Dear Friends,
I am probably late in bringing this to your attention, but there have been other topics and issues to share and discuss. Pope Francis declared a Year of St. Joseph, which began back on December 8, 2020 and will conclude on December 8, 2021. This Year of St. Joseph allows us to reflect more deeply on the life of St. Joseph and honor the foster father of our Lord Jesus Christ. St. John of the Cross, the great Spanish mystic of the 16th century, stated, “I did not understand St. Joseph well enough, but that will change.” I share similar sentiments for myself and wish the same for you as well. We may not understand St. Joseph well enough right now, but hopefully that will change throughout this year.
What do we know of St. Joseph? We know that he was the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus. We know he was a just and righteous man and that he listened to and followed God's plan. We know he worked as a laborer, as a carpenter. Beyond that, we know rather little about him. We are not sure whether he was young or old when he married Mary, nor do we know if he had previously been married and widowed before becoming betrothed to Mary. St. Joseph never speaks once in the Gospels. St. Joseph is the patron saint of fathers, of carpenters and workers, of the Universal Church, and of a happy death. Some people will bury a statue of St. Joseph in their yard when attempting to sell their house; that is a superstition, and I cannot urge you more to not do this. If you're trying to sell your house, place a statue of St. Joseph instead in your house and ask for his intercession.
One way to better come to know St. Joseph is to engage in a consecration to St. Joseph with its accompanying preparation. As Catholics, we worship the Most Holy Trinity, one God, and we worship one God alone. At the same time, we honor the saints. Just as we entrust ourselves to our parents when we are young, so we consecrate ourselves to God through the intercession and guidance of the saints. A consecration to St. Joseph is asking St. Joseph to lead us closer to Jesus Christ. It makes sense that we ask St. Joseph to lead us closer to Jesus. St. Joseph was Jesus' foster father: St. Joseph raised him, taught him, spent time with him.
In order to prepare for and make a consecration to God through St. Joseph, I highly recommend the book Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father by Fr. Donald H. Calloway, MIC, which can be purchased by going to https://www.consecrationtostjoseph.org or Amazon. The book provides a 33 day preparation for the consecration, with daily reflections about St. Joseph and prayers. The Solemnity of St. Joseph is March 19, so if you wish to participate in the consecration on that day, the preparation begins on February 15, but there are other dates to consecrate oneself to God through St. Joseph. Looking through the book, it is possible also to engage in the preparation and consecration with others in groups.
We are saints under construction, asking St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus and Protector of the Universal Church, to lead us closer to Jesus Christ. Have a great week!
In Christ,