Tag: St. Joseph

7 min read

Saints

5 Spiritual Benefits from the Year of St. Joseph

Fr. Nicholas Blackwell

September 22, 2021 7:47 am September 22, 2021

7 min read

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7 min read

On Dec. 8, 2020, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, called for a Year of St. Joseph. Some might ask what we can be doing to mark the year spiritually. The…

On Dec. 8, 2020, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, called for a Year of St. Joseph. Some might ask what we can be doing to mark the year spiritually. The Apostolic Penitentiary issued a decree that spoke about five things the faithful can do to earn a plenary indulgence.

Plenary indulgences are a gift extended to the Church’s faithful via the treasury stored up for us from the good works done through her in union with Christ. When one receives a plenary indulgence, it means their temporal punishment due to sin is forgiven. Confession removes the guilt due to sin, and indulgences help to remove the punishment due to sin. The gift and practice of indulgences are not about earning heaven but becoming conformed to grace so we may become like Christ, a message that St. Paul writes about regularly throughout his letters. Also, this process of becoming like Christ is not a solitary act but is one we can help others with here on earth or in purgatory.

But what does this have to do with St. Joseph? In the decree from the Apostolic Penitentiary, not only are the requirements and the actions given to the faithful so they may know how to gain the plenary indulgence, but the decree also offers points of reflection on who Joseph is and how the different aspects of his life help us see the beauty of human life. Each of the five points is a vignette into the life of Joseph as a means for the faithful to see God’s presence and beauty in those life moments through St. Joseph.

With St. Joseph’s help, the Church is responding to the need for hope in 2021. And what is that message of hope? That God is present through human life. St. Joseph helps us to see that truth.

We can enter more fully into that reality by reflecting on the five actions proposed for the faithful in gaining a plenary indulgence during the year of St. Joseph.

Joseph: The Man of Faith

The decree first brings to our attention that Joseph was a man of faith. His faith was not rooted in an abstract concept of God, but in the God of his fathers and mothers. Thus, Joseph owed filial piety to God, not merely as an obligation, but because of the intimacy that existed between God and his people, for his God is a saving God.

With that insight, the decree tells the faithful that they may earn a plenary indulgence through meditating either upon the Our Father for 30 minutes or participating in a spiritual retreat for at least one day that includes a meditation on St. Joseph. As Joseph’s faith was nurtured through prayer, so must it be for the faith of the Church’s members.

Joseph: The Just Man

Joseph was a man who protected and guarded the presence of God in his heart. This inner disposition is manifested via his silence and prudence. These virtues are shown with brilliance in Joseph’s desire for justice and mercy. The faithful can begin to understand the virtue of justice by reflecting on how it is manifested in the life of St. Joseph. Thus, as the decree states, the faithful may gain a plenary indulgence by following the example of St. Joseph and performing either a spiritual or corporal work of mercy. By this action, the wisdom of Micah 6:8 is made known to the world: “You have been told, O mortal, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.”

Joseph: Custodian of the Holy Family

The decree speaks about this central aspect of Joseph’s life and vocation. God called him to care for the Virgin Mary and the Christ child: he is a husband to Mary and the legal father of Jesus. The presence of the Holy Family is not just a reality of the past; it is meant to be the atmosphere that pervades every Christian family, making each a family of communion, love, and prayer. In this light, the decree states that a plenary indulgence may be gained by reciting a rosary in a family or by a husband and wife. Through this action, the Holy Family is not merely idolized but received into every Christian household, so they may not know again the rejection they received in Bethlehem.

Joseph: The Worker

Jeremiah 22:13, gives the warning that punishment comes to those who abuse their workers. But with Joseph, we see the positive side of the worker, for God entrusts himself to the labors that Joseph embraced during his life. God’s presence in the work of Joseph teaches us that grace is extended to all those, who like Joseph, allow God into their work. Work is not meant to be oppressive, but through Christ, a means for the revelation of human dignity. Accordingly, the decree tells the faithful that they may gain a plenary indulgence by entrusting a day of their work to St. Joseph or who invoke his aid, through their prayer and intercession, for all those who are looking for work so that all human labor be treated with more dignity.

Joseph: The Refugee

Finally, the decree calls the faithful to consider the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt. Due to political actions in their homeland, the Holy Family was forced to flee, making them refugees. This moment from Joseph’s life reminds the faithful that God is with them in the dangers of life. Seen or unseen, God is with His people. Thus, as the decree states, the Latin rite Catholics may gain a plenary indulgence by praying the litany of St. Joseph for the relief of persecuted Christians, whether they are in or out of the Church. Faithful from the eastern rites of the Church can pray the Akathistos to St. Joseph (in full or in part) or some other prayer of St. Joseph.

Please remember, not all five acts need to be done to gain the indulgence. One suffices, but the decree gives us this diversity of actions to encourage the faithful to emulate St. Joseph throughout the year, as they seek greater conformity to Jesus. Yet, when an action is done, it must be supported by the usual conditions: reception of the Eucharist, confession, and an act of praying for the Pope’s intentions. Why? Because indulgences are only possible through a heart that seeks a life that is fully detached from sin and that is in union with the Church’s life. As the memories of death and suffering from 2020 continue to ruminate around our minds, may the life of St. Joseph made known through the Church help all of us remember the beauty and the presence of God, who exists in every moment of human life. As St. Teresa of Avila said, “To other saints, the Lord seems to have given the grace to help us in some of our necessities. But my experience is that St Joseph helps us in them all.”

Father Nicholas Blackwell, O. Carm. writes from New York. Follow him on Twitter at @CarmeliteNick.

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4 min read

Saints

Why are Wednesdays for St. Joseph?

Father Nicholas Blackwell

August 2, 2021 7:39 am August 2, 2021

4 min read

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4 min read

St. Joseph’s central role in the life of Christ and the Church is commemorated traditionally by devoting Wednesdays to him. Honoring St. Joseph with devotions each week offers the opportunity…

St. Joseph’s central role in the life of Christ and the Church is commemorated traditionally by devoting Wednesdays to him. Honoring St. Joseph with devotions each week offers the opportunity to remember, amid the ordinariness of life, that Christ was born into the lives of a specific group of people whose lives were not too different from our own. His people had a history with God, a story that Jesus embraced with the help and guidance of St. Joseph. St. Joseph is still serving his son by guiding his Church to embrace that salvation story that he helped Jesus to know and love.

There are also a few fitting characteristics pertaining to Wednesdays that speak to the significance of honoring the foster father of Jesus on this day. In consideration of this, we might find more meaning for the devotion in our lives.

A bridge

Wednesday is the middle of the week for Christians — a day which serves as a pivot point, just as St. Joseph is in the Bible. This sense of being in the center of things can be better understood by the image of a bridge, and Wednesday is like a bridge from one part of the week to another. It’s true that St. Joseph is like a bridge for us, too — a bridge between the Old and New Testaments. Through the little we learn about him in the Gospels, we get the impression that St. Joseph is like the patriarchial figures of the Old Testament. For example, the ancient patriarch Joseph was a man of dreams, and so is our own St. Joseph. Abraham received God’s promise because he was a man of faith, and those promises are realized through the Messiah — who is being cared for faithfully by St. Joseph. Hence, St. Joseph is a figure who invites us to ponder over the patriarchs. Why? To better understand him while, like Mary, he leads us to our savior, Jesus Christ. St. Joseph knows that it is in the Messiah that the promises given to the patriarchs gain fulfillment. Thus, in this light, I think we can see why Wednesday is a fitting day to honor St. Joseph, a man who helps us travel between not only both the Old and New Testaments but also this life and eternal life with his Son.

The Glorious Mysteries

Another reason it seems fitting to honor St. Joseph on Wednesdays is because that is when the people of God pray the glorious mysteries of the Rosary. What do the glorious mysteries have to do with St. Joseph? There is a tradition in the Church that views the death of St. Joseph as the moment that Jesus sought John’s baptism and began his public ministry. Here again St. Joseph is a bridge-like figure. St. Joseph’s death was a turning point in the life of Jesus and, by ushering in his public ministry, led him to his death on the cross and his resurrection. As we pray the glorious mysteries, we reflect upon the resurrection, the cornerstone of our faith. And we reflect upon how St. Joseph’s own faith prepared Christ to achieve the mission he was sent to accomplish and, of course, to take care of Mary, who received fitting rewards at the end of her life. St. Joseph’s witness of great faith can shape us and strengthen our faith in the resurrection.

Ways to commemorate St. Joseph on Wednesdays

What are some concrete things we can do to commemorate St. Joseph on Wednesdays?

Here are a few ideas:

· Read about St. Joseph in the Gospel of Matthew.

· Spend 10 minutes praying before an icon of St. Joseph.

· Pray the Litany of St. Joseph.

· Arrange to have a Mass offered in honor of St. Joseph on a Wednesday and attend it.

· Get together with friends to learn about St. Joseph together.

As St. Teresa of Ávila wrote about St. Joseph: “I cannot call to mind that I have ever asked him at any time for anything which he has not granted… .” If she had that kind of faith in St. Joseph, I believe we all can have faith that our devotion to him will bear much fruit.

Father Nicholas Blackwell, O. Carm., writes from New York. Follow him on Twitter at @CarmeliteNick.

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1 min read

Prayer

Three novenas to St. Joseph

Simply Catholic Staff

March 17, 2021 12:00 pm March 17, 2021

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1 min read

With St. Joseph’s feast day approaching on March 19, this week is a great time to begin a novena to the patron of the universal Church. Traditionally, novenas are prayed…

With St. Joseph’s feast day approaching on March 19, this week is a great time to begin a novena to the patron of the universal Church. Traditionally, novenas are prayed during the nine days before a feast, either ending on the day before or the day of.

Here are three great options:

Starting Thursday! A preached novena at Mass in honor of St. Joseph. The novena will be livestreamed here from the Carmelite Friars at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Another St. Joseph novena option, this time from the Norbertines at the National Shrine of St. Joseph in De Pere, Wisconsin.
And a third novena option, from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Wondering why you should pray a novena? We have that answer here, too.

For more resources for the Year of St. Joseph, visit catholicyearof.com.

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2 min read

Prayer

Litany of St. Joseph

Simply Catholic Staff

March 16, 2021 7:21 am March 16, 2021

2 min read

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2 min read

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on…

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us.

Saint Joseph, pray for us

Illustrious Scion of David,
Light of Patriarchs,
Spouse of the Mother of God,
Chaste guardian of the Virgin,
Foster-father of the Son of God,
Watchful defender of Christ,
Head of the Holy Family,

Joseph most just,
Joseph most chaste,
Joseph most prudent,
Joseph most valiant,
Joseph most obedient,
Joseph most faithful,

Mirror of patience,
Lover of poverty,
Model of workmen,
Example to parents,
Guardian of virgins,
Pillar of families,
Solace of the afflicted,
Hope of the sick,
Patron of the dying,
Terror of demons,
Protector of the Church, pray for us.

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

V. He made him lord over his house,
A. And the ruler of all his possessions.

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus Christ,
by your ineffable providence
you chose saint Joseph
to be the spouse of your most holy Mother:
grant, we beseech you,
that we may have him for an intercessor in heaven,
as we venerate him as our protector on earth.
You who live and and reign forever and ever. R. Amen.

For more on the Litany of St. Joseph, be sure to check out “Model of Faith: Reflecting on the Litany of St. Joseph” (OSV, $9.95).

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8 min read

Mary

St. Joseph’s powerful, silent witness at Fatima

Michael R. Heinlein

March 14, 2021 2:12 pm March 14, 2021

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8 min read

Of all the various apparitions and messages to come out of Fatima a century ago, there is an often neglected component. Sister Lucia, the eldest and longest-living Fatima seer, recorded…

Of all the various apparitions and messages to come out of Fatima a century ago, there is an often neglected component. Sister Lucia, the eldest and longest-living Fatima seer, recorded in her diary that on Oct. 13, 1917 — “the day the sun danced” — St. Joseph appeared at Fatima. As he held the Christ Child, it looked as if they were both offering the world a blessing. Despite the few details recorded about St. Joseph’s brief time on Fatima’s stage, interestingly, it is similar to his appearance in the Gospel — in neither did St. Joseph utter a word.

The appearance of St. Joseph at Fatima is stark in its simplicity, leaving little wonder why this minor episode in the catalogue of Fatima events is slighted.

Yet despite that fact, the appearance of St. Joseph at the final apparition at Fatima is chock full of significance that relates to the Fatima’s promise of peace.

Peace and the family

The messages of Fatima clearly intend to propose anew the road map humanity should follow to obtain God’s peace. Peace, hearers of Fatima are reminded, is the experience when prayer and sacrificial charity — fundamentally, imitation of Christ — define our lives. Peace requires humility and submission to God’s plan for humanity as revealed in Scripture and Tradition.

Ultimately, Fatima’s promise of peace comes as the result of living as God wills. For that very reason, Fatima places before us the example of Mary and her Immaculate Heart — the epitome of imitation of her Son’s obedience to God’s will through love and sacrifice.

When living as God intends, we must acknowledge another essential building block in the path toward peace: the family. God established the family as the basic unit of human society, and he exalted it by entering into his creation through membership in a family. Many today, to varying degrees, are trying to redefine the family. God’s plan, however, is clear and is manifested above all in the Holy Family of Nazareth.

The institution of the family is undermined and collapsing in a variety of spheres today. Many in the modern world believe Christian concepts of marriage and human sexuality are outdated. It is en vogue (erroneously) to criticize the limitations to freedom levied by the Christian vision of marriage and sexuality. But along with that, there is no doubt that the world simultaneously and desperately needs and craves peace.

Living as God wants is a reality that presupposes humanity’s adoption of God’s plan for us, discernible in creation and revealed more fully in his Son Jesus.

The presence of St. Joseph at the Fatima apparitions evokes this reality and reminds us that the flourishing of family life is an essential part of God’s plan for peace. St. Joseph models that way of life by authentically living out his call as a model father, husband and servant of God.

St. Joseph, father

St. Joseph’s presence at Fatima exalts his example of fatherhood and its essential role in the flourishing of humanity. The Gospels explain that St. Joseph provided for the Holy Family in all circumstances.

St. Joseph is the one “into whose custody God entrusted his most precious treasures,” as was said in Blessed Pope Paul VI’s decree naming St. Joseph patron of the universal Church. Dutifully and lovingly, St. Joseph handed on to Jesus the traditions, rituals, customs and prayers of the Jewish faith.

Paul VI also exhorted fathers in an August 1976 general audience: “And you, fathers, do you pray with your children, with the whole domestic community, at least sometimes? Your example of honesty in thought and action, joined to some common prayer, is a lesson for life, an act of worship of singular value. In this way you bring peace to your homes: Pax huic domui. Remember, it is thus that you build up the Church.”

This is all present at Fatima, as a witness to the world, encapsulated by St. Joseph tenderly and lovingly holding his Son, God’s Son who was entrusted to his care — together offering a prayer by invoking God’s blessing upon the world.

Today’s world experiences untold turmoil on account of absentee fathers. Numerous studies keep coming up with the same data. Children without a father figure are lacking something.

The majority of children who come from homes without fathers experience poverty, have abused drugs and alcohol more readily, dropped out of school or have become the victims of a variety of emotional and physical ailments. Fatherless boys have a higher propensity toward violence and crime, and fatherless girls are more likely to become pregnant as teens.

St. Joseph, husband

Sister Lucia said that not only was St. Joseph holding his divine Son at Fatima, but he also was next to the Blessed Virgin Mary. How notable that St. Joseph does not appear without his holy wife.

This minor detail underscores St. Joseph’s love and fidelity toward the Blessed Mother. St. Joseph was chosen to play an important role in salvation history, there is no doubt. But in God’s design, he was also chosen to be Mary’s husband — carrying with that all that it means to be a husband. It’s a temptation to be avoided, losing sight of this spousal chosenness. Statistics in the developed world are staggering where marriages are concerned — nearly half end in divorce. Marriage’s permanency, commitment and fidelity are all considered constraints to freedom.

But for St. Joseph, life and love was no longer about himself when he committed to Mary. The Gospels show how he knew that for peace in a marriage, both spouses must be willing to die to self each day. Spouses truly live for the other. “And two become one flesh” — at Fatima we see spousal love — where Mary is, Joseph is.

The Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph are united most fully through the Incarnation: “He shared in it with her; he was involved in the same salvific event; he was the guardian of the same love, through the power of which the eternal Father ‘destined us to be his sons through Jesus Christ’ (Eph 1:5),” said Pope St. John Paul II in his 1989 apostolic exhortation on St. Joseph, Custos Redemptoris (No. 1).

St. Joseph and Mary model how marital unity is derived from unity in Christ. When spouses truly seek to live as Christ for the other, they are laying a fertile ground in which peace can blossom. The seeds are prayer and self-sacrificial love, among others. In modeling this way of life for their children, Christian spouses do a great service to the human race.

John Paul II highlighted the centrality of the family in his post-synodal apostolic exhortation Familiaris Consortio: “The future of humanity passes by way of the family” (No. 86).

St. Joseph, servant

John Paul II prayed that the faithful will turn to St. Joseph as a powerful example of Christian living, and “always keep before their eyes his humble, mature way of serving and of ‘taking part’ in the plan of salvation” (Custos Redemptoris, No. 1).

This humble and mature way of serving God is evidenced in one of St. Joseph’s primary characteristics in the Gospel and his apparition at Fatima: his silence.

Silence does not mean complacency, though. St. Joseph’s silence highlights his prayerful discernment to know the will of God. But more than that, it illustrates his wholehearted desire unhesitatingly to do God’s will — no questions asked!

The things we know about St. Joseph from the Gospel all entail such a faithful obedience. But that does not exist in a vacuum; it is produced by a way of life grounded in prayer and sacrificial charity. St. Joseph is a doer who lays down his life to achieve God’s purposes in his life. He does not get caught up in himself or his wants, fears or opinions. He hears God’s word and responds.

How could St. Joseph do any of the things that we know of him — living as a faithful and loving spouse, a devoted and caring father and an obedient servant of God — if silence was not a part of his life? Silence fueled St. Joseph to answer God’s call for him, prayerfully and lovingly.

St. Joseph models how peace comes from this way of life — after all, the fruit of his life was giving a home to Jesus, the Prince of Peace. However insignificant it might appear, St. Joseph’s presence at Fatima adds depth and perspective to its message.

Michael R. Heinlein is editor of Simply Catholic. Follow him on Twitter @HeinleinMichael. This article originally appeared in Our Sunday Visitor as part of a series on Marian apparitions at Fatima.

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1 min read

Prayer

Prayer to St. Joseph the Worker

Simply Catholic Staff

March 2, 2021 3:19 pm March 2, 2021

1 min read

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1 min read

O Glorious Saint Joseph, model of all those who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work in a spirit of penance for the expiation of my…

O Glorious Saint Joseph, model of all those who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work in a spirit of penance for the expiation of my many sins; to work conscientiously, putting the call of duty above my natural inclinations; to work with thankfulness and joy, considering it an honor to employ and develop by means of labor the gifts received from God; to work with order, peace, moderation, and patience, never shrinking from weariness and trials; to work above all with purity of intention and detachment from self, keeping unceasingly before my eyes death and the account that I must give of time lost, talents unused, good omitted, and vain complacency in success, so fatal to the work of God.

All for Jesus, all through Mary, all after thy example, O Patriarch, Saint Joseph. Such shall be my watch-word in life and in death. Amen. (Composed by Pope St. Pius X)

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