Here is another novena to St. Joseph sent in from longtime reader Anne in PA. Anne has been with me almost from the beginning and I have truly enjoyed her emails and comments over the years. she sends along what is, perhaps, one of the most widely known of the St. Joseph novena prayers. In fact, when I saw this in my inbox, I couldn’t believe I had forgotten it. May it bring you closer to St. Joseph, and by extension, closer still to the Infant Jesus asleep in his arms.
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 Loving of Fathers.
Oh St. Joseph, I never weary 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 us [add your intention here]. Amen.
Tonight I am at a bar. I took my nephew out to celebrate his birthday. We’re at an Indian casino. I haven’t gambled a penny. I’ve had a gin and tonic.
At the last minute, a friend jumped in on our plans. Not usually a problem but this friend has a problem. Actually; this friend has two problems. Drinking and gambling. This is actually a setup for tomorrows post so bear with me. Otherwise it will make more sense then.
I’ve dealt with alcoholics. It seems one gift God bestowed on me is a sense of compassion. I hate to see others suffer and believe me, being a drunk is clearly a form of suffering – very often for more than just the drunk.
And this is not a post about alcohol. Not tonight. Again, tomorrow will make more sense.
But this got me thinking of sin. You see, I’ve come to realize that this friend is an inveterate drunk. He shows no sign of wanting to turn it around. Doesn’t go to meetings. Thinks everything is fine. This is probably because he’s charmed so many people into giving him second chances. And third. And fourth.
I’m contemplating leaving him here, an hour from home, to figure it out on his own. But two things prevent me. 1) I’m actually not that cruel. 2) I might be crossing into hypocrite territory. You see, I believe I’ve been inveterate in my own sins throughout my life. I am certain that I have, on more than one occasion, walked out of confession positive I was golden only to give in to the same sins with such fascinating weakness. By the grace of God; I have been learning and fighting, and resigning myself to God’s grace more ardently now than I ever have. There’s always a ways to tarry. I attribute much of that strengthening to tradition. In the past few years I have come to hear – finally and clearly – what the Church has always taught about sin and forgiveness and the role of the sinner in a thing called a truly firm purpose of amendment.
And I thank God. And I will help my friend (keeping in mind that the best help sometimes does involve letting a man hit rock bottom before he can reach out for the help).
So tonight, think about what “inveterates” you. Turned it into a verb, sorry. I believe the /a/ needs to be long now. Either way, whatever your sins, make the purpose firm to change your life. Sometimes, as a wise priest once proclaimed in a sermon I heard, “How many times do any of us really call upon the Sacred Name of Jesus in our moments of temptation? Because He promised always to help those who call upon Him…”
Stay confessed my friends, and say a prayer for my buddy.
I awoke this morning to the horrible news of the death of George Neumayr. George was someone I consider a hero and for whom I had great admiration. We can talk another time about the unusual circumstances of the past day. For the record, I do fear that something nefarious was at play. For now, though, all of that is neither here nor there. I pray for the repose of George’s soul and the consolation of his family. Allow me to share a personal story that encapsulates why this man will be missed.
In the summer of 2019 I had some information that I wanted to share with George. I did not know him personally but I had been following his work for some time. The man seemed to be the only investigative journalist actually doing his job and his work on helping to expose McCarrick was of particular interest to me. So I took a chance. I sent him a friend request on Facebook. To my surprise he accepted and subsequently we struck up a conversation through private messages.
“I have some information I think you might be able to use in your investigations,” I said to him. “Can you meet up?” he replied. I told him that I’d be in Northern Virginia within a day or two and we agreed to meet at a coffee shop in Alexandria. I have to admit I kind of “fanboyed” when I saw him walk in the door. And yet, the moment he spoke I knew this was a man of humility. I told him of how I had been in McCarrick’s seminary, had worked in TV news, was a Catholic school administrator, and that I had been following his work and really appreciated his exposes. At times the videos he would post with his stories were more compelling than an episode of Law & Order. In particular I asked him what it was like when he discovered that Teddy had been stashed in a DC Archdiocese-owned house to live with Bishop Dorsonville as his minder. George had knocked on the door and been let in by the housekeeper. He then promptly went looking throughout the residence for McCarrick himself! “What was that like,” I asked, assuming he would say it was “no big deal” or “all in a day’s work”.
“I was scared out of my mind,” he said. “Really?!” I asked. He regaled me with this tale. He had gone there not expecting what happened and yet, as he said, when the door was opened and he was let in, he knew he had to act. “But my heart was racing the whole time for sure.” I can’t put exclamation points at the end of his sentences because he was very measured and it just doesn’t seem right to give his words any level of excitability.
I also share with him something I knew he would find of interest. A year prior I had occasion to be in the security office of a large church in the nation’s capital. There, on the back of the door of the security office, was the infamous wanted poster. George had frequently mentioned that he had been barred from entry to this church because of his work. The church insisted they had no such order in place. I saw the picture. George was correct. He giggled when I told him, vindicated but, I suspect a little incredulous that he was on an actual wanted poster.
Flash forward a month. I’m not the only member of the Harvey family with a nose for news and who was also a fan of George’s work – and who also seems to be mixed up in bizarre situations. My older sister asked me if I could put her in touch with George. She had come across something she thought he could use in his crusade to expose the rot in the Church. So one evening she made a Facetime call to yours truly. She was sitting on her front porch. Nothing out of the ordinary here. She and her husband enjoy nights on the porch with a cocktail in the warm New Jersey summer. And then she turned the phone as she said, “Say hello to George.” There, sitting on a wicker rocking chair was the man himself. He had given her the same courtesy of following up on her lead as he had given to me. He had called her to inquire more of her story and said, “I’m at Penn Station. Where can we meet?” Naturally, she and her husband drove to the station and picked him up. And then they hung out on the porch for a while like old friends. While I was on the phone with him, several of my sister’s kids (all in their twenties) had come home from work. When they saw George Neumayr sitting there having a beer with their mom and dad they legitimately flipped. You thought I fanboyed? George thought this was amusing that he was known by younger Catholics as well as those of us a bit more seasoned. As I recall it was George Neumayr who that night had mentioned to my sister (who passed it along to me) that we really ought to be reading a site called Canon212. Thank you, George. It’s my homepage now.
Do you know what happened next? My sister, my brother-in-law, and George Neumayr got in the car and drove to a local mall. It wasn’t for the great sales… George had been working on bringing to light a situation involving a young laicized priest who had been accused of sexual misconduct. My sister knew where the guy worked. He had been her salesman. They drove there and walked in the door and George got his story. He wrote about it here. Unfortunately the link to the video of the encounter in the story is dead. But I have the original. I thought of posting it. It’s 15 minutes long. Some of you may remember watching it when he first published it. Instead here’s a screen grab. It is George doing what he did best. At one point early on, George asks a series of rapid-fire questions like a dog on a bone, starting with, “Was Monsignor X your pimp?”
This man couldn’t escape when George came with the hard-hitting questions.
George Neumayr was a tenacious reporter and a man fed up by the depravity of the men in the Church founded by Jesus Christ. He will be missed. I doubt we will see the likes of him again soon. Pray for his soul.
St. Joseph, patron of departing souls, pray for us!
Beautiful post on your dad. My Mom passed away on January 17, 2015. She, too, attended daily Mass and prayed the rosary daily. My Dad (he’s still healthy and active at 87) and siblings shared beautiful email remembrances and Facebook posts. They all started with the same theme, on how she went straight to heaven. I’m the only Latin Mass trad in the family, and I mentioned how I pray for the souls of Mom, our siblings, et al. at every Mass, and that even though some or all may already be in heaven, those prayers are not wasted as they inure to the benefit of other souls in purgatory.
Well, you would have thought I threw a wet blanket on the entire affair. We’re all on terrific terms, but the disconnect between Tradition and the steady--but rapidly accelerating—slide to protestantism among the Novus Ordo goers is starting to widen.
I found your blog when your post on altar boys went kind of viral (if I found it, it had to have gone viral). It’s been a breath of fresh air.
Best,
X
First, it amuses me to hear that I went viral. I have said before, and I sincerely mean it, I appreciate each, and every person who finds his way onto this page and am most grateful that anyone reads my blog. The reader does strike upon something very important. The Novus Ordo mass is essentially exactly what he says. It was conceived with an aim toward “welcoming our separated brethren”. One other point I will make (and I think our writer alludes to it very nicely) is this. Pray for the dead. Pray without ceasing.Pray without ceasing.Pray for the dead. Pray without ceasing. Pray for the dead. Pray without ceasing. The Blessed Mother, Mediatrix of ALL grace will redistribute as needed. About the only people our faith teaches us that we can surely know are in heaven are the souls of baptized children who have not attained the use of reason.
Thank you for this beautiful reflection! May God bless you richly and let us all pray for each other. We’re in similar boats. Many of my siblings are not “in tradition” yet but I hope they swim over really soon.
They say that Bergoglio is really, really upset and that he’s pouncing on Benedict’s death to further “restrict the Latin Mass”.
Forgive my apathy, but at this point, should I really care what an antipope threatens?
Do we know what to do if that happens? Yes. Stay confessed. Stop committing mortal sins. I heard Mark Docherty say something on Barnhardt’s most recent podcast: “Stay close to home.” To this I add, stay close to the Blessed Mother. Pray your rosary. Stock up on beeswax candles because, why not? Feed the hungry. Give drink to the thirsty. Clothe the naked. Get on your knees and pray. Fast. Mortify the flesh.
For heaven’s sake, He gave us the keys to this puzzle 2000 years ago. Stay close to Him.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us poor sinners!
Today at Mass, we heard the Gospel of the Wedding at Cana. This is is my favorite Gospel passage. As a poet once remarked, “The water beheld its God and blushed.”
I remember many years ago when a dear friend died. She was an old woman from the parish in the old neighborhood. She was funeral director with an Irish surname and a big heart. I loved this woman. I’d see her every day when I was a child. We were all part of what we called the “6:30 Club”, as in the 6:30 AM daily Mass. I was in my early 20’s when she died. At her funeral this Gospel was read. Today I would take issue with that. I don’t think people should be “picking the readings”. There really shouldn’t be any option. But for her it seemed fitting as she was so incredibly devoted to Our Lady. The priest, in his sermon at her funeral, spoke of that devotion. He said, “I imagine that if she went straight to God it was because Our Lord greeted her and said ‘Josephine, come with Me. My Mother has told me so much about you.’” And I always loved that image.
Jesus Meets His Afflicted MotherHoly Trinity Catholic Church, Dallas
Do whatever He tells you. These are the last words spoken by the Blessed Mother in Scripture.
Do whatever He tells you. Listen to your Mother. Turn to her as the couple did at Cana. She knew their need before they even recognized and she pleaded for them. And Our Lord, her Son, complied.
I remember digesting the coverage of the trial of Cardinal Pell several years ago. It was obvious to me at the time that the whole thing was a massive set-up. What was not obvious were factors that would emerge in subsequent years. For instance, it now seems probably that Vatican entities connected with Cardinal Becciu wired money from the Vatican to Victoria to affect the outcome of the late Cardinal Pell’s prosecution. As a side note, what I’m saying here is that, to me, it looks like Becciu was working to get Pell locked up to get him out of the way. Remember, Pell was a Vatican financial watchdog and Becciu was wiring money to his charities run by his brother to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars in addition to other shady investments. Pell was convicted and spent So Cardinal Pell was grievously wronged, right? Pell spent time in prison, forbidden to offer Mass, until Australian courts vacated his conviction. And then he returned to Rome.
And then there’s the Pell with questionables. Pell was celebrated in Trad(inc.) circles and to some extent he did emit a certain orthodox flair. He was staunchly opposed to ending priestly celibacy. Woohoo. That qualifies as orthodox these days? On the other hand (and I promise to look find the exact clip), Malachi Martin, in one of his Bernard Janzen interviews, describes by name a young Bishop Pell as a dangerous man who spouts whatever the current company line is. That section of the interview was actually a lot more damning for Pell than I just wrote. Seriously, I promise to locate the clip. It’s worth a listen. Pell was said to be difficult to work with, the kind of man most people wouldn’t mind seeing fall from grace due to his temperament. Granted that was several years back and serving thirteen months in prison for a crime one didn’t commit might certainly humble a man. One final point on the dubious creds of the cardinal… Here’s a quote I came across from a debate with Richard Dawkins that was televised in 2012. There are Pell’s own words.
“Adam and Eve are terms – what do they mean: life and earth. It’s like every man. That’s a beautiful, sophisticated, mythological account. It’s not science but it’s there to tell us two or three things. First of all that God created the world and the universe. Secondly, that the key to the whole of universe, the really significant thing, are humans and, thirdly, it is a very sophisticated mythology to try to explain the evil and suffering in the world.”
“A sophisticated, mythological account?” Thanks for the solid, Your Eminence. When you meet Adam and Eve, I hope they’re not too “mythologically” disappointing to you.
And then today I read accounts of his funeral in Rome. A “simple” affair. According to the Register, simple funerals for cardinals are the order of the day in the Vatican. I looked at the story and saw the picture of Pell’s casket resting on the floor. How odd. It certainly seemed like a final slap in the face to the man. Not even a bier? This reminded me of the time when my brother-in-law died two years ago and my sister asked me and another brother-in-law to be pall bearers. My other brother-in-law asked, “Just to be clear, you wanted us to be pall bearers or honorary pall bearers?” As she lit a Virginia Slim 120, my sister replied, “For God’s sake, the damn thing’s on wheels. It’s all honorary.” I get what they’re doing. They did it with Benedict. Let’s minimize the funeral and thereby minimize the life.
Nonetheless, it raises several questions and not enough answers for me. Cardinal Pell. Was he a complicated man? Was he orthodox? A Francis-loving (and thus heretic-loving) leftie? He was certainly a victim of politics and a man unjustly imprisoned and for that I hold him in some esteem. For the good things he said and did, I regard him kindly. For the things he said and did that fly in the face of orthodoxy, I think I feel compelled to offer prayers for him. You see, Cardinal Pell, may he rest in peace, seemed like so many others of the post-Vatican II Church. A fan of the phenomenologist JPII and a “Fwanciss is definitely pope, stupid” curial member, he also authored the “Demos Memo” telling the Cardinals what to do in the next conclave to eliminate the Bergoglian threat to the Church. Man, this guy was all over the map! If any of you can figure him out, please let me know.
Meanwhile I will offer this prayer for him.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.
Folks, I got off all that social media nonsense a while ago. Sorry but I'm not on Twitbook, Facepalm, YouHu, WingWang or any of the others. Maybe an event will happen to make me change my mind like Peter and Paul coming down with flaming swords and commanding it be so. Until then, read the blog and if you feel a comment is in order or you feel like sharing a tip or suggestion for a topic, email me at harvey@harveymillican.com.
Harvey Millican's Blog: Musings of a Trad Dad 