We
do not praise the Saints merely for the sake of praising them; as St. Bernard
says, they are so full of Heaven's gifts that our poor praises can scarcely add
anything to their glory. We praise them in order to admire them; we admire them
in order to love them; we love them in order to serve them; we serve them in
order to imitate them; and by imitating them we gain their favor, and merit to
have them as protectors in heaven. It is glorious for St. Joseph to be so
great, but what do we gain by his greatness if he does not share it with us, if
he be not our advocate on high? Now he is willing to be of service to us if we
show ourselves worthy, if we render him some poor service, and offer him really
heart-felt homage.
The
best devotion to Saint Joseph is to imitate his virtues, to model your actions
on his, and to act as he acted. He and Our Lady will accept your feeble efforts
and help you, and God will give you His blessing. Say attentively each day a
short prayer in honor of Saint Joseph, or an aspiration or two, with all of
your heart. As with the Golden Hail Mary, it is better to say one brief prayer
or aspiration with utter devotion and from the heart than a long prayer
distractedly.
"When
you invoke Saint Joseph, you don’t have to speak much. You know your
Father in heaven knows what you need; well, so does His friend Saint
Joseph. Tell him, ‘If you were in my place, Saint Joseph, what would
you do? Well, pray for this in my behalf.'" - St André Bessette
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