In 1870 Blessed Pope Pius IX issued Quemadmodum Deus. This was the act of a Pope who saw the Church coming under attack, from all sides and even from within, so not only did he compose a prayer to St Joseph, but he went one step further and proclaimed St Joseph to be the Patron of the Universal Church! This is no idle gesture if you truly love the Mystical Body of Christ, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church! I’ll just give a quote here from Quemadmodum Deus:
“And now, in these most troublesome times, the Church is beset by enemies on every side, and is weighed down by calamities so heavy that ungodly men assert that the gates of hell have at length prevailed against her, the venerable prelates of the whole Catholic world have presented to the Sovereign Pontiff their own petitions and those of the faithful committed to their charge, praying that he would deign to constitute St. Joseph Patron of the Church. … Accordingly, it has now pleased our Most Holy Sovereign, Pope Pius IX, in order to entrust himself and all the faithful to the Patriarch St. Joseph’s most powerful patronage, has chosen to comply with the prelates’ desire and has solemnly declared him Patron of the Catholic Church.”
So we can see from this that initially it was the people who wanted St Joseph’s help, the people who petitioned their bishops, who then approached the Holy Father. Humanity was crying out for Joseph’s intercession. The Pope lamented that “The Church is beset by enemies on every side,…” the 19th century brought much violence against the Catholic Church, and look at the state of the world today - She has never been under more open attack than now! But back then was the real start of the modern-day war on the Church. The Franco-Prussian war was on, the Italian government wanted take over Rome which before then had always been under the Pope’s authority. So anyway, King Victor Emmanuel II and Pope Pius IX were fighting and there was open hostility toward the Church. So this is one of the great reasons why Pius IX turned to Joseph, to protect the Papacy. So again, proclaiming St. Joseph patron of the Church was no idle gesture. This battle of the church was real and still is! So in times of trouble the Church didn’t go to St Jude or St Anthony (no offense to those guys) but went to ST JOSEPH - who had the Duty of protecting none other than the Son of God Himself and His Blessed Mother.
A good friend of mine, Father Paul, once told me that when he was in the seminary in Ottawa, a priest once questioned celebrating the Feast of St Joseph on March 19, asking “what is there to celebrate about St Joseph? He didn’t do much, we know nothing about him” If I had been there I probably would have knocked this priest in the jaw! Are you kidding me!?
If we truly believe that the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, then we must have a special devotion to St Joseph who guards this Body! He’s like the Cherub who held the flaming sword, appointed by God to guard the Garden of Eden. WE also make up the body of the Church, so doesn’t it make sense that we have recourse to him, whom God has chosen, whom the Popes have chosen? Not just saying a few nice words about him at Christmas time and on March 19th, but ALWAYS. You cannot separate the Catholic Church from devotion to Joseph.
So if we truly believe in the Mystical Body of Christ, if we truly believe the Holy Father to be the Vicar of Christ, then we must believe in the Church’s pronouncement of St Joseph being named Patron of the Catholic Church! These aren’t just words! Look at Matthew 18:18, Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven… AMEN!
“And now, in these most troublesome times, the Church is beset by enemies on every side, and is weighed down by calamities so heavy that ungodly men assert that the gates of hell have at length prevailed against her, the venerable prelates of the whole Catholic world have presented to the Sovereign Pontiff their own petitions and those of the faithful committed to their charge, praying that he would deign to constitute St. Joseph Patron of the Church. … Accordingly, it has now pleased our Most Holy Sovereign, Pope Pius IX, in order to entrust himself and all the faithful to the Patriarch St. Joseph’s most powerful patronage, has chosen to comply with the prelates’ desire and has solemnly declared him Patron of the Catholic Church.”
So we can see from this that initially it was the people who wanted St Joseph’s help, the people who petitioned their bishops, who then approached the Holy Father. Humanity was crying out for Joseph’s intercession. The Pope lamented that “The Church is beset by enemies on every side,…” the 19th century brought much violence against the Catholic Church, and look at the state of the world today - She has never been under more open attack than now! But back then was the real start of the modern-day war on the Church. The Franco-Prussian war was on, the Italian government wanted take over Rome which before then had always been under the Pope’s authority. So anyway, King Victor Emmanuel II and Pope Pius IX were fighting and there was open hostility toward the Church. So this is one of the great reasons why Pius IX turned to Joseph, to protect the Papacy. So again, proclaiming St. Joseph patron of the Church was no idle gesture. This battle of the church was real and still is! So in times of trouble the Church didn’t go to St Jude or St Anthony (no offense to those guys) but went to ST JOSEPH - who had the Duty of protecting none other than the Son of God Himself and His Blessed Mother.
A good friend of mine, Father Paul, once told me that when he was in the seminary in Ottawa, a priest once questioned celebrating the Feast of St Joseph on March 19, asking “what is there to celebrate about St Joseph? He didn’t do much, we know nothing about him” If I had been there I probably would have knocked this priest in the jaw! Are you kidding me!?
If we truly believe that the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, then we must have a special devotion to St Joseph who guards this Body! He’s like the Cherub who held the flaming sword, appointed by God to guard the Garden of Eden. WE also make up the body of the Church, so doesn’t it make sense that we have recourse to him, whom God has chosen, whom the Popes have chosen? Not just saying a few nice words about him at Christmas time and on March 19th, but ALWAYS. You cannot separate the Catholic Church from devotion to Joseph.
So if we truly believe in the Mystical Body of Christ, if we truly believe the Holy Father to be the Vicar of Christ, then we must believe in the Church’s pronouncement of St Joseph being named Patron of the Catholic Church! These aren’t just words! Look at Matthew 18:18, Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven… AMEN!
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