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February 14 - March 19, 2021
Our heavenly Father has had only one saint to represent him on earth. Hence he bestowed everything he could on that favored saint, and equipped him with all that he needed to be his worthy representative.1 — St. Peter Julian Eymard
God the Father doesn’t have a human nature. Every time Jesus saw St. Joseph, heard him speak, watched him work, or witnessed his chaste love for Mary, the humanity of Jesus witnessed a perfect reflection of the Heavenly Father. God chose to make Joseph his most tangible image on earth, the depository of all the rights of his divine paternity, the husband of that noble Virgin who is Mistress of angels and men.2 — Blessed William Joseph Chaminade
Lucifer lost the light because of his pride and disobedience to God. Now, Satan lives in perpetual darkness and abhors the light. Satan fears your spiritual father because St. Joseph is a humble creature of flesh and blood, the perfect reflection of the Father of Lights. Saint Joseph is a true and everlasting light bearer, an icon of God the Father.
Saint Joseph is a model for all men. Real men are true gentlemen, at the service of others. Real men love. Real men protect women and children against any and all threats. Real men are willing to die for their wives and children. Holy priests and bishops are willing to suffer and die for the souls entrusted to their care. Priests and bishops of this caliber are not afraid of ridicule, slander, poverty, or imprisonment. Men like St. Joseph are willing to fight for what they love, what is good, true, and beautiful. May the Church and families once again be filled with such men!
God wants all men to be like St. Joseph. He is the first Chaste Guardian of the Virgin. Most men will be called to marriage, while some are called to consecrated celibacy. Both vocations are necessary. Without marriage, there are no children. Without priests, there are no Sacraments. Married men need to be chaste in marriage; priests and bishops need to be like St. Joseph in their chaste love for the virginal Church — guardians, defenders, and protectors of the beauty entrusted to them, not users and abusers of the sacred mysteries.
Prayer is difficult when you are assailed with temptations against purity, but St. Joseph will fight for you if only you invoke his holy name.
Venerable Fulton J. Sheen spoke of three rings in marriage: the engagement ring, the wedding ring, and the suffering. Those who are married know this to be true. Marriage is not easy. It begins with a honeymoon and will be filled with many hardships, difficulties, and trials. For a marriage to work, mutual love, sacrifice, and faithfulness are necessary.
A concrete area in your life where you can exercise the virtue of patience is by being merciful to others, especially when you know their faults.
There is no need for you to bury a statue of St. Joseph to sell your house. Burying a statue of St. Joseph in an effort to sell a home is a modern phenomenon. Saint Teresa of Avila and St. André Bessette never buried statues of St. Joseph. Statues, unlike medals, are not made to be buried. Statues represent a person, and are meant to be venerated above ground, not buried in the ground. Place a statue of St. Joseph inside your home and pray to St. Joseph frequently for your domestic needs, including the selling of your home. Do not bury a statue of St. Joseph in your yard.
Remember, O most chaste spouse of the Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto you, my spiritual father, and beg your protection. O foster father of the Redeemer, despise not my petitions, but in your goodness hear and answer me. Amen.
Joseph was probably a young man, strong, virile, athletic, handsome, chaste, and disciplined. Instead of being a man incapable of loving, he must have been on fire with love.
Everyone sees that Mary is a mother, but only Joseph knows that she is a virgin.
What the Church and the world can learn from a younger depiction of St. Joseph — especially in theology, preaching, literature, and art — is that young men can be chaste, heroic, and holy.
Joseph also was virginal through Mary in order that from a virginal marriage a virginal son might be born.15 — St. Jerome
Joseph wanted to give the Virgin her liberty, not because he suspected her of adultery, but [because] out of respect for her sanctity he feared to live together with her.11 — St. Thomas Aquinas
The greatness of St. Joseph is that he was willing to become a homeless wanderer out of love for God and Mary.
When Jesus was born, Egypt was both pagan territory and the bread basket of the world. How fitting that God sent St. Joseph to Egypt! There, St. Joseph was responsible for raising the Living Host that would feed the world. The Joseph of the Old Testament had saved his people from starvation by dispensing grain out of Egypt. The new Joseph would offer the world the “grain” he lovingly helped grow in Egypt, the living Bread that gives eternal life!
