THE CONCEPTION AND SANCTIIFICATION OF JOSEPH

Through the Servant of God, Mother Cecilia Baij, whose writings were given both the Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat, we learn of the circumstances of St Joseph’s conception and birth. These events mirror those of the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:5) and St John the Baptist (St Luke1:5-19, 41-44) who were sanctified in the womb several months after their conception (freed from the stain of original sin by the grace of God, not to be confused with the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.)

Servant of God, Mother Cecilia Baij: God permitted that their (Jacob and Rachel’s) marriage should, for a time, prove to be unfruitful, for He wished Joseph to be a child obtained through prayerful entreaty. … His parents generously bestowed alms upon the poor and for the temple in Jerusalem. They also made many pilgrimages to beg God for the desired offspring! God, before long, provided consolation.

It was on one occasion… in the temple, that Joseph’s mother experienced an inner conviction that God had heard her prayer … and indeed she conceived St Joseph.  …

The happiness and piety of the parents were increased when an angel came to reveal to them … secret facts concerning this child. … It was disclosed that the child would have the happy privilege of seeing the promised Messiah and associating with Him …

The momentous day arrived. Joseph’s mother gave birth to her child with ease… The tiny babe had a most angelic, venerable, and serene expression  … and the mere sight of him was an occasion of spiritual stimulation for everyone. … 
           

Joseph was in the grace and friendship of God, having been previously freed of the stain of original sin. … Joseph had the best of dispositions: he was endowed with gifts. He matured in a most outstanding manner, both  physically and spiritually; … His soul’s growth was derived from the graces he obtained from the divine bounty and generosity. God fashioned him according to His own heart and spirit, in order to    eventually make him a worthy bridegroom for the Mother of the Divine Word. The child acknowledged these gifts which he was receiving from God. 

  ________________________

In the seventeenth century, a Spanish mystic named Maria de Agreda (1602-1665) was also given heavenly insights into the life of the Holy Family, which were compiled in her monumental work, Mystical City of God. Her writings have been acclaimed throughout the centuries by Popes and theologians, and she has since been declared Venerable by the Church. She too was shown that St Joseph was sanctified in his mother’s womb:

Venerable Maria de Agreda:  Joseph was to be a miracle of holiness, as he really was. This marvelous holiness commenced with the formation of his body in the womb of his mother. In this the providence of God himself interfered, regulating the composition of the four radical humors of his body with extreme nicety of proportion and securing for him that evenly tempered disposition which made his body a blessed earth fit for the abode of an exquisite soul and well-balanced mind (Wisdom 8:19.)

He was sanctified in the womb of his mother seven months after his conception, and  the  leaven  of  sin  was  destroyed  in  him  for  the  whole course of life, never having felt any impure or disorderly movement.          

Although he did not receive the use of his reason together with this first sanctification, which consisted principally in justification from original sin, yet his mother at the time felt a wonderful joy of the Holy Ghost. Without understanding entirely the mystery she elicited great acts of virtue and   believed that her son, would be wonderful in the sight of God and men.

 ________________________

The sanctification of Joseph in the womb is a remarkable example of God’s infinite wisdom and goodness in preparation for the Incarnation of God the Son. The Heavenly Father sanctified Joseph so that when the time came for him to wed the Blessed Virgin Mary and raise Our Lord Jesus as his own son, he would be the most perfect and holy husband and father. Just as pharaoh deemed Joseph of the Old Covenant to be the worthy prince over his possessions (Psalm 104:21 Douay-Rheims) and intercessor for those who hungered (Genesis 41:55), so too did our almighty and ever living God choose from eternity this new Joseph to be born to protect and adore His most precious treasures: Our Lord Jesus Christ – the Bread of life (St. John 6:35), and His perfect tabernacle, the Virgin Mary (St. Luke 1:42.)

 ________________________

 

St. Alphonsus Liguori: When God, destines anyone for a particular office, He gives him the graces that fit him for it. Therefore, since God chose St. Joseph to fill the office of father over the person of the Incarnate Word, we must certainly believe that he conferred upon him all the sanctity which belonged to such an office. Among other privileges, Joseph had three which were special to him. Firstly, that he was sanctified in his mother's womb, as were Jeremias and St. John the Baptist. Secondly, that he was at the same time confirmed in grace. And thirdly, that he was always exempt from the inclinations of concupiscence—a privilege with which St. Joseph by the merit of his purity, favors his devout clients by delivering them from carnal appetites.

30 DAYS PRAYER TO ST JOSEPH

A blameless life, St. Joseph, may we lead, by your kind patronage from danger freed. Ever-blessed and glorious Joseph, kind and loving father, and helpful friend of all in sorrow! You are the good father and protector of orphans, the defender of the defenseless, the patron of those in need and sorrow. Look kindly on my request. 

My sins have drawn down on me the just displeasure of my God, and so I am surrounded with unhappiness. To you, loving guardian of the Family of Nazareth, do I go for help and protection. Listen, then, I beg you, with fatherly concern, to my earnest prayers, and obtain for me the favors I ask.

I ask it by the infinite mercy of the eternal Son of God, which moved Him to take our nature and to be born into this world of sorrow.

I ask it by the weariness and suffering you endured when you found no shelter at the inn of Bethlehem for the holy Virgin, nor a house where the Son of God could be born. Then, being everywhere refused, you had to allow the Queen of Heaven to give birth to the world's Redeemer in a cave.

I ask it by the loveliness and power of that sacred Name, Jesus, which you conferred on the adorable infant.

I ask it by that painful torture you felt at the prophecy of holy Simeon, which declared the child Jesus and His holy Mother future victims of our sins and of their great love for us.

I ask it through your sorrow and pain of soul when the angel declared to you that the life of the Child Jesus was sought by His enemies. From their evil plan you had to flee with Him and His Blessed Mother to Egypt. I ask it by all the suffering, weariness, and labors of that long and dangerous journey.

I ask it by all your care to protect the Sacred Child and His Immaculate Mother during your second journey, when you were ordered to return to your own country. I ask it by your peaceful life in Nazareth where you met with so many joys and sorrows.

I ask it by your great distress when the adorable Child was lost to you and His Mother for three days. I ask it by your joy at finding Him in the Temple, and by the comfort you found at Nazareth, while living in the company of the Child Jesus.

I ask it by the wonderful submission He showed in His obedience to you.

I ask it by the perfect love and conformity you showed in accepting the Divine order to depart from this life, and from the company of Jesus and Mary. I ask it by the joy which filled your soul, when the Redeemer of the world, triumphant over death and hell, entered into the possession of His kingdom and led you into it with special honors.

I ask it through Mary's glorious Assumption, and through that endless happiness you have with her in the presence of God.

O good father! I beg you, by all your sufferings, sorrows, and joys, to hear me and obtain for me what I ask. (request)

Obtain for all those who have asked my prayers everything that is useful to them in the plan of God. Finally my dear patron and father, be with me and all who are dear to me in our last moments, that we may eternally sing the praises of JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH.  

+ Amen.

 

MARCH: THE MONTH OF ST JOSEPH

The Church has always advised the faithful to develop a devotion to St Joseph, to pray to him, to look to him as their patron – but how many of the faithful have heeded these recommendations? The Popes through the ages have made recommendations for us in order to enrich our spiritual lives, but how many people actually listen? If, for example, a Pope speaks through an Encyclical or a Moto Proprio, does anyone follow through with the Holy Father’s advice? Does it matter if the document is from years ago?

Take, among many examples, the Moto Proprio of Pope Benedict XV “BONUM SANE” (1920). In this document, the Holy Father at the time is explicitly exhorting the bishops to encourage the faithful to pray to St Joseph – to honor him at least every Wednesday of the year (not just on March 19) that devotion to St Joseph be practiced “as much as possible”, in “every diocese.”

Now when was the last time your local Bishop encouraged you to pray to St Joseph? (I mean REALLY encouraged it?) We cannot rely on the Bishops since many have not even heard of “BONUM SANE” or other papal documents asking for devotion to St Joseph to be practiced by the faithful. So it is up to us to tell others of devotion to St Joseph and to practice this devotion. This is not to say that there aren't some diocese in which there is devotion to St Joseph, but they are very few.

True, it is easier for people to pray the prayers we have memorized: “Our Father”, “Hail Mary” and “Glory Be”, but why not get to know a short prayer to St Joseph? Something we can learn and keep in our hearts, like this simple prayer composed by Pope St Pius X:

O Joseph, virgin father of Jesus, pure spouse of the Virgin Mary, pray for us daily to the Son of God, that, armed with the weapons of His grace, we may fight as we ought in life, and be crowned by Him in death. + Amen.

... or how about this adaptation of the “Hail Mary” to St Joseph:

Hail Joseph, Son of David, God is with you. Blessed are you amongst men, and blessed is Our Lord Jesus Christ! Holy Joseph, Guardian of the Redeemer, pray for us and be with us now and as we sigh our last breath.  + Amen.

More prayers to St Joseph HERE.

Very soon the Apostolate of St Joseph Prince of the Church will be releasing the booklet: “THE LITTLE OFFICE OF ST JOSEPH”, which is a perfect way to honor the Patron of the Universal Church - by praying the hours of St Joseph. It is hoped that many people will benefit from using this booklet and that they will help spread this simple devotion to St Joseph.

I wish everyone a Blessed Month of St Joseph and a Holy Season of Lent. Benedicamus Domino! Ite ad Ioseph!

Pope Benedict XV, Bonum Sane:  We, full of confidence in the patronage of the one to whose provident supervision God was pleased to entrust the custody of His only-begotten Incarnate Son, and the Virgin Mother of God, we earnestly exhort all the Bishops of the Catholic world that, in times so turbulent for Christianity, to induce the faithful to pray with greater commitment for the valuable help of St. Joseph. And since there are several ways approved by the Apostolic See with whom you can venerate the Holy Patriarch, especially every Wednesday throughout the year and month consecrated to him, We want, for every Bishop to heed these requests - that all these devotions, as much as possible, are practiced in every diocese.

TE IOSEPH CELEBRENT AGMINA CAELITUM - JOSEPH! TO THEE BY HOSTS ON HIGH

♔         HYMNUM SANCTE IOSEPH         ♔

TE IOSEPH CELEBRENT AGMINA CAELITUM

TE, Ioseph, celebrent agmina caelitum,
te cuncti resonent Christiadum chori,
qui, clarus meritis, iunctus es inclitae,
casto foedere Virgini.

Almo cum tumidam germine coniugem
admirans dubio tangeris anxius,
afflatu superi Flaminis, Angelus
conceptum puerum docet.

Tu natum Dominum stringis, ad exteras
Aegypti profugum tu sequeris plagas;
amissum Solymis quaeris et invenis,
miscens gaudia fletibus.

Electos reliquos mors pia consecrat1
palmamque emeritos gloria suscipit;
tu vivens, Superis par, frueris Deo,
mira sorte beatior.

Nobis, summa Trias, parce precantibus;
da Ioseph meritis sidera scandere,
ut tandem liceat nos tibi perpetim
gratum promere canticum.
Amen.

♔           HYMN TO ST JOSEPH        ♔
JOSEPH! TO THEE BY HOSTS ON HIGH

JOSEPH! to thee by hosts on high
and choirs of Christians, laud be paid!
saintly of life, -by purest tie
joined unto her, the glorious Maid.

When thou didst doubt thy wife's repute,
and mark her great with motherhood,
the angel taught thee that her fruit
came from the Holy Ghost of God.

To clasp the Son, the Lord, was thine,
to share His flight to Egypt's shore,
with tears, to seek in Salem's shrine
Him lost, - with joy, to find once more.

Death brings to other Saints their rest;
through toil they win the victor's place;
thou happier, like the Angels blest,
alive, hast seen God face to face.

Spare us, O Trinity most High!
grant that, with Joseph, we may gain
Thy starry realm, and ceaselessly
there raise to Thee our thankful strain.
Amen. 

 

ST JOSEPH: A TREASURY

Hello everyone, just a reminder that the book "St Joseph: A Treasury" is available from myself at the Apostolate of St Joseph Prince of the Church at the low cost of $15.00 Let's recap this book for those who do not know of it:

This fittingly titled book is indeed a treasury, featuring works of art from around the world, accompanied by the holy words of saints and pontiffs through the ages. Also included in this work is the pious Holy Cloak devotion, the beautiful Akathist Hymn, as well as a series of Papal prayers in honor of St Joseph.

This book includes quotes from Pope Francis, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Pope St John Paul II, St Bernardine of Siena, St Francis de Sales, St Alphonsus Liguori, St Pater Julian Eymard, St Josemaria Escriva, St Teresa de Avila, Blessed Pius IX, Pope St John XXIII, Venerable Maria de Agreda and many more!

This book is 316 pages and includes over 100 color images! And it is offered at the low cost of $15 dollars. No profit is made from this book - it all goes toward the printing and shipping of this book. (for me to mail one book via airmail averages around $25 North America, $40 overseas.)  

I have already sent many copies of this book to people in Canada, USA, Cuba, Spain, Philippines, Indonesia, Malta, Italy and Uganda. Those of you who wish to make a donation to the Apostolate to help with our costs, please click here.

Please click HERE for more information.

ST JOSEPH: FATHER & TEACHER OF CHRIST

And they kept saying, “Is this not Jesus the son of Joseph?”  — St. John 6:42

The Holy Bible does not give us a full account of the life of the Holy Family except for a brief mention in the Gospel of St. Luke, when Jesus is already twelve years of age. These hidden years were no doubt filled with the everyday joys and sorrows that families experience all the time.

According to Venerable Maria de Agreda, upon arriving at their home in Nazareth, St. Joseph straightaway set out to re-establish himself as a carpenter, opening up his shop to earn a living for his family: 

The holy Joseph also ordered his occupations and his work so as most worthily to earn sustenance for the divine Child and his Mother as well as for himself. That, which in other sons of Adam is considered a punishment and a hardship, was to this holy Patriarch a great happiness. For while others were condemned to sustain their natural life by the labour of their hands in the sweat of their brows, saint Joseph was blessed and consoled beyond measure to know, that he had been chosen by his labour and sweat to support God Himself and his Mother.

— Ven. Maria de Agreda,

Mystical City of God: Book 4, Chapter 9

As time went by, Joseph, having now established his family and his work in Nazareth, would go on to teach his son in the ways of life. No doubt that he could learn a lot from his son, but Jesus chooses to respect his intelligence, his hard work, his human nature. In renaissance art, Joseph is often depicted in the background, not playing an active part in the life of Christ when the exact opposite would be true. Who would have spent the most time with Christ besides the Blessed Mother? It would be Joseph, his father. For the first few years of life, the Child Jesus would have been reared mostly by his mother while his father went off to work. Once the Child Jesus grew to suitable age, St. Joseph would take over and instruct him in the ways of life through work and schooling.

FATHER AND TEACHER

If princes of this world are most careful in choosing tutors for their sons, taking pains to secure the best that can be found, do you think that God did not select the man who was the most perfectly qualified to be the guardian of his eternal Son, the Lord of heaven and earth?

— St. Francis de Sales

Complete Works: Discourse 19

 Joseph would most certainly have taught Christ how to read, how to pray, and how to work just like any other father would. This scholastic view of Joseph as teacher is rarely thought of among the theologians or painted in the arts. However, during the seventeenth century, many artists began to portray him as somewhat of a scholar, with an open book in front of him. In some of these paintings, he is actually pointing to a verse in the book, which we assume is our Holy Scripture, as he gazes at the Child Jesus. What does this mean to us? What is Joseph telling us? He was well aware of the prophecies that spoke of a future Messiah and the depiction of him with the book while looking at Jesus is telling us that Jesus is in fact the Promised One and his father is showing this to us. 

Let us not assume that just because he worked with his hands, he was illiterate and did not take the time to read the words of the prophets. We are told in Scripture that when Jesus came to this earth, he emptied himself and did not cling to his divinity, so as to be like one of us (Philippians 2:5-9). Jesus genuinely willed himself to learn from his father on earth and to grow as any other Jewish boy would. Joseph was a father, guardian, and teacher to his son. This Joseph of ours is both worker and intellectual, and no doubt he passed these ideals on to Christ our Lord.

My son, conduct your affairs with humility and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts. Humble yourself the more . . . and you will find favour with God. For great is the power of God; by the humble he is glorified. — Sirach 3:17-20

Hear, O children, a father’s instruction, be attentive, that you may gain understanding! . . . When I was my father’s child, frail, yet the darling of my mother, he taught me, and said to me: “Let your heart hold fast my words! Keep my commands, do not forget; go not astray from the words of my mouth.” — Proverbs 4:1-7

Excerpts from BONUM SANE by POPE BENEDICT XV

.

This was written in 1920  - how relevant this still is today, if not more so. Click here for full text.

POPE BENEDICT XV, BONUM SANE:  We now see, with true sorrow, that society is now much more depraved and corrupt than before, and that the so-called "social question" has been aggravating to such an extent as to create the threat of irreparable ruin. … World Government will no longer acknowledge the authority of the father over his children, or of the public power over the citizens, or of God over human society. All things which, if implemented, would lead to terrible social convulsions, like those which are already happening… We, therefore, concerned most of all by the course of these events … remind those on Our side, who earn their bread by their work, to save them from socialism, the sworn enemy of Christian principles, with great solicitude recommend them in particular to St. Joseph, to follow him as their guide and to receive the special honor of his heavenly patronage.

St Joseph Patron of the Church

 

Blessed Pope Pius IX, Inclytum Patriarcham: The Catholic Church rightly honors and venerates, with a feeling of deep reverence, the illustrious patriarch blessed Joseph, now crowned with glory and honor in heaven. On earth Almighty God, in preference to all His saints, willed him to be the chaste and true spouse of the Immaculate Virgin Mary as well as the putative father of His only-begotten Son. He indeed enriched him and filled him to overflowing with entirely unique graces, enabling him to execute more faithfully the duties of so sublime a state.

Pope Benedict XVI, Yaoundé, Cameroon, 19 March 2009:  Dear brothers and sisters, our meditation on the human and spiritual journey of Saint Joseph invites us to ponder his vocation in all its richness, and to see him as a constant model for all those who have devoted their lives to Christ in the priesthood, in the consecrated life or in the different forms of lay engagement. Joseph was caught up at every moment by the mystery of the Incarnation. Not only physically, but in his heart as well, Joseph reveals to us the secret of a humanity which dwells in the presence of mystery and is open to that mystery at every moment of everyday life.

Pope Leo XIII, Quamquam Pluries:  The Blessed Patriarch Joseph looks upon the multitude of Christians who make up the Church as confided especially to his trust - this limitless family spread over the earth, over which, because he is the spouse of Mary and the father of Jesus Christ he holds, as it were, a paternal authority. It is, then, natural and worthy that as the Blessed Joseph ministered to all the needs of the family at Nazareth and girt it about with his protection, he should now cover with the cloak of his heavenly patronage and defend the Church of Jesus Christ.

Venerable Pope Paul VI, Homily, 19 March 1969:  The Church invokes St. Joseph as her Patron and Protector through her unshakable trust that he to whom Christ willed to confide the care and protection of His own frail human childhood, will continue from heaven to perform his protective task in order to guide and defend the Mystical Body of Christ Himself, which is always weak, always under attack, always in a state of peril. We call upon St. Joseph for the world, trusting that the heart of the humble working man of Nazareth, now overflowing with immeasurable wisdom and power, still harbors and will always harbor a singular and precious fellow-feeling for the whole of mankind. So may it be.

Pope Benedict XV, Bonum Sane:  We, full of confidence in the patronage of the one to whose provident supervision God was pleased to entrust the custody of his only-begotten Incarnate Son, and the Virgin Mother of God, we earnestly exhort all the Bishops of the Catholic world that, in times so turbulent for Christianity, to induce the faithful to pray with greater commitment for valuable help of St. Joseph. And since there are several ways approved by the Apostolic See with whom you can venerate the Holy Patriarch, especially every Wednesday throughout the year and month consecrated to Him, We want, for every Bishop to heed these requests - that all these devotions, as much as possible, are practiced in every diocese.