SAINT JOSEPH
‘a good, just man’
Wonder Worker
Patron of the Universal Church
2021 – the Year of St. Joseph
In an age when family breakdown is so widespread particularly in the West, the resulting trauma experienced by children living in these circumstances is profound and can last a lifetime. Young men raised in fatherless homes, or without good male role models or meaningful relationships with uncles and grandfathers, are like boats without rudders. They have never been validated by their kinsmen i.e. ‘I love you; you are a fine young man; and your life has meaning and a purpose.’ So, is it any surprise that many of these young men are over-represented in our jails? Good fathers are also vital in helping young girls grow into mature and emotionally stable young women. Children watch very closely the way their parents communicate and demonstrate their love for each other, and of course, how they forgive one another.
An example par excellence of a commendable father is St. Joseph, head of the Holy Family. He was personally chosen by God Himself to be the foster father of Jesus. Mary and Jesus loved and trusted him. There are only two words written about St. Joseph in the Bible – he was ‘a good, just man.’
Below is a prayer to St. Joseph composed by St. Francis de Sales.
Our Lord and Our Lady are relying on us not shirk our duties to our families and to humanity itself, but rather, to choose to be heroes for Christ. We must stand firm and fight this darkness, not with weapons, but with prayers and fasting; wearing the scapular – Our Lady’s uniform; and by placing ourselves confidently under her mantle of protection – the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Please pray that the Pope Consecrates Russia to Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart.
Prayer to St. Joseph
St. Francis de Sales
Glorious St. Joseph, spouse of the Virgin Mary, we beseech you through the Heart of Jesus Christ, grant to us your fatherly protection.
O you whose power reaches all our necessities and who knows how to make the most impossible things, open your fatherly eyes to the needs of your children. In the confusion and pain which press upon us, we have recourse to you with confidence.
Deign to take beneath your charitable guidance this important and difficult affair, the cause of our worries, and make that its happy outcome serve for the glory of God and the good of his devoted servants, Amen.
Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
My Queen and my Mother, I give myself entirely to you: and to show my devotion to you, I consecrate to you this day, my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my heart, my whole being without reserve. Wherefore good Mother, as I am your own, keep me, guard me, as your property and possession, Amen