Virgo Potens

ANOTHER PRAYER FOR A HAPPY DEATH O Blessed Joseph, who yielded up Thy last breath in arms of Jesus and Mary, obtain for me, I beseech Thee, the grace of a happy death. Defend me from the attacks of my enemy in that hour of pain and anguish, to which I now invite thee, that thou mayest assist me by Thy presence and protect me by thy power. Obtain for me this grace, O holy Joseph, that I may breathe forth my soul in praise, saying in spirit, if I am unable to do so in words: “Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give Thee my heart and my soul.” Amen. Favorite Prayers to Saint Joseph (1997)

Month of the St. Joseph ~ March 21st Application.— In our own case, too, how often does the prospect of trials awaiting us in days to come awaken feelings of undue anxiety and fear ? How often do we feel discouraged and disheartened at the opposition, the difficulties, the sufferings, that we meet with. The thought that these things are the raw material of our future glory, the price we have to pay for heaven, will console and strengthen us. In our work for God, success is often purchased at the cost of many little disappointments and failures, and of opposition, too, even on the part of well-meaning persons. Affections and Resolutions.— Not to give way to discouragements on such occasions. Be patient, trust in God, and persevere. Labour crossed and thwarted is often the most fruitful. ~ Rev. Joseph McDonnell, S.J., St. Joseph, A Novena of Meditations and Prayers (1926)

PRAYER FOR A HAPPY DEATH O Glorious St. Joseph, behold I choose thee today for my special patron in life and at the hour of my death. Preserve and increase in me the spirit of prayer and fervor in the service of God. Remove far from me every kind of sin; obtain for me that my death may not come upon me unawares, but that I may have time to confess my sins sacramentally and to bewail them with a most perfect understanding and a most sincere and perfect contrition, in order that I may breathe forth my soul into the hands of Jesus and Mary. Amen. Favorite Prayers to Saint Joseph (1997)

2 of 2 Month of St. Joseph ~ March 20th Strange were the words it uttered, “Behold this Child is set for the fall and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign that shall be contradicted”; and to the trembling mother standing by it also spoke, “And thine own soul a sword shall pierce.” The heart of Joseph sank within him as he heard the words of dreadful import opening such a vista of unutterable sorrow in the future lives of those he loved the best on earth. 2. Yet neither was this sorrow unalloyed. For with it came the thought of all the countless souls that this same Child would win for God and heaven above. The suffering and the sorrows of the Man-God and of His Blessed Mother were the price of the redemption of the human race. And joy and heavenly sweetness at the thought of heaven peopled for eternity with souls redeemed, struggled with his sorrow in the breast of Joseph. ~ Rev. Joseph McDonnell, S.J., St. Joseph, A Novena of Meditations and Prayers (1926)

1 of 2 Month of the St. Joseph ~ March 20th The Seven Joys and Sorrows of St. Joseph (continued) 1st Prelude — Behold St. Joseph carrying the Child Jesus up to the Temple, or hurrying with Him in his arms into Egypt. 2nd Prelude — Grace to undeistand and sympathise with the joys and sorrows of St. Joseph. 1st Point — St. Joseph’s Fourth Sorrow and Fourth Joy Consideration.— What a gathering there was, that famous February morning, within the solemn precincts of the second Temple, rendered this day holier than even was its predecessor by the visit of the Man-God. The Messiah and His Blessed Mother and St. Joseph, Holy Simeon and Anne the prophetess, they all were there. And when the rite was done, a voice was heard that broke with awful meaning on the soul of Joseph. (continued below)

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO ST. JOSEPH O dearest St. Joseph ! I consecrate myself to thy honor and give myself to thee, that thou mayest always be my Father, my Protector and my Guide in the way of salvation. Obtain for me a great purity of heart, and a fervent love of the interior life. After thy example may I do all my actions for the greater glory of God, in union with the Divine Heart of Jesus, and with the Immaculate Heart of Mary! And do thou, O blessed St. Joseph, pray for me, that I may share in the peace and joy of thy holy death. Amen. Who Is St. Joseph? (1889)

2 of 2 March 19th ~ FEAST of ST. JOSEPH, SPOUSE OF THE Blessed Virgin Mary, Confessor Devotion to St. Joseph has developed amongst Christian people in so marvelous a manner, following such wonderful laws, that it is impossible not to recognize therein the working of Divine Providence. In the early Church, the festivals were such as referred to the mystery of the salvation of the world. The golden period of devotion to Mary began with the Council of Ephesus. Second only to Mary comes Joseph, who although not the Father of Jesus, had a father’s authority over Him. He was invested with this authority by the Eternal Father. The commands of God to the Holy Family were delivered by an angel to Joseph. During the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries, devotion to him grew rapidly, fostered by St. Bridget of Sweden and St. Bernardine of Siena. Pius IX declared Joseph “Patron of the Universal Church.” ~ The New Roman Missal, 1937 St. Joseph, pray for us.

1 of 2 March 19th ~ FEAST of ST. JOSEPH, SPOUSE OF THE Blessed Virgin Mary, Confessor Joseph, says the Holy Scripture, was a just man; he was innocent and pure; he was gentle and tender; he was prudent and a lover of silence; above all he was faithful and obedient to divine calls. (continued below)

❀•°❀°•❀•°❀°•❀ True Comfort Is to be Sought In God Alone Imitation of Christ ~ Book III, Chapter 16 DISCIPLE WHATSOEVER I can desire or imagine for my comfort, I look not for it in this life, but hereafter. For if I alone should have all the comforts of this world, and might enjoy all its delights, it is certain they could not last long. Wherefore, thou canst not, O my soul, be fully comforted, nor perfectly delighted but in God, the comforter of the poor and the support of the humble. Expect a little while, my soul, wait for the divine promise, and thou wilt have plenty of all that is good in Heaven. If thou desirest too inordinately these pres­ent things, thou wilt lose those that are heavenly and everlasting. Let temporal things serve thine use, but the eternal be the object of thy desire. Thou canst not be fully satisfied with any tem­poral good, because thou wast not created for the enjoyment of such things. 2. Although thou shouldst have all created goods, yet this could not make thee happy and blessed; but in God, who created all things, thy beatitude and happiness consist. Not such a happiness as is seen or extolled by the foolish admirers of this world, but such as good Christians look for, and of which they have sometimes a foretaste who are spiritual and clean of heart, whose conversation is in Heaven. (Phil. 3:20). All human comfort is vain and short. Blessed and true is that comfort which is inwardly received from truth. A devout man always carries about him Jesus, his comforter, and saith to Him: Be with me, O Lord Jesus, in all places and at all times. Let this be my consolation, to be willing to want all human comfort. And if Thy comfort also be withdrawn, let Thy will and just appointment for my trial be to me as the greatest of comforts. "For thou wilt not be angry always, nor wilt thou threaten forever." (Ps. 102:9). ~ Thomas á Kempis, The Imitation of Christ. Translated by the Right Rev. Richard Challoner, D.D. ❀•°❀°•❀•°❀°•❀

2 of 2 Month of St. Joseph ~ March 19th 2. Yet this sorrow was accompanied by consolation. An angel had informed St. Joseph that the Child should be called Jesus. It was St. Joseph’s wondrous privilege to confer the Sacred Name. How great must have been the sanctity of him who thus was chosen to name the Godhead with the name of Jesus, Saviour. What sweetness filled his soul as, for the first time, he breathed that sweetest of all names. Application.— It is sweetness in the heart and honey on the lips of those who often use it with devotion. Affections and Resolutions.— Often to invoke the Sacred Name. “My Jesus, mercy; may I ever love Thee more and more.” Colloquy with St. Joseph. Spiritual Reading.— “Imitation of Christ” Book III., Chapter 16. ~ Rev. Joseph McDonnell, S.J., St. Joseph, A Novena of Meditations and Prayers (1926)

Month of the St. Joseph ~ March 19th 3rd Point — St. Joseph’s Third Sorrow omd Third Joy Consideration.— Eight days after the birth of a Jewish boy, took place the ceremony of circumcision. It was the first shedding of the Saviour’s Blood, His first keen sting of pain. Hard by, His Mother stood, and listened to His Infant cries, and bitter sorrow surged within her heart and that of her dear spouse as they thought of all the suffering that yet awaited Him. It was for our sins the Divine Infant and His Mother and St. Joseph suffered. Should not we, too, be willing to suffer in atonement for our own sins? (continued below)

Voici l’Ami de mon Cœur. Allez a Joseph. Here is the Friend of my Heart. Go to Joseph. St. Joseph, friend of the Sacred Heart, pray for us. His Holiness, Pope Pius IX, by an autograph rescript June 3, 1874, granted to all the faithful who shall make this ejaculation, with at least contrite heart and devotion: An indulgence of one hundred days, once a day. The Raccolta (1878)

2 of 2 Month of St. Joseph ~ March 18th Application.— We, too, with Joseph and the Virgin Mother, will take our place beside the Crib of Bethlehem in lowly adoration, and in loving contemplation of the newly-born Babe. We shall ask these two companions of the Infant Saviour to fill our souls with sentiments like theirs. Affections and Resolutions.— Kneeling that first Christmas night with Mary and St. Joseph at the Infant Savioui's side, pour forth the feivent affections of your heart in acts of love, oblation, and petition. ~ Rev. Joseph McDonnell, S.J., St. Joseph, A Novena of Meditations and Prayers (1926)

1 of 2 Month of the St. Joseph ~ March 18th 2. And as the night wore on, and while the town of Bethlehem was steeped in sleep, the songs of angels filled the little cave, and heavenly glory shone around it, and the Word made Flesh came down to dwell amongst us in the form of a beauteous Infant God. And Joseph's soul was wrapt in ecstasy of joy, as kneeling by the crib he gazed in rapturous contemplation on the newly-born Babe. A moment of such joy was cheaply purchased at the cost of days of toil and sorrow. (continued below)

2 of 2 March 17th ~ FEAST of ST. PATRICK, Bishop, Confessor (continued from above) Pius IX in 1859 as a tribute to the vigorous Faith of this nation raised the feast of St. Patrick which had appeared in the Roman Breviary since the Fifteenth Century, to the rank of a double. Patrick is the great patriarch of the Irish episcopate, and of Irish monachism. This monachism left its mark throughout medieval Europe wherever the Scotti planted their tents and introduced their traditions. His feast is a holy day of obligation in Ireland; there is a church dedicated to Him in Rome, not far from the Via Salaria. ~ The New Roman Missal, 1937

1 of 2 March 17th ~ FEAST of ST. PATRICK, Bishop, Confessor St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, was sent to that country by Pope Celestine as a missionary. He found Ireland heathen and left it Christian. St. Patrick died in A.D. 464, and was buried at Down, in Ulster. He scattered the seed of the Gospel with such success that, from the innumerable band of holy men and women which it produced, the verdant land of Erin was known in the Middle Ages by the glorious title of the “Island of Saints”—a glory which three centuries of bitter persecution of the Catholic Faith at the hands of the Anglican Church utterly failed to eclipse. (continued below)

A Morning Offering Through St. Joseph Receive me, dear and chosen Father, and the offering of every movement of my body and soul, which I desire to present through thee to my blessed Lord. Purify all! Make all a perfect holocaust! May every pulsation of my heart be a Spiritual Communion, every look and thought an act of love, every action a sweet sacrifice, every word an arrow of Divine love, every step an advance toward Jesus, every visit to Our Lord as pleasing to God as the errands of Angels, every thought of thee, dear Saint, an act to remind thee that I am thy child. I recommend to thee the occasions in which I usually fail, particularly . . . [Mention these]. Accept each little devotion of the day, though replete with imperfection, and offer it to Jesus, Whose mercy will overlook all, since He regards not so much the gift as the love of the giver. Amen. Favorite Prayers to Saint Joseph (1997)

2 of 2 Month of St. Joseph ~ March 17th The night was coming on. He must get shelter somewhere. They could not spend the hours of darkness out in the cold deserted streets. At length they found a cave that served as a stable for a neighbouring homestead. Was this to be the palace of the Infant King of Heaven ? The loving heart of St. Joseph bled with sorrow at the thought of all the Virgin Mother and her Child would have to suffer in this wretched lodging. ~ Rev. Joseph McDonnell, S.J., St. Joseph, A Novena of Meditations and Prayers (1926)

1 of 2 Month of the St. Joseph ~ March 17th 2nd Point — St. Joseph’s Second Sorrow and Second Joy Consideration.— The mandate from Imperial Rome had come. There was to be a general enrolment of the Jews. Mary, in her delicate condition, and St. Joseph must leave, and that at once, their little mountain home in Nazareth, and enter on a long and weary journey of some eighty miles to Bethlehem. Tired and footsore, after many days of travel, they reached the little town. Joseph's first endeavour was to find a place of shelter for the Virgin Mother. From inn to inn, from house to house he turned in vain. Everywhere there was the same cold, heartless answer : “No room, no room." (continued below)

Daily Prayer for Protection HAIL O SAINT JOSEPH! I, thine unworthy child, greet thee. Thou art the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate thee. Thou knowest that I have special confidence in thee and, after Jesus and Mary, place all my hope of salvation in thee, for thou art all-powerful with God and will never abandon thy faithful servants. Therefore, I humbly invoke thee and commend myself, with all who are dear to me, and my entire possessions, to thy secure protection and powerful intercession. I beseech thee, by the love of Jesus and Mary, do not abandon me during life, and assist me at the hour of my death. Amen. ~ Ven. Martin Von Cochem Favorite Prayers to Saint Joseph (1997)