER XIII.

ST. JOSEPH, SPECIAL PATRON OF SINNERS, OF THE AFFLICTED, AND OF THE DYING.

To complete my subject, I say, in the first place, that St. Joseph is the patron of
repentant sinners; and I would here dwell more at length on this consoling subject,
had I not already touched upon it at the end of the eleventh chapter. Still, however, I
shall add one or two reasons which explain why St. Joseph feels such tender
compassion with sinners. It is evident that the same motive which induces Mary to
be their refuge, must equally influence her spouse. Would he ever have been the
father of the Saviour, had there been no sinners upon earth? Nor can any man
understand so well as he does the great misfortune of the sinner in having lost God.
He himself once lost the Child Jesus during three days, and although it was in no way
his fault, how great was his anguish! No father ever suffered such sorrow as did this
foster-father! Judge from this with what compassion St. Joseph receives the sinner
who confidently implores his help, and with what ardour he strives to make peace
between him and Jesus.

In the second place, I say that St. Joseph is the patron of the afflicted. Our Lady once
revealed to St. Bridget that, as the Child Jesus began to grow up, people went to look
at Him while He laboured in the workshop of His father. (1) Little by little they
became familiar with Him, and ventured to ask Him questions, to which He replied
with rare wisdom. His words were so sweet, and His beauty so attractive, that He
inflamed all hearts, and those who were in affliction said: 'Let us go to the Son of
Mary, and He will console us; for this Holy Child seems to be the Master of hearts,
moving their springs as He will.' They added: 'See how the Son of Joseph teaches the
masters themselves, for a great spirit speaks in Him.' (2)

Many believed He had learned all this from him whom they regarded as His father;
so that the house of Joseph was the refuge of the unfortunate, and the consolation of
the afflicted. Those were esteemed happy who, possessing the friendship of this holy
man, could, through him, obtain the privilige of speaking with the Divine Child, Who
was the Wisdom of the world. We, too, would find ourselves effectually relieved in
all our troubles, were we to say to ourselves: 'Let us go to Joseph, and to the Son of
Joseph; let us not leave them till our hearts are filled with heavenly consolation, for
with them is Paradise,' And this can be done quite as well now as then; Jesus Christ
is still as kind as He then was, and as willing to help us. But in order to approach
Him with true confidence, let us first turn to His foster-father, let us ask him to
intercede on our behalf: He that chose to be subject to him on earth, can refuse him
nothing in heaven.

In the third place, St. Joseph is the patron of the dying. If it be so important during
lifetime, on the stormy sea of the world, to have a powerful protector, how much
more is it so at the supreme and decisive moment on which eternity depends! For
the just man, a holy death is the crown of good works and of all virtues; for the
repentant sinner, it is the renunciation, the solemn reparation of all past faults; for
both, it is the end of all evil, and the beginning of unending bliss. But among all the
Saints of God, to whom shall we address ourselves in preference, to obtain for us
this most precious of all blessings. We cannot hesitate. Joseph is the father of our
Judge; he will gain our pardon. His power is terrible to the enemies of our salvation;
he will put them to flight. Never was there a death so sweet and so priviliged as that
of Joseph; he will obtain for us also the grace of a sweet and holy death.
I do not, then, fear to speak incorrectly, nor to displease the august Queen of
Heaven, in applying to her holy spouse the words spoken by St. Bernard about
herself: ' He offers to all men the help of his protection. By invoking him, the just
man receives grace; the sinner, pardon ; the afflicted, consolation; the sick, recovery,
or patience in suffering; the dying, sweet consolation in the merits of the Saviour; in
a word, all receive of his fulness, and are loaded with his benefits.' (3)


<sub>1. According to an ancient custom, which still prevails among the Arabs and other Eastern nations, Joseph exercised his trade in another house from that inhabited by Mary. His workshop, in which Jesus Christ Himself worked, was a low room, ten or twelve feet long, and as many broad (Orsini, Histoire de la Mere de Dieu, chap. viii.). The same author quotes, as a note, the following passage from F. de Geramb: ' This house of Joseph is situated about a hundred and thirty to a hundred and forty paces from that of St. Ann; the place is still called Joseph's workshop. A large church was built there, but the Turks have destroyed part of it. There still remains a chapel, in which the holy sacrifice of the Mass is daily offered.' (Pelerinage a Jerusalem, par le R. P. de Geramb). These details are confirmed by Monseigneur Mislin (Les Saints Lieux, chap. xxxvi.).

2. 'Cujus visus et locutio sic mirabilis erat, ut multi tribulati dicerent: Eamus ad Filium Mariae, a quopossumus consolari. Ecce Filius Joseph docet magistros; aliquis spiritus magnus loquitur in eo' (S. Brigitt., Revelat., lib. vi, c. 58).

3. Serm. in Signum magnum, n. 2.</sub>

[Shin]

This chapter is especially suited for this time of year! Telling how it does of how people approached the divine infant and were so benefited by going to St. Joseph's house.

 

[martin]

He offers to all men the help of his protection. By invoking him, the just
man receives grace; the sinner, pardon ; the afflicted, consolation; the sick, recovery,
or patience in suffering; the dying, sweet consolation in the merits of the Saviour; in
a word, all receive of his fulness, and are loaded with his benefits.'

I should be posting this in the "What you are thankful for today" thread but the above passage makes me most Thankful to God for permitting me to be part of the holy Catholic Church. The blessings we have through the saints and their prayers which so many in the world are deprived of, especially the protection of the great Saint Joseph.

Most Holy Family, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, have pity on the unbaptized and all who have squandered their first grace and retain only the indelible mark of Christ on their souls which they received at baptism. O Blessed Mary ever Virgin and holy patron St. Joseph, without thy' help they will perish. For this reason I commend them to thy' most merciful hearts for their only hope of salvation is in thy' help.
Heart of Jesus I adore Thee, heart of Mary I implore thee, heart of Joseph pure and just, in these three hearts I place my trust.

Most sacred heart of Jesus we place all our trust in Thee.
Most sacred heart of Jesus we place all our trust in Thee.
Most sacred heart of Jesus we place all our trust in Thee.

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

St. Joseph, patron of departing souls, pray for us. 

[Shin]

Heartwarming to read Martin! And I am thankful to see you my dear friend and brother in Christ!

Most sacred heart of Jesus we place all our trust in Thee! 

[Shin]

CHAPTER XIV.

ON DIFFERENT DEVOTIONS WHICH MAY BE PRACTISED IN HONOUR OF THE GLORIOUS ST. JOSEPH.
 
We do not praise the Saints merely for the sake of praising them; as St. Bernard says, they are so full of heaven's gifts that our poor praises can scarcely add anything to their glory. We praise them in order to admire them; we admire them in order to love them; we love them in order to serve them; we serve them in order to imitate them; and by imitating them we gain their favour, and merit to have them as protectors in heaven. It is glorious for St. Joseph to be so great, but what do we gain by his greatness if he do not share it with us, if he be not our advocate on high?

Now he is willing to be of service to us if we show ourselves worthy, if we render him some poor service, and offer him really heart-felt homage. It is certainly praiseworthy to recite prayers in his honour, to adorn his statue with flowers, or even to receive Holy Communion on the day of his feast. All that is good, but there are other pious practices which we may add; and I shall mention some which are well suited to aid those whose sweet ambition it is to gain the love and fervour of the glorious Patriarch, whose power is so great in heaven.

First Devotion. ----- The best devotion to St. Joseph is to imitate his virtues, to model your actions on his, and to act as he acted. He and Our Lady will accept your feeble efforts and help you, and God will give you His blessing.

Second Devotion. ----- Say attentively everyday some short prayer in honour of St. Joseph, and if your devotion inclines you to it, apply to him some of the invocations addressed to Our Lady in her litanies; with the exception of a few which belong exclusively to the Mother of God, they require but little alteration to be appropriate to St. Joseph. Try this practice, and your heart will derive from it both contentment and profit.

Third Devotion. ----- From time to time consecrate an entire week to the glorious St. Joseph, that he may offer all you do to Mary, to Jesus, to the Most Holy Trinity, and that he may dispose, according to his pleasure, of the fruit of your good works.

Fourth Devotion. ----- Choose seven titles of honour, one for each day of the week, by which to do homage to this great Saint, and vary your devotion. The first day you may honour him as spouse of Our Lady; the second, as father of the Saviour; the third, as model of virginity and chastity; the fourth, as the most faithful and most favoured of patriarchs; the fifth, as governor of Jesus and Mary; the sixth, as fosterer of the Holy Family; the seventh, as guardian of the Infant Jesus, and distributor of the treasures of the Messias.

Fifth Devotion. ----- For the feast of St. Joseph, do not be satisfied with one day, which is not enough for the honour of so great and holy a patron, but celebrate the entire octave. Each day of the octave either say or hear Mass, communicate in his honour, or give alms according to your means; better still, if you can, do all that at once; he will render it to you a hundredfold in heaven. Has he not often come at the hour of death to console his devout servants? Has he not shown himself to them in the company of his holy spouse, and of her and his Son, Jesus Christ? Were he to do the same for you, you would deem yourself amply rewarded for your devotion to him.

Sixth Devotion. ----- Imitate those who, every Wednesday, in honour of St. Joseph, either say Mass, or cause a Mass to be said, which they attend. If you wish to do still more, make a perpetual foundation, so that, till the end of the world, God may be glorified by your means.

Seventh Devotion. ----- Try to win others to the devotion to St. Joseph; speak often of him, and more from the heart than only from the lips; words strike but the ear, while eloquence from the heart gains other hearts. A celebrated preacher was wonderfully consoled at the hour of his death, when Our Lady appeared to him and told him she came to assist him, because of his holy practice of relating, in each of his sermons, some story in her honour, or in that of her chaste spouse. The same glorious Virgin deigned to thank St. Teresa for having reawakened devotion to St. Joseph throughout the Church.

Eighth Devotion. ----- Always have in your oratory, or upon your heart, the picture of this great and amiable Saint. Lay all your troubles at his feet; speak to him familiarly as if he were present; in all your necessities go to him; in life and death take him for your advocate. Should you lose every other support, remember, and believe with certainty, that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph will never fail you.

Ninth Devotion. ----- When you receive Holy Communion, unite yourself spiritually to Our Lady and St. Joseph, and, with them, keep the Child Jesus company, as they did when they carried Him to the temple to present Him to His Father. Your heart is then the true temple of the Lord. Say to Him lovingly that to-day is the feast of the Presentation is celebrated in your soul; and should Mary and Joseph desire to ransom the Divine Child, tell them that He has been given to you by God the Father, that they themselves are the two doves whom you demand for the ransom of Jesus, and that you will be contented with none else.

Tenth Devotion. ----- 'Never,' says Gerson, 'did anyone worship St. Joseph with more honour and veneration than the holy Virgin. She considered him as her lord, as her spouse, as the foster-father of Jesus, as the man the most holy on earth, as the master who had been given to her by God Himself. In sickness and in health, she served him with the greatest tenderness.' The Chancellor of Paris, in the poem called 'Josephina,' which he composed in honour of St. Joseph, describes with singular pleasure, in verses of charming simplicity, the assiduous care which Our Lady unceasingly lavished on him from whom she herself had received so many services. Imitate her as far as you can, and beg her to teach you true devotion to her holy spouse.

Eleventh Devotion. ----- Make an irrevocable contract in presence of the Celestial Court, and under the eyes of the august and adorable Trinity. Give to Mary and to Joseph your body, your soul, your heart, your entire self; and then say, with St. Catherine of Siena: 'Now I recommend to you your heart, and your poor servant. I no longer belong to myself, but to both of you. I ask but one thing of you: keep what belongs to you; never permit me to take it back from your blessed hands. This is my irrevocable resolution, for all eternity to belong entirely to Jesus, to Mary, and to Joseph, and I renounce, as far as it is possible for me to do so, all power of ever revoking this promise.'

Twelfth Devotion. ----- The gift of yourself is unquestionably more desirable and agreeable to Mary and Joseph than aught else; yet if God has granted you means, dedicate to them a more or less considerable share of what you possess. A great Saint, who, after having been patrician and consul, shed his blood for Jesus Christ, employed his immense riches in solacing the sick and the poor, serving them with his own hands. (1) Now, while the memory of Roman emperors is held in affection by no one, the name of this holy man is not forgotten, and his memory is held in benediction on earth, and still more in heaven. Do you similar acts of charity in honour of St. Joseph.

Thirteenth Devotion. ----- There have been noble and wealthy persons who have erected churches or chapels in honour of the spouse of Mary, with a privileged altar for the solace of the souls in Purgatory.

Fourteenth Devotion. ----- Undertake the maintenance of a young scholar, in the hope that he may one day become a good Priest, or holy Religious; or help a poor girl in honour of St. Joseph. This devotion is most pleasing to him, for its effects are real, and its results solid and lasting. (2)

Fifteenth Devotion. ----- The Chancellor of Paris was very devout and very ingenious in his devotion. In his old age he was most assiduous in teaching the children of Lyons the Catechism, and at the end of each lesson he made these little innocents pray, 'My God, my Creator be merciful to your poor servant John Gerson!' Their voices brought tears to the eyes of all who heard them, and drew down the mercies of God upon this virtuous man, who died a holy death. Do you then, in a similar manner, unite your heart with all those hearts who love St. Joseph; unite your voice and your affections with those of all the Saints in Paradise, of all the just upon earth, of all the holy souls in purgatory, and say to God, to Our Lady, and to St. Joseph, that you approve of all that others do and say in their honour; that were it in your power to do as much as they together do, you would assuredly do it with all your heart, and with all your strength. Thank all the Saints for the homage they pay to this great Patriarch, entreat them to redouble their praises, as far as the laws of heaven and the decrees of Divine Providence permit them. As you cannot take part in their canticles, beg at least to be their echo, and tell them you ratify whatever they do and have done in honour of St. Joseph.

Sixteenth Devotion. ----- The last devotion which I propose to you is the avowal of your own insufficiency. It seems to me that St. Joseph, contemplating the Incarnate Word in the lowly house of Nazareth, must often have said in his heart: 'I adhere to all that my spouse says; I unite myself with all that she does; I take part in all her desires. I do not speak myself; but I hope that, as I agree with all that she thinks well to say, Jesus will approve of my silence. She and I are one in heart; she says all; I say nothing except through her mouth and her heart.' Reader, do the same; repeat to Our Lady that you approve and ratify all that she says and does in honour of her spouse, and that you thank her for all a thousand times. Add that it is not the want of cordial affection which makes you silent, but rather its excess, because you can find no words to express it, and your tongue cannot keep pace with your feelings. Say that since St. Joseph by his silence has said as much as, and more than all others, you desire to imitate him.

St. John tells us that when the Lamb had opened the seventh seal of the mysterious book mentioned in the Apocalypse, there was silence in heaven, as it were, for half an hour; all the Saints were as if entranced, and could do nothing but admire the infinite majesty of God. So may you also do. Tell St. Joseph that while others do wonderful things, your part must be to humble yourself, and acknowledge your own nothingness; while they offer their love, you can but offer nothingness and abjection, and acknowledge yourself incapable and unworthy of speaking. Fear not to imitate St. Augustine and other Saints who complained of God to God Himself, in some such terms as these: 'Thou commandest me to love Thee, O God most worthy of love; why then, hast Thou given me such a poor and narrow heart? Why art Thou so great and I so little? The object being infinite, should not the heart and love be infinite also?' Then you may continue: 'Thou hast made St. Joseph so great; Thou inspirest me with the ardent desire to love him, and yet Thou seest how incapable I am of doing anything worthy of Thee or of him. Assist my weakness, I beseech Thee, O Lord! I desire to do what is right, but I have not the power. Give me the power to do more. At any rate, be satisfied to see one who desires more than he is able to perform, who would fain do all that can be done by all men and all Saints, so as to honour Thee in the great things Thou hast done to St. Joseph.

And now, reader, I have come to the end of what I had to say to you about the glorious St. Joseph. Pardon me if I have expressed myself in terms which may obscure rather than explain the glory of this great Patriarch, excuse me if I have rather cooled than inflamed your devotion. I am certain of the indulgence of the holy spouse of Mary, who sees in my heart the most sincere desire to please him; and so I hope for your indulgence also, unless, indeed, you be less desirous to imitate his kindness than his other virtues.


<sub>1. St. Gallican, Roman Martyrology, 25th June.
2. This kind of devotion deserves to be illustrated by some examples. The maire of a village in France, to whom God had not granted children, proposed to his wife that they should bring up two orphan boys in their house. After a time he placed them first in a college, and later in the diocesan seminary, and both became Priests. A lady, whose fortune was not large, nevertheless managed constantly to maintain either a student in the seminary, or a young Religious in the novitiate of missionaries. In a country not far from France, a man of high rank, but whose fortune neither equalled his position nor the generosity of his disposition, had saved a sum of 600 francs for a journey of recreation. On the point of setting out he heard that a young girl was in danger of losing her innocence and her soul, if she could not procure a dowry of at least 600 francs. The dowry was at once paid, and the proposed excursion given up. ---- Note of the Editor.</sub>

[Patricia]

I had given a St. Joseph holy card to my daughter's friend who went to Afghanistan to fight in the war. The card  protects the person carrying it from sudden death and all dangers like drowning, poison etc. This young boy happened to contact my daughter the other day through skype and told her that he had laminated the card and always carried it in his pocket. What he was going through was amazing. His vehicle would go over a bomb and nothing would happen , the very next moment another vehicle would go over the same spot  and get blown up. This has happened about 3 times now!!
St. Joseph, good father, protector of Jesus and the Blessed Virgin, pray for us!!  Protect those who trust in your protection! This boy happens to be a Protestant...

[Shin]

Today on the Solemnity of St. Joseph, I thought I would remind folks of this inspiring volume.

St. Joseph, model and patron of those who love the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for us.

[eschator83]

I pray it's acceptable to bring this post forward to make it easier for us to find and remember this wisdom.  Thanks again to Shin for sharing with us.

[Shin]

Let's not forget this wonderful book!

[eschator83]

This thread and this book are wonderful suggestions, for which I am very grateful and must admit that I have not yet finished reading this thread, but I resolve to continue and I still fully intend to read the book and hopefully comment appropriately.  Please encourage me Divine Trinity, my Angel, St Joseph, St William.