Tag Archives: st. joseph

Turning to Joseph

Posted on October 7, 2023 | Leave a comment

It is October, the month of the Rosary. In fact, this post is dated October 7th, the feast of the Most Holy Rosary. This reminded me earlier this evening while praying the rosary with my kids that there is a prayer to St. Joseph we need to say after the rosary in this month. Many of you know it by heart. I include a translation below.

To thee, O blessed Joseph, do we come in our tribulation, and having implored the help of thy most holy Spouse, we confidently invoke thy patronage also. Through that charity which bound thee to the immaculate Virgin Mother of God and through the paternal love with which thou embraced the Child Jesus, we humbly beg thee to graciously regard the inheritance which Jesus Christ has purchased by his Blood, and with thy power and strength to aid us in our necessities.

O most watchful Guardian of the Holy Family, defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ; O most loving father, ward off from us every contagion of error and corrupting influence; O our most mighty protector, be propitious to us and from heaven assist us in our struggle with the power of darkness; and, as once thou didst rescue the Child Jesus from the supreme peril of His life, so now protect God’s Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity; shield, too, each one of us by thy constant protection, so that, supported by thy example and thy aid, we may be able to live holy lives, die happy deaths, and to obtain the joys of eternal life in heaven. Amen.

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Ite ad Joseph

Posted on September 7, 2023 | Leave a comment

Since the birthday of his spouse is almost upon us, here again one of the most beloved prayers to this great saint.

“O ST. JOSEPH, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in thee all my interests and desires. O St. Joseph, assist me by thy powerful intercession and obtain for me all spiritual blessings through thy foster Son, Jesus Christ Our Lord, so that, having engaged here below thy heavenly power, I may offer thee my thanksgiving and homage.

O St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating thee and Jesus asleep in thine arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near thy heart. press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me, and ask Him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. 

St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for me.”

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An Old Mass and a New Christian!

Posted on April 30, 2023 | Leave a comment

My travels have once again taken me to the northern corner of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Today I am here for the baptism of a little boy born last month. His parents are friends and they have asked me and my wife to be his godparents. It is an honor, but more importantly it is a duty we do not take lightly.

So this morning I set out in search of my beloved Ancient Mass in the venerable Gregorian rite that I might offer my sacrifice especially today for him.

Owing to my location, finding the TLM is no easy task. I should say, finding the Mass is easy. There are only a handful of locations allowed by the bishop. Finding the time of the Mass is another story. For some reason, the diocese has decided that Cardinal Roche has authority even to forbid local parishes from publicizing the Mass times (only for the TLM) anywhere. No bulletin, no website, no social media. I wonder if His Eminence were to tell them how to lace their shoes, if they would consent…

Through back channels, I found a Mass.

Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Birmingham, AL (unrelated to post topic)

And here is how you know you have found a Latin Mass being said when you aren’t supposed to know.

When you drive past a small-ish parking lot packed with at least ten Ford Transit vans, five Ford Econoline 15 passenger vans, a slew of bumper stickers, and at least one vanity license plate that says something like “JUDICAME” or “INTROIBO” or “16KIDZ”; you’ve definitely found it.

Interestingly I think the priest was a Dominican friar and not a diocesan priest. The lack of a biretta (replaced with a hood) and the fact that he had clearly prepared the water, wine, etc. before the Mass were my giveaways. I follow along in the Missal, praying every word. I’m usually very good at pacing myself with the priest at the altar. However, this man seemed to fly through the offertory. Also of note, the good folks of this place really seem to like their dialogue Masses. I am not accustomed to reciting anything during the Mass apart from the Leonine prayers. On the plus side, their Latin is flawless. God bless us all.

And so now it is on to the Novie parish for the baptism and the welcoming to new life of my godson. Please keep little Joseph in your prayers. The Church he is about to enter is everywhere in disarray yet Our Lord Jesus Christ rules, conquers, and prevails! Pray for me also as the church building I am about to enter resembles a spaceship. Should it lift off during the sacrament, well, RIP me, right?

St Joseph, protector of the Church, pray for us!

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The Twig Boy and the Man Among Men

Posted on April 27, 2023 | Leave a comment

Sometimes I struggle to come up with a topic for my daily posting.

And… sometimes a picture really can tell a thousand words.

My oldest brother died of pancreatic cancer seven years ago. He was severely wasted at the end of that terrible three month battle. The last time I spoke to him via FaceTime call just the day before his demise, he said to me, “I love you. The time has come. If I lose any more muscle mass I may come close to resembling a gun control activist.”

In all seriousness – and I do not know this Hogg character from a hole in the ground – there is something seriously amiss about the current generation of 20-something young men. I do not know if he has an aversion to heavy lifting (not just weights, I’m talking about just lifting anything from a suitcase to a backpack) or if he actually has a wasting disease. Maybe it is the latter. If that is the case I will pray for him. If he just doesn’t feel like being a man, I will also pray for him. Hey pal, God gave you that Y Chromosome for a reason. Ultimately, it was supposed to have triggered your pituitary gland to direct your gonads to release massive amounts of testosterone into your bloodstream so you could, you know, develop into a man.

So he wants to take my guns?

I’ll arm wrestle you for them!

That’s what I thought, Twiggy.

Hahahahahaha.

Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

OK, on to more serious news for the night. I re-read the article posted on Mark Dougherty’s blog, Non Veni Pacem, yesterday regarding St. Joseph. This may have been one of the best blog posts I have ever read. Kudos to the blog’s author, Laramie Hirsch, who did a phenomenal job outlining the case for why St. Joseph is indeed the saint for our times and why men need to increase their devotion to him. I texted with a friend from the parish tonight that I find it funny that I never had a remote devotion to St. Joseph until about a year ago and then, as if out of the blue, I felt a need to try to develop one.

And how does one develop a devotion to a great saint? Well, as I’ve learned over the years, you pray hard and then you do what you can. Case in point: if you want to do more pull-ups, then do more pull-ups. You’re never going to hit the Marine Corps PT Test goal if you cannot do one and you cannot do one if you do not try.

St. Joseph is a great saint. If you want to foster a devotion to him, pray about it. Then, turn to him. Talk to him. Ask his intercession. Ask him to guide you. Ask him to pray that you become more like him as a husband and father. Sometimes devotions to particular saints are a gift from God. Sometimes we have to ask for that gift. Always, we have to work at it. And for heaven’s sake, if your biceps resemble smore’s skewers pick up a couple of dumbbells and start curling, lad. There’s no shame except when you didn’t try.

St. Joseph, help me to be the man God has called me to be. At today’s Mass, the communion verse for St. Peter Canisius, came from the Mass “In Medio of a Doctor” and it is one of my favorites as I hope it may be said of me one day:

“The faithful and wise servant, whom his lord setteth over his family: to give them their measure of wheat in due season.”

St. Joseph, model of husbands and fathers, pray for us!

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Our Lady of Good Counsel: The Flying Portrait of Heaven’s Queen

Posted on April 26, 2023 | Leave a comment

Many of you may have noted that I grew up in Newark, NJ and that my home parish all that time was the magnificent neo-Gothic Our Lady of Good Counsel parish.

Today, April 26th, is the traditional feast day of Our Lady of Good Counsel this is one of those that appears in the hand missal under “Feasts celebrated in certain places” (or something to that effect… I don’t have my missal handy as I write this). I would like to share a link to the story of this miraculous image of the Blessed Mother and entreat everyone to consider asking the Fairest of our Race to intercede for us all under this title.

Read the story of the miraculous flight of the Mother of Good Counsel here.

Although I have not seen the image with my own eyes, a priest who did once showed me a beautiful picture he snapped of it. He described the free-standing fresco as being thinner than a sheet of paper. I am captivated by this story.

Our Lady of Good Counsel, Newark, NJ

Even more so, though, I am captivated by the idea of the Seat of Wisdom offering to us her loving counsel. How often in life – especially in these last years – do we have need of her advice? How often do we have recourse to the love shared between Mother and Son as He Himself clings to her neck in absolute trust? How much more, going forward, will we need to cast ourselves before the two of Them and pray that for that counsel?

Non Veni Pacem posted a beautiful reflection today on our need for devotion to St. Joseph. I wholeheartedly concur. I have often wondered why, in the past few years, I have felt Our Lord calling me to increase in devotion to Joseph. I had never had a particular devotion to the Most Chaste Spouse but now I am drawing closer to him. It is obvious to me now that I must be totally and truly devoted to the three. If Satan wants to destroy the family, I must strive as hard as I can to imitate the Holy Family – Blessed Mother of Good Counsel, St. Joseph the strong protector to whom God became subject, and of course Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe!

Lord Jesus, Son of Mary, foster-son of Joseph, have mercy on us!

Our Lady of Good Counsel, pray for us!

St. Joseph, pray for us!

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St. Joseph Novena – Feast Day

Posted on March 12, 2023 | Leave a comment

In the midst of my Lenten festivities (?!, read: fasting), I completely forgot to post a note about the upcoming Feast of St. Joseph. Since the feast this year is transferred to the 20th, I figured that buys me an extra day. Here’s a wonderful prayer with more to follow.

St. Joseph, Terror of Demons, pray for us!

“Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God. I place in you all my interests and desires. Oh, St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So that, having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers.
Oh, St. Joseph, I never weary of contemplating you, and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me and ask him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls – Pray for me.”

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Patron of a Happy Death

Posted on January 30, 2023 | Leave a comment

I would like to share another of the novenas to St. Joseph that was submitted to me recently by a reader when I was looking for solid novena prayers.

This one is found on EWTN’s site. I actually remember praying this one several years ago as my brother was nearing his end. I finished the ninth day – patron of a happy death – hours before he died.

Thank you to all who sent resources. More will be posted in the coming days.

St. Joseph, pray for us!

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