On the Solemnity of St. Joseph

March 19th -- Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary

In thinking of St. Joseph, it seems I've only recently come to appreciate this wonderful saint.  In many ways, I am still learning and discovering how to pray to him.

Sometimes I try to reflect on a few scenes from the gospels, and imagine how St. Joseph might have participated in these events.  My prayers become simple offerings of thankfulness and gratitude...

Some examples:

• Thank you, St. Joseph for not sending away Our Lady when you learned that she was "with child".  Thank you for not exposing her to the cruel demands of the law.

• Thank you for caring for and protecting Mary and the Child Jesus.  

• Thank you for being willing to uproot your family and travel to Egypt when pursued by King Herod.

• Thank you for not being too angry with Our Blessed Lady when you discovered the child Jesus was not with her -- on your return from the trip to the Temple. 

• Thank you for your patience and skill, which you showed when instructing the young Jesus in the carpenter's trade.

• Thank you for remaining silent (the gospels don't record many of your words).  But thank you for always listening to the voice of God!

Conversations With Our Mother...

More or less from the time I was seven years old there took root in my soul the greatest devotion to my Mother, the Most Holy Virgin.  I confided to Mary everything that was happening to me, and she spoke to me.

I heard her voice within me, quite clearly and distinctly. She advised me and told me all that I had to do to please Our Lord. 

I thought that it was a perfectly normal thing, and it never occurred to me to relate to others what the Most Holy Virgin was telling me… 

-- Diary, St. Teresa of the Andes

 

More Mother Than Queen...

 

It is true that Our Lady is Queen of Heaven and earth, but at the same time she is more Mother than Queen . . .

-- St. Therese, Conversation with Mother Agnes

Living In Light...

It is now the hour for you to wake from your sleep.  The night is far spent; the day draws near.  Let us cast off deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.  Let us live honorably as in daylight.

- Romans 13:11-14

In Order To Please...

If you wish to please Mary, if you want to make her smile, let her see Jesus in you. 

-- Bl. Maria Candida of the Eucharist

Ark of the Covenant...

My wife and I regularly take communion to a few shut-ins.  We needed to purchase a new pyx, so my wife went looking online. They had several different sizes, colors, and styles, but the one she found shows a beautiful picture of the Blessed Virgin on it.

It's a lovely image -- and yes, a proper repose for the Most Holy presence of God.

At the Feet of Mary...

I should like to have lips that have been purified by fire to pronounce the name of Mary, and a gold pen to write it in gold letters…

At the feet of Mary, my dearest mother, I found life again.

Oh, all you who suffer, come to Mary, at the feet of Mary, I found life again.

Your salvation, your life are at the feet of Mary.…

-- Thoughts of St. Mary of Jesus Crucified, #11