DIVINE FAVORS GRANTED TO ST.

JOSEPH
by

Pere Binet, S.J.

Translated by M.C.E. From The Edition of The Rev. Fr. Jennesseaux, S.J.

"Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son and thou shalt call his na!e J"#$#. %or he shall save his people fro! their sins." & Matt. ' ()&('

CONTENTS . !ho s St. Jose"h, #nd !hy $oes %e $eserve So Mu&h %onor' . The Titles (f St. Jose"h #nd %is $ifferent (ffi&es .The )atural *ifts (f St. Jose"h +.The Eminent *ra&es (f St. Jose"h,s Soul +. The True Measure (f St. Jose"h,s *ra&es + . Conse-uen&es (f The T.o Prin&i"al Titles (f St. Jose"h #nd %o. *reat #re Their #dvanta/es To This *lorious Patriar&h + . Parallel bet.een St. Jose"h #nd Some (ther Saints + .The #dmirable and n&om"arable +irtues (f This %oly Patriar&h 0. s t Possible To Praise (ur 1ady #nd St. Jose"h n # Manner !orthy (f Them' Contest Bet.een The #bbott Trithemius (n The (ne Side #nd St. Bernard #nd (ther Saints (n The (ther 0. The *lory (f St. Jose"h 0 . The Po.er (f St. Jose"h 0 . St. Jose"h, Patron (f Christians (f #ll Ran2s #nd Conditions 0 . St. Jose"h, S"e&ial Patron (f Sinners, (f The #ffli&ted, #nd (f The $yin/ 0 +.(n $ifferent $evotions !hi&h May Be Pra&tised n %onour (f The *lorious St. Jose"h

St. Jose"h, (ur %el"er n Every +ariety (f )e&essity # )oti&e (n The Cord (f St. Jose"h Prayers To St. Jose"h

$ + )E F#+(RS *R#)TE$ T( ST. J(SEP% 333333334533333333 C%#PTER .

!%( S ST. J(SEP%, #)$ !%6 $(ES %E $ESER+E S( M7C% %()(7R' The %oly *host has .illed to ma2e the /enealo/y of the /lorious St. Jose"h 2no.n to us so exa&tly, that .e need only read the *os"els of St. Matthe. and St. 1u2e to be a&-uainted .ith all his an&estors. By birth he is a "rin&e of the royal house of $avid8 his an&estors are the "atriar&hs, the 2in/s of Juda, the /reat &a"tains of the "eo"le of *od, the most illustrious amon/ the sons of men. 6et this des&endant of $avid .as redu&ed to obs&urity, and lived a "oor and humble life. The Evan/elists .ould a""ear to /ive Jose"h t.o fathers8 but the &ontradi&tion is only a""arent. St. 1u2e says he .as the son of %eli, .ho, ho.ever, died &hildless8 .hile St. Matthe. &alls him the son of Ja&ob, be&ause, a&&ordin/ to several &ommentators, Ja&ob, brother of %eli, es"oused his sister3in3la. Esta as the la. of Moses &ommanded, by .hom he had Jose"h, .ho .as thus the son of Ja&ob by nature, and the son of %eli a&&ordin/ to the la.. The "overty of the family and the &ustom of the &ountry obli/ed Jose"h to learn a trade. !e do not 2no. "ositively if he .or2ed in .ood or in iron, sin&e the holy Fathers are divided on this "oint. The more /eneral o"inion is, ho.ever, that he .as a &ar"enter. St. Justin, in his dialo/ue .ith Tri"hon, adds that the Child Jesus a&ted as %is ado"ted father,s little a""renti&e, assistin/ him to ma2e yo2es and "lou/hs. t is a "ious belief of some authors that St. Jose"h .as san&tified in his mother,s .omb. 9:; Suare< does not /o so far. Still .e must allo. that the "artisans of this o"inion su""ort it by solid reasons, .hi&h have a /reat a""earan&e of truth. There &an be no doubt that this /reat Saint .as a vir/in. Cardinal St. Peter $amian affirms it so "ositively that he seems to ma2e it an arti&le of faith. 9=; Some learned authors even hold that by a s"e&ial ins"iration of *od he made the vo. of vir/inity. Su&h is the belief of the /reat &han&ellor *erson, of St. Bernardin of Siena, of Suare<, and of several others. 9>; n any &ase .e &annot doubt that he had lived a "ure an/eli&al life .hen he united himself by &haste bonds to the +ir/in Mary, his one and only s"ouse. # se&ret ins"iration from heaven &aused both Mary and Jose"h to &ontra&t this allian&e, .hile adorin/ in their hearts the im"enetrable &ounsel of the /reat *od. Mary .as in her fifteenth year8 the a/e of Jose"h is not 2no.n as exa&tly, tradition bein/ silent on the

sub?e&t. The o"inon that he .as about ei/hty years old is .ithout reasonable /rounds, and is not held by theolo/ians, the most esteemed of .hom thin2 that he .as neither an old man nor a youth, but in the "rime of life, bet.een thirty and forty. There are many reasons in su""ort of this o"inion, .hi&h is no. /enerally held. Shortly after this vir/inal marria/e had been &elebrated .ith due solemnity, it "leased *od to send the #r&han/el *abriel to Mary, that he mi/ht announ&e to her the Mystery of the n&arnation, and ex"lain to her that in be&omin/ mother of her Creator, she should not &ease to be a vir/in. #s the mystery .as not at on&e revealed to St. Jose"h, he .as in sore "er"lexity, until the #n/el of *od a""eared to him in a dream, reassured him by ex"lainin/ that the fruit of Mary .as the .or2 of the %oly *host. The life of the t.o s"ouses in this an/eli& marria/e resembled t.o stars, mutually enli/htenin/ ea&h other by their /old and silver rays, .ithout ever &omin/ in &onta&t. 1ater, shall s"ea2 of the ha""iness of this holy life, and .ith .hat "lenitude of &elestial favours *od enri&hed this divine household. For the moment, shall &ontent myself .ith sho.in/ ho. the dream of the first Jose"h .as verified in the se&ond. The former Jose"h sa. himself in a dream, adored by the sun, the moon and eleven stars. (nly later on in E/y"t did he understand this vision, .hen his father, his mother, 9@; and his brethren, "rostrate at this feet, adored him as the saviour of the land. The son of the "atriar&h Ja&ob .as, ho.ever, only a ty"e, destined to enhan&e the s"lendour of that other Jose"h, .hom *od deli/hted to ma2e so /reat, .hom Jesus Christ the true Son of Justi&e honours as %is father, .hom (ur 1ady, &alled in the Canti&les beautiful as the moon, reveres as her lord and s"ouse, .hom the #n/els and Saints, .ho are the stars of heaven, venerate as foster3father and /uide of that nfant *od, !hose servants they esteem themselves ha""y to be. The date of St. Jose"h,s death is un&ertain8 .e 2no. only that it too2 "la&e before the Passion of (ur 1ord Jesus Christ. 9A; !hat an entran&in/ si/ht to behold him ex"ire, one hand in that of Jesus, the other in that of (ur 1ady8 breathin/ forth his blessed s"irit on the bosom of the Saviour *odB To die thus is not to lose life but to over&ome death. Some authors believe, and .ith reason, that Jose"h .as amon/ those Saints .ho, on #s&ension $ay mounted u" to heaven, body and soul, .ith Jesus Christ. !ho indeed deserved more to a&&om"any Jesus in %is trium"h, than he .ho a&&om"anied %im so lovin/ly in %is exile in E/y"t and durin/ the laborious "il/rima/e of %is holy life' !e may therefore "iously believe that as Jesus, Mary, and Jose"h lived united u"on earth, bearin/ the same sufferin/s, so they no. are reunited, body and soul, "arta2in/ the same /lory. Su&h is the belief of the devout St. Bernardin of Siena, and even of Suare<, .hose usual reserve /ives /reat .ei/ht to his o"inion in this &ase. 9C; t is true that faith tea&hes us nothin/ on this "oint8 but devotion s"ea2s loudly, and has on its side .ei/hty reasons, and /reat authorities.

:. *erson, #er!. de *ativ. glorios. +.M. et de ,o!!endatione virginei #ponsi e-us Joseph , Considerat. ii. 33 sidor. solan., #u!!. de donis #. Joseph, ". :, &. ix. =. ,Et ne ho& suffi&ere videatur ut tantummodo vir/o sit mater, E&&lesiae fides est ut vir/o fuerit et is, -ui simulatus est "ater, 9S. Petr. $amian., "pist. : ad *icol. .o!. /ontif., &. iii, -uae et o"us&ul. xvii.;. >. *erson, #er!. cit., Considerat. iii. 33 sidor. solan., #u!!., ".:, &. xiii. 33 Suare<, De 0ncarnat., ". =, dis". D, se&t =.33 S. Bernardin., #er!. de #. Joseph, art. =, &. i. 33 S. Thom., ". iii, -. =D, a. @ ad >. @. )ot Ra&hel, .ho died at the birth of Ben?amin, but Bala, Ra&hel,s servant, .ho .as Jose"h,s nurse, and

.as li2e a mother to him 91iran., Tostat, a"ud Tirin.;. A. *erson, cit. #er!., Considerat. iii. 33 sidor. solan., su!!. #. Joseph, ".@, &.i. 33 #uare1, De 0ncarnat., ".=, dis".>, se&t. =. C. S. Bernardin., #er!. de #. Joseph, art. >. 33 Suare<, De 0ncarnat., ".=, dis". D, se&t. =.

C%#PTER .
T%E T T1ES (F ST. J(SEP% #)$ % S $ FFERE)T (FF CES. f one may ?ud/e of the /reatness of the Saints by the im"ortan&e of the &har/es &onfided to them, St. Jose"h must indeed be marvellously /reat. St. Peter and St. Paul in their e"istles to the first Christians, &laim only t.o titles, those of servants and a"ostles of Jesus Christ, as bein/ suffi&ient to "rove the ex&ellen&e of their vo&ation. St. John Chrysostom a/rees .ith them, this double title bein/, a&&ordin/ to him, more ex&ellent than that of monar&h of the .hole earth. 9:; )o., St. Jose"h has many very hi/h titles, and held /lorious offi&es for .hi&h he re&eived from *od s"e&ial /ra&es. #t "resent shall only allude shortly to some of these "rivile/es, .hi&h shall later develo" at leisure from their different "oints of vie.. :. %e .as the .orthy s"ouse of (ur 1ady, if indeed any s"ouse &ould be .orthy of her8 for the %oly Trinity in desi/nin/ him for su&h an honour, endo.ed him .ith all the -ualities ne&essary for bearin/ that name .ith di/nity and "ro"riety. #nd as this /lorious title is, so to s"ea2, the ori/inal sour&e or root from .hi&h "ro&eeded all the /lories of St. Jose"h, St. Matthe. &onsidered he &ould say nothin/ hi/her of him than &all him #pouse of Mary. =. %e .as the su""osed father of Jesus Christ, and (ur 1ady did not hesitate to /ive him this title8 thus .hen she found the Child Jesus in the tem"le, she said to %imE ,Thy father and have sou/ht Thee sorro.in/., >. %e .as the re"resentative of *od the Father, !ho, in &ommuni&atin/ to him the honour of "aternity to the n&arnate !ord, .illed that he should &all %im by the name of son, a name .hi&h %e alone /ives in heaven to the 7n&reated !ord. Thus *od !ho formerly had said %e .ould /ive %is /lory to no one, no., by an ex&e"tional favour &ommuni&ates, in a manner, to a mortal that "aternity .hi&h is the s"e&ial /lory of the Eternal Father. !hat is still more, *od, a&&ordin/ to St. John $amas&ene and St. Bernard, in /ivin/ to Jose"h the name of father, /ave him also a father,s heart3333that is, the authority, the soli&itude, and the love of a father. @. Jose"h .as also the re"resentative of the %oly *host, !ho &onfided to him the +ir/in Mary, "la&in/ %is S"ouse under Jose"h,s de"enden&e and dire&tion. *reat *odB .hat a favourB The Father and the %oly *host intrust to him .hat is most dear to themB To .hat sublimity of virtue must he have attained to a&-uit himself .orthily of su&h a &har/eB

A. (ur 1ady, in /ivin/ him her hand, /ave him also her .hole heart. )ever did a .ife love her husband so tenderly, so ardently, nor revere him more "rofoundly. Mary and Jose"h, says St. Bernardin of Siena, .ere but one heart and soul8 they .ere t.o in one same mind, one same affe&tion, and ea&h of them .as the other,s se&ond self, be&ause (ur 1ady and he .ere, so to s"ea2, only one "erson. The heart of Mary .ith that of Jose"h, and the heart of Jose"h .ith that of Mary, .ho ever &ould ima/ine a union so intimate, a /ra&e so /reatB C. Jose"h .as the su"erior of Jesus and Mary, .hose submission to him .as so &om"lete as to enra"ture the #n/els. Those "ure s"irits tremble in heaven before the infinite ma?esty of the /reat *od8 .hat must they have thou/ht .hen they sa. Jose"h &ommand the little Jesus as a father, and the $ivine nfant dis"ort %imself on the breast of Jose"h, li2e a bee in the bosom of a lilyB #s for the Fueen of the .orld, as she had vo.ed, so she rendered to her &haste s"ouse all "ossible res"e&t and obedien&e, never &onsiderin/ him other.ise, says *erson, than as her lord and master. !hat a di/nity to be the master of that +ir/in more noble than the Sera"himB G. %e it .as .ho nourished Jesus and Mary. # true father to that family, he /ained their bread by the labour of his hands, and the s.eat of his bro.. %e led them into E/y"t, a&tin/ in this mystery as the re"resentative of the Most %oly Trinity. !hat an honour to nourish %im !ho nourishes the .hole .orld, to /ive bread to %im !ho &overs our fields .ith "lentiful harvestsB D. %e is &alled by the #bbot Ru"ert *uardian of the Child Jesus. !ithout an earthly father, his $ivine !ard &ast %imself into the arms of Jose"h, %is only "rote&tor, defender and su""ort. H. %e .as also the treasurer of the Saviour, and of Jose"h more than of any other may it be saidE ,Blessed is the faithful and .ise servant, .hom *od has established as /rand master of %is family, to .hose hands %e has &ommitted all %is treasures, the /overnment of all %is "ossessions., !hat &onfiden&e does not this offi&e im"lyB :I. !e do not hesitate to say that Jose"h .as the Saviour of the Saviour. Jose"h, son of Ja&ob, .as &alled the Saviour of the .orld, and he .as not only the ty"e, in the first "la&e, of Jesus Christ, but also of St. Jose"h, .ho had the honour of "reservin/ the $ivine nfant from the fury of %erod. #s (ur 1ord deserves the name of Saviour of man, be&ause %e "reserves man from eternal death, so it is allo.able to &all St. Jose"h Saviour of the Saviour, be&ause he "reserved %im from tem"oral death. *lorious Saint to .hom .ere entrusted the "erson of the n&arnate !ord, and all the se&rets of the Eternal FatherB The #n/el mi/ht himself have &arried the Child into E/y"t8 but not darin/ to do so, he &ame as the messen/er of %eaven and of *od %imself, to Jose"h .ho .as &hosen for that em"loyment. ::. To these titles add another distin/uished title, that of havin/ been the Master of his Master. Jesus .as li2e an a""renti&e in the .or2sho" of Jose"h, .ho tau/ht him to .or2 as a &ar"enter, so that everyone said of JesusE , s not this the &ar"enter,s son, a &ar"enter

%imself' %ave .e not often seen %im handlin/ the "lane and the &hisel, hel"in/ %is father Jose"h', !hat must St. Jose"h have thou/ht .hen he sa. his divine a""renti&e, ta2in/ "ains at %is .or2333%e !ho by a sin/le .ord had &reated the universeB :=. Jose"h .as the "resum"tive heir of Jesus Christ, and of (ur 1ady, sin&e the father then naturally inherited from his son, and the husband from his .ife. !hat an in&om"arable advanta/eB :>. n all orders of thin/s /reat "rivili/es are atta&hed to bein/ the eldest, the first. The first #"ostle, the first Martyr, the first Sera"h, the first son of the Patriar&hs, all have s"e&ial ri/hts .hi&h belon/ to no others8 therefore &on&lude that St. Jose"h has sin/ular "rero/atives above all other men, for he .as the first to &ontem"late the admirable humanity of (ur 1ord Jesus, the first to adore %im, the first to tou&h %im, the first to serve %im, to nourish %im, and to d.ell .ith %im, the first to hear %im s"ea2 and to be enli/htened by %is divine instru&tions. %e is the first &onfessor for the faith, sin&e he first suffered for the love of Jesus Christ, forsa2in/ his home and his &ountry to fly .ith %im8 the first #"ostle ma2in/ the Messias 2no.n to men, by announ&in/ %im in E/y"t8 the first man, "erha"s, .ho made "rofession and vo. of vir/inity, and 2e"t it in the state of marria/e8 in a .ord, the first Christian and the first model for the &hildren of the Chur&h. #ll these distin&tions /ive Jose"h /reat "reeminen&e over all other Saints, and are almost infinite, so that .e may a""ly to him .hat Ja&ob said of his eldest son ReubenE ,Ex&ellin/ 9his brethren; in /ifts, /reater in &ommand., 9=; :@. Theolo/ians tea&h that the offi&e of St. Jose"h .as more exalted than any other in the Chur&h. !e do not s"ea2 of (ur 1ady, .ho is al.ays above all &om"arison. They a&2no.led/e, it is true, that in the e&&lesiasti&al hierar&hy, and in the order of san&tifyin/ /ra&e, the offi&e of the #"ostles is the most sublime8 but they re&o/nise in the Mother of *od, and in St. Jose"h, an order, a hierar&hy a"art, that of the hy"ostati& union, destined to the immediate servi&e of the "erson of the !ord made flesh, and this se&ond hierar&hy is su"erior in di/nity to the first. 9>; The #"ostles, as .e said above, are only the servants of Jesus Christ8 Mary and Jose"h are %is mother and %is father. But shall be able to relate all that *od has done for St. Jose"h' )o8 "lainly &onfess that there is neither mind, nor "en, nor ton/ue &a"able of ima/inin/, .ritin/, or ex"ressin/ the /randeur and in&om"arable "rero/atives of this s"ouse of the +ir/in, this father of Jesus Christ, this /overnor of bothB #nd yet, s"ea2 mustB Pardon, ( /reat Saint, my un"ardonable boldnessB 6et, if your holy s"ouse, (ur 1ady, .ill dei/n to ins"ire me .ith a "art of .hat she 2no.s, if she .ill /ive fluen&y to my "en and .armth to my heart, shall be able to say enou/h to &ontent your "ious &lients, and edify your faithful servants.

:. ,Simon Petrus, servus et a"ostolus Jesu3Christi, 9= Pet. i. :;. 33 ,Paulus servus Jesu3Christi, vo&atus a"ostolus, 9Rom. i. :;. 33 ,$i/nitatis maximae lo&o "onit illudE #ervus Jesu3Christi, 9S. Joan. Chrysost. in hun& lo&um;. =. ,Prior in donis, ma?or in im"erio, 9*en. xlix. >;.

>. Suare<, De 0ncarnat., ". = dis". D, se&t. :.

C%#PTER

T%E )#T7R#1 * FTS (F ST. J(SEP% t is a fundamental la. of the household of *od, that .hen the #lmi/hty ma2es &hoi&e of a man to a&&om"lish any /reat .or2, %e endo.s him .ill all the /ra&es ne&essary to a&-uit himself .ith di/nity and "erfe&tion of the offi&e &onfided to him by infallible Providen&e. This "rin&i"le is laid do.n by the #n/eli&al $o&tor, and is borro.ed by him from St. Paul. 9:; )o., the %oly Trinity had from all eternity destined St. Jose"h to be the s"ouse of the Mother of *od, and the su""osed father of the little Saviour, and to fulfil to.ards %im all the obli/ations of real "aternityE hen&e it follo.s that St. Jose"h .as endo.ed .ith all that .as ne&essary for this double offi&e. (h that .ere elo-uent enou/h to /ive you a faint idea of the -ualities ne&essary to be the .orthy s"ouse of the Fueen of #n/els, the ado"ted father of the Jin/ of earth and heavenB Truly, in him, as St. *re/ory of )a<ian<en says of St. Basil, nature had transformed itself into /ra&e' # *ree2 author said that he .as tem"ted to believe in Pytha/oras, system of the transmi/ration of souls, be&ause it seemed to him that all beautiful souls had returned to earth to animate the body of this "hiloso"her. This, indeed, .as rashly and foolishly s"o2en. But .e may truly say that all natural and moral virtues seem to have united their efforts to embellish the "erson of the /reat St. Jose"h, and to enri&h his soul. !hen the first Jose"h drove out of the "ala&e of Pharaoh in a royal &hariot, S&ri"ture tells us that the "eo"le "ressed around as he "assed, to &ontem"late the ma/nifi&en&e of his "erson, and the beauty of his &ountenan&e. ndeed, Jose"h a""eared to be more li2e an an/el than li2e a man. )o., St. Bernard establishes a "arallel bet.een the t.o Jose"hs, .hi&h is entirely to the advanta/e of the se&ond8 and this &annot sur"rise us, be&ause the latter, bein/ a""ointed to an offi&e infinitely more honourable than that of the former, must &onse-uently "ossess far su"erior -ualities and virtues. !hat vir/inal modesty a""eared in his venerable &ountenan&eB .hat s.eetness in his eyesB .hat /ravity in his .ordsB .hat .isdom and dis&ernment in the manner he /overned *od,s family, &om"osed of only t.o "ersons, but .hose value out.ei/hed that of all &reationB !hen it "leases the Jin/ of 2in/s to &all a man to authority, %e im"rints on his bro. a &hara&ter of ma?esty .hi&h &ommands res"e&t and obedien&e. !e read in the first Boo2 of Jin/s, that in the trible of Ben?amin there .as a man &alled Cis. %e had a son named Saul, , a &hosen and /oodly man, and there .as not amon/ the &hildren of srael a /oodlier "erson than he8 from his shoulders and u".ard he a""eared above all the "eo"le., Su&h .as the man .hom *od &hose to be the first 2in/ of the Je.ish nation. Tell me, then, .hat must have been the ma?esty of Jose"h, to .hom .as /iven authority over the Jin/ and the Fueen of the universe' n the /enealo/y of Jose"h, St. Matthe. sho.s him to be des&ended in a dire&t line from fourteen "atriar&hs, be/innin/ .ith #braham, until $avid8 from fourteen 2in/s after $avid, until the transmi/ration of the Je.s to Babylon8 and from fourteen "rin&es or

&hiefs of the "eo"le, after the transmi/ration of Babylon, until Jesus Christ. !hy did the %oly S"irit ins"ire this lon/ enumeration' $oubtless, amon/ other reasons, to sho. that the des&endant of so many /reat men .as also the heir of their noble -ualities and royal virtues. #ll the "erfe&tions distributed amon/ so many "rin&es .ere united in St. Jose"h. The liberal hand of the Creator "oured forth in "rofusion all -ualities of body and soul u"on this /reat Saint, so as to ma2e him .orthy of es"ousin/ the Fueen of #n/els and men, of bein/ the su""osed father of the little Messias, and of bein/ tea&her of the divine a""renti&e, !ho, durin/ ei/hteen years, dei/ned to .or2 under his dire&tion in the humble .or2sho" at )a<areth. !ere .e to -uestion the most %oly +ir/in about the /ra&es of her s"ouse, she .ould, no doubt, re"ly in .ords borro.ed from the Canti&lesE ,My beloved s"ouse is .hite as sno. by his vir/inal "urity, red as s&arlet by his modesty8 &hosen out of thousands. %is head is as the finest /old8 his eyes as doves u"on broo2s of .aters .hi&h are .ashed .ith mil2 and set beside the "lentiful streams8 his hands shine li2e /old, full of the "re&ious stones of all /ood .or2s8 his voi&e is full of s.eetness8 all the /ra&es of nature are united in his fa&e8 he is beloved of heaven and earth., To this "ortrait .e shall only add one .ord, .hi&h Mary .ould not say, but .hi&h St. Bernardin has said for her. Jose"h .as the livin/ ima/e of his vir/in s"ouse8 they resembled ea&h other li2e t.o "earls. Tell me .hat .as the beauty of Mary, and shall tell you .hat .as that of Jose"h. But .e .ould do /reat in?usti&e to our /lorious Patriar&h .ere .e to ima/ine that his resemblan&e to his most &haste s"ouse .as merely out.ard. , #ll the /lory of the Jin/,s dau/hter is .ithin., 9=; This may also be said of St. Jose"h, as .e shall see in the follo.in/ &ha"ters.

:. ,7ni&ui-ue $eus dat /ratiam "ro"ortionatam ei ad -uod eli/itur, 9S. Thom., 0n "pist. ad .o!., &a". viii., le&t. A;.333, doneos nos fe&it ministros )ovi Testamenti, 9= Cor. iii. C; =. ,(mnis /loriae ?us filiae Re/is ab intus, 9Ps. xliv.:@;.

C%#PTER +.
T%E EM )E)T *R#CES (F ST. J(SEP%,S S(71

#ll natural /ifts are not to be &om"ared in value to the value of one su"ernatural /ra&e. !hat must then be the .ealth of St. Jose"h,s soulB The /ra&es .ithout number .hi&h he re&eived from divine /enerosity are so stu"endous that our feeble minds are unable to &om"rehend them, and it seems to me not to be one of the least /lories of (ur 1ady to have had as s"ouse a man .hom the hand of the #lmi/hty had endo.ed .ith every virtue. For my "art, desire to lose myself in the in&om"rehensible /randeur of this /reat Saint, and after have said all that &an be said, to &onfess humbly that have said nothin/. For if it be true, as have already established, that *od a""ortions %is /ifts in

"ro"ortion to the offi&es %e im"oses on man, so that he may su""ort them .ith di/nity, St. Jose"h must have re&eived su&h a "rodi/ious abundan&e of heavenly /ra&es that .e &annot &ontem"late them .ithout holy fear. !e shall no. return to .hat .e briefly alluded to in the first &ha"ters, and shall derive therefrom &on&lusions very /lorious for our Saint. . 3333 #t. Joseph, virgin. n the first "la&e, he .as a vir/in, so mu&h that his vir/inal "urity yielded in brillian&y and merit to that of the Fueen of +ir/ins alone. !hat su"reme /ra&es he must have re&eived to "reserve this an/eli&al virtue in an a/e .hi&h des"ised vir/inity, and to /uard this deli&ate lily .ithout the sli/htest taint or stain on its brilliant .hitenessB #&&ordin/ to the holy Fathers, he that "reserves inta&t the treasure of vir/inity ran2s hi/her than the #n/els. To .hat de/ree of holiness must not St. Jose"h have attained, .ho .as the first to "reserve it in the state of marria/e, and "reserved it .ith su&h fidelityB . 3333 #t. Joseph, guardian angel of Mary. Se&ondly, Jose"h .as &hosen from all eternity to be the visible /uardian an/el of the vir/inity of (ur 1ady. Must not, then, his soul have been armed .ith every virtue, and fortified by every assistan&e ne&essary for su&h a noble and admirable offi&e' Consider .hat manner of man Jose"h isB The an/els and Saints are only the servants of the /lorious +ir/in, .hile he is her /uardian an/el and her s"ouse. This title, to .hi&h .e no. only allude in "assin/, is far beyond the &om"rehension of our feeble intelli/en&e8 for, husband and .ife bein/ of one heart and one soul, .hat must be the soverei/n di/nity of a man .ho, so to s"ea2, is one .ith the most holy Mother of the livin/ *odB St. Bernardin of Siena has boldly /ras"ed this thou/ht. %e says that as the vir/inal marria/e of Mary and Jose"h &onsisted in the union of their .ills, the friendshi" of their hearts, and the love of their souls in&reased to su&h a de/ree that there never .ere t.o hearts more &om"letely identified, t.o souls more dissolved into one, and he adds that the %oly S"irit .ould never have formed this union .ithout renderin/ the husband "erfe&tly similar to the .ife. 9:; t .as beseemin/ that the li2eness of these t.o suns should be so stri2in/, that it .ould be diffi&ult to distin/uish one from the other. (n one hand, the holiness of (ur 1ady outshines the holiness of all &reatures8 on the other hand, the holiness of Jose"h is entirely ali2e the holiness of Mary. 1ater on, .e shall treat this sub?e&t more at len/th. . 3333 #t. Joseph, guardian of Jesus. 1et us d.ell a little on this title, ,/uardian of Jesus,, so as to understand the eminen&e of St. Jose"h,s di/nity. The learned and "ious Ru"ert, of the (rder of St. Benedi&t, says Ja&ob,s ladder is a fi/ure of the /enealo/y of Jesus ChristE the different ste"s bein/ the "atriar&hs, the 2in/s, the "rin&es, his an&estors, and the u"most ste" bein/ St. Jose"h,

.ho stands .ith o"en arms to re&eive and embra&e the nfant Messias, the divine "u"il, to !hom he must serve as /uardian and father. 9=; To understand the im"ortan&e of this offi&e .e must remember the .ords of St. PaulE , #s lon/ as the heir is a &hild he differeth nothin/ from a servant, thou/h he be lord of all8 but is under tutors and /overnors until the time a""ointed by the father., 9>; Mean.hile his "ossessions and his "erson are dis"osed of .ithout &onsultin/ him, and .hen the time of his ma?ority arrives the master ratifies all, as if it had been done by himself. (h, reader, &an you ima/ine su&h "reeminen&e as that of St. Jose"h' (ur 1ord saidE ,Blessed is the faithful and .ise servant, for the 1ord .ill "la&e him over all %is /oods., !hat "o.erB to have everythin/ in his hands8 to be a&&ountable to no oneB .ish .ere e-ual to the tas2 of treatin/ this sublime sub?e&t and sho.in/ the si/nifi&an&e of these .ordsE ,%e has "la&ed him over all %is /oods', %e is /eneral administrator of all the /oods of the n&arnate !ord, .ith full "o.er to distribute them to .hom and .hen he "leasesB s not this to be exalted above men and #n/els, and even, to a &ertain extent, above *od %imself' Consider no. .hat follo.s from this .ith re/ard to the san&tity of Jose"h. Sin&e it .as in his "o.er to distribute the /oods of Jesus to .hom he .ould, &an you doubt that he too2 for himself an abundan&e of all that .as most "re&ious' !hen the Saviour traversed the to.ns and villa/es of Judea, it suffi&ed to tou&h the hem of %is /arment in order to re&eive si/nal /ra&es. My *od, my Creator, .ith .hat innumerable /ra&es must not Jose"h have been enri&hed from the heart of the $ivine Child, !hom he &arried so often in his arms, lavishin/ on %im his 2isses and &aressesB !hen Jesus sle"t on the breast of the holy Patriar&h, &an you doubt that %e &ommuni&ated to him the s.eetest and most ineffable /ra&es' Perha"s %e .ent to slee" in his arms, .ith the intention, .hile re"osin/ on his breast, to &ommuni&ate to him %is favours, and to &ro.n him .ith %is mer&ies. f it be Paradise to &ontem"late the Eternal and 7n&reated !ord in the bosom of %is father, is it not li2e.ise Paradise to see the !ord made flesh, no. on the vir/inal bosom of Mary %is mother, and no. in the arms of %is foster3father Jose"h' +. 3333 Joseph living in the co!pany of Jesus and Mary. 1astly, say, that St. Jose"h, true mirror of vir/inal "urity, /uardian an/el of (ur 1ady, and "rote&tor of Jesus Christ, had the in&om"arable ha""iness of livin/, a&&ordin/ to the /eneral belief, t.enty3five years in their s.eet and holy &om"any, and of havin/ &onstantly before his eyes these models of "erfe&tion. From all "arts of the Christian .orld the "ious faithful travel to St. Mary Ma?or in Rome, to 1oretto, to Montserrat, and other "la&es of "il/rima/e, .here it "leases *od to manifest the /oodness and the "o.er of %is most holy Mother. These "ious "il/rims feel the /reatest &onfiden&e. They do not doubt that, "rayin/ humbly before the "i&ture of Mary, "ainted by St. 1u2e, or before other ima/es of (ur 1ady, honoured in these san&tuaries, they .ill obtain all they as2 for. But the &ha"el of 1oretto .as the house and ordinary habitation of Jose"h, .ho needed not to ma2e "il/rima/es, or to see2 for "i&tures and &o"ies, havin/ the ori/inal &ontinually before his eyes. There he &onversed s.eetly .ith Mary, and re&ommended himself to her holy "rayers. There she, .ho never

re?e&ts the least of her servants, &ertainly denied nothin/ to him. Thin2 of .hat blessin/s the "resen&e of su&h a s"ouse must have im"arted to the heart of Jose"hE .hile she loo2ed at him, inflamin/ him .ith the 2indlin/ rays of her burnin/ &harity8 .hile her blessed li"s addressed him .ith .ords that mi/ht have entran&ed the hearts of men and of #n/els, nay, of *od %imself. #s the devout "il/rim never fails to find Jesus in the san&tuaries of Mary8 so, in the house of )a<areth, Jose"h had Jesus al.ays "resent .ith Mary, and sa., .ith his eyes, the $ivine Child /ro. in a/e, in .isdom, and in /ra&e, before *od and men. !ho &an des&ribe .hat su"erabundan&e of divine blessin/s inundated the soul of this in&om"arable SaintB %e, too, every day, and every moment, /re. in /ra&e and in virtue, en?oyin/ .ithout interru"tion .hat .e may &all the beatifi& vision, never &easin/ to see *od, and to be seen by %im. To see *od, and to be re/arded by %im &annot fail to "rodu&e a blessin/, &an never be .ithout fruit. The burnin/ rays of the sun /ild all that is ex"osed to them8 Jesus Christ, the sun of Paradise, (ur 1ady, the star of the Chur&h, .ere as the "lanets .hi&h favoured Jose"h .ith their benefi&ient as"e&t, the sa&red &hannels throu/h .hi&h *od the Father exerted %is influen&e8 ho., then, &ould the soul of the /reat Patriar&h fail to be illuminated .ith the s"lendours of the Saints, to overflo. .ith the treasures of $ivinity' n an&ient times, had one as2ed .hy a mine of /old or silver .as to be found in one "la&e, "earls and diamonds in others8 here, flo.ers of ex-uisite beauty, and there fra/rant balm8 the ans.er .ould have been /iven, .ithout more resear&h, that a se&ret influen&e from heaven smiled u"on that favored land. )o., the eyes of the Eternal Father .ere ever restin/ on St. Jose"h8 the %oly S"irit .as &ontinually abidin/ in his soul8 Jesus Christ re/arded him .ith the love of a son8 (ur 1ady,s affe&tion for him .as unbounded8 the #n/els .ere devoted to him. %o. is it "ossible to ima/ine or des&ribe the /ra&es of this heart, the heavenly blessin/s in the most "ure soul of this "eerless man' (ur 1ord has said that if anyone love %im, he .ill be loved by the Father, and that both .ill &ome and ma2e their abode in the breast of that man. )ever .as this "romise verified more &om"letely than in the inno&ent heart of Jose"h, .ho, besides the /eneral love &ommon to all the servants of Jesus Christ, en?oyed the s"e&ial love due to a /uardian, a /overnor, a master, and a father. *reat .ere also the /ra&es .hi&h Jose"h derived from his &onstant &ommunion .ith his most holy s"ouse. %is eyes .ere al.ays dire&ted to.ards her and Jesus, studyin/ their &ondu&t, imitatin/, so to s"ea2 their every a&tion. %e treasured u" in his heart all the eminent "erfe&tions .hi&h he observed in theirs. ("en the heart of Jose"h, and you .ill find therein the faithful &o"ies, the "erfe&t imitations of the sublime virtues of his ado"ted son Jesus, and of his blessed s"ouse Mary. The hands of those .ho al.ays .or2 .ith balm be&ome as odoriferous as if they themselves .ere made of balm. .ish &ould /ive as a fa&t .hat have read in &ertain an&ient authors, that nature has formed diamonds .hi&h, .hen ex"osed to the sun, emit rays so "ier&in/, that they have the virtue of &han/in/ a "ie&e of &rystal into a diamond nearly as "re&ious as themselves. 6et that .hi&h, in the order of nature, is but fi&tion, is found to be true in the order of /ra&e. Jose"h, "ure as &rystal, and &onstantly ex"osed to the rays emanatin/ from Jesus and Mary, .as as if transformed into a most ex&ellent &o"y of the &elestial beauties of both. ( ineffable transformationB ( ne. trinity of "ersons, and unity of heartsB Pardon me, /reat and amiable Saint, if dare to s"ea2 of .hat is inex"ressible8 if attem"t to

develo" a "art of your /reatness. Enli/hten my mind, fortify my heart, that may "ro&eed .ith a firm and unerrin/ ste" on the "ath of thy "raises.

:. ,Fuomodo &o/itare "otest mens dis&reta, -uod S"iritus San&tus tanta unione uniret menti tantae +ir/inis ali-uam animam, nisi ei virtutum o"eratione simillimam', 9 #er!. de #. Joseph, art. =, &, i.; =. , Su"remus s&alae /radus, &ui $ominus innixus est, iste est beatus Jose"h, vir Mariae, de -ua Jesus -ui vo&atur Christus naxtus est. Fuomodo iste $eus et $ominus huie innixus est' 7ti-ue tan-uam tutori "u"illus, -ui""e -ui in ho& mundo sine "atre natus est, ita innixus est huie beato Jose"h, ut esset infantulo iste "ater o"timus8 ut hu?us solatio "aterno "uer &um +ir/ine "uer"era sustentaretur , 9in Matth., De gloria et honore %ilii ho!inis, &a". i. ;. >. *al. iv. :, =.

C%#PTER +.
T%E TR7E ME#S7RE (F ST. J(SEP%,S *R#CES. The "ro"het saias says that the time shall &ome .hen, deliverin/ a boo2 to a man that is learned, one shall say to him, Read this8 and he shall ans.er, &annot, for it is sealed. 9:; !hatever may be the si/nifi&ation of this mysterious boo2, does it not "resent to us a /lorious ima/e of St. Jose"h' *od the Father .rote in his heart, as in a boo2, all the se&rets of the n&arnation and of the hidden life of the !ord made flesh8 but this volume has remained so .ell sealed that, durin/ many &enturies, the most learned men in the Chur&h 2ne. almost nothin/ of the immense .orld of /ra&es and .onders &ontained in it. St. Teresa of Jesus .as one of the first to read in this boo2 some of the "rivili/es of the holy s"ouse of (ur 1ady8 and this 2indled in her heart a lively desire to s"read devotion to this /reat Patriar&h amon/ all the faithful. !ere it not for the sera"hi& reformer of Carmel, St. Jose"h mi/ht still "erha"s be little 2no.n, and be honoured by only a fe. "rivili/ed souls. Jose"h himself it .as .ho 2e"t the boo2 of his o.n virtues sealed. %e .as so modest and humble that he hid from the si/ht of men the "erfe&tion of his a&tions, and the treasures of his soul. %is .as to all a""earan&e but a &ommon life. %e s"o2e so little that in the .hole of the *os"els you .ill not find one sin/le .ord addressed by him, either to Jesus, or to his s"ouse, or to the #r&han/el *abriel, or to any other "erson in the .orld. %e .as li2e that "la&e in the Tem"le of Jerusalem, &alled the %oly of %olies, of .hi&h nothin/ .as visible but the &urtain &on&ealin/ its /lories. !e are thus redu&ed to divine all that is .ritten in this boo2, or to do li2e St. John, .hen, as he tells us in the fifth &ha"ter of the #"o&aly"se, a similar boo2 .as "resented to him. Bein/ unable to read it, he be/an to .ee" so mu&h that he ex&ited the "ity of the #n/els and of the 1amb, .ho o"ened for him the mysterious boo2, and &ommuni&ated to him all its se&rets. #lasB shall our devotion to this holy Patriar&h ever be&ome so /reat that it shall move him to &om"assion, and ma2e him dis&over to us all the se&rets hidden in his heart' Mean.hile, reader, if you desire to understand somethin/ of the /lories of St. Jose"h, you .ill,

thin2, in the follo.in/ &onsiderations, find the ?ust measure by .hi&h to .ei/h them. . 3333 %irst !easure of the graces of #t. Joseph the title of 2%ather of Jesus.2 The first measure by .hi&h to understand the /ra&es and san&tity of Jose"h, is his title of ,Father of Jesus. , Theolo/ians tea&h that the more nearly a man is destined by his offi&e to serve the $ivine Person of the n&arnate !ord, the more eminent must be the /ra&es /iven to him for the .orthy "erforman&e of that offi&e. n the first &ha"ter of the "ro"he&y of $aniel, .e read that the youn/ sraelites &hosen for the immediate servi&e of Jin/ )abu&hodonosor, must be of the ,2in/,s seed, and of the "rin&es, in .hom there .as no blemish, and .ell3favoured...... #nd the 2in/ a""ointed them daily "rovision of his o.n meat, and of the .ine .hi&h he dran2 himself, that, bein/ nourished three years, after.ards they mi/ht stand before the 2in/., 9=; )o., after (ur 1ady, no human bein/ has been &alled to serve the 1ord Jesus so nearly as St. Jose"h, &onse-uently none has a lar/er share than he in the /ra&es of the Eternal Father. The sa&red humanity of the Saviour, bein/ united hy"ostati&ally to the $ivinity, has re&eived a .hole .orld of almost infinite /ra&es8 after Jesus &omes %is most holy Mother, .ho &arried %im nine months in her vir/inal .omb, and a thousand times in her arms8 after Mary &omes Jose"h, the foster3father of Jesus, and the /uardian of %is adorable "erson. )o other Saint .as &alled to the immediate servi&e of the !ord made flesh8 &onse-uently no other has re&eived from *od /ifts "ro"ortionate to the di/nity of this offi&e. 2no. .ell that, as St. #nselm says, the ministry of the #"ostles is the hi/hest in the Chur&h, and that the title of #"ostle is even /reater than that of "re&ursor of Jesus Christ8 but say .ith Suare<, that the ministry of St. Jose"h is of an order still hi/her and more "erfe&t, and that (ur 1ady and St. Jose"h form a hierar&hy a"art, su"erior to all the orders of the other Saints in the Chur&h of *od. 9>; !ho &an understand ho. many /ra&es .ere re-uisite to ma2e St. Jose"h .orthy of the title of Father of Jesus, and to enable him to fulfil all its duties' So far as a man is &a"able of "arti&i"atin/ in the "aternity of *od the Father, so far .as Jose"h adorned and enri&hed .ith heavenly /ra&es8 and this im"lies su&h an amount of /reatness, that *od alone &an 2no. its .ei/ht and measure. f, in Solomon,s Tem"le, .hi&h &ontained the #r2 of the Covenant, everythin/ .as to be &overed .ith /old, .hat /ra&es must have /ilded the soul, the heart, the breast of this holy man, the livin/ throne of the livin/ *od, in .hose arms re"osed the 1ord of all the #n/elsB That a man should /o to ,slee" in the 1ord, is indeed "re&ious, but that *od should /o to slee" on the bosom of a man, sur"asses all human &om"rehension. (ri/en is of o"inion that .hen Jesus said to Mary, ,!oman, behold thy son,, %is .ord "rodu&ed the effe&t that St. John be&ame for %is Mother, another %imself, as if %e had saidE ,My Mother, behold your Jesus, to !hom you /ave birth., 9@; n the same manner, .hen *od the Father said to JesusE ,My son, behold Jose"h8 he .ill be your father,, it is as if %e saidE ,Jose"h is for you, another Myself., #nd so it .as8 for, says #bbot Ru"ert, at the same time that *od formed the body of %is Son from the most "ure blood of the +ir/in, %e infused into the heart of Jose"h %is o.n "aternal love, in order that the latter mi/ht be for the n&arnate !ord u"on earth, .hat %e %imself is to the 7n&reated !ord in eternity. 9A; )o. it is mu&h more /lorious to be the ado"ted

father of Jesus Christ, than to be ado"ted son of (ur 1ady, .hen&e it follo.s that .e are obli/ed to re&o/nise in Jose"h a di/nity, not merely su"erior to that of the beloved dis&i"le, but an almost infinite di/nity, sin&e he is li2e another Eternal Father in this .orld. The #n/el of the S&hools does not hesitate to &all divine maternity an infinite di/nity. 9C; !hy, then, should .e not say that the "aternity of Jose"h a""roa&hes the infinite, sin&e, after her .ho really is the Mother of *od, there is none /reater than he to .hom *od &ommuni&ated %is "aternity, and .hom Jesus Christ many thousand times &alled by the name of father' Thus, .hen the nfant *od said, ,My father,, one &ould not tell if %e s"o2e to *od %is Father, or to Jose"h %is father. (h, .hat ha""y e-uivo&ationB .hat /lorious "arallel, by .hi&h Jose"h is, in a manner, &om"ared to the Eternal Father, in s"ite of the infinite distan&e there is bet.een themB Must not the heart of this /odli2e man have been ready to burst in his breast, to melt .ith tenderness, .hen, holdin/ the hand of the nfant Jesus, he said to %im, ,My Son8, or .hen the $ivine Child, .ith inno&ent flattery, named him %is father' !hat is the meanin/ of those .ords in E&&lesiasti&usE ,*od &reated man after %is o.n ima/e, and &lothed him .ith stren/th a&&ordin/ to %imself8 adornin/ him .ith virtues and divine s"lendours,' 9G; Ta2in/ them literally, they are only an ex"lanation of *od,s .ords in the first &ha"ter of *enesisE , 1et us ma2e man to our ima/e and li2eness., Thus they a""ly to man in /eneral, and &onse-uently to ea&h man, and .e must allo. that they in&om"arably exalt his di/nity. )evertheless, believe that enter into your thou/hts, reader, .hen a""ly them, in a s"e&ial manner, to our /lorious Patriar&h. !hat man indeed .as ever so .ell formed to the ima/e and li2eness of *od the Father, as the ado"ted father of Jesus' $o not you see in Jose"h an ima/e of *od, a resemblan&e .ith *od, .hi&h belon/s alone to this friend of *od, and is shared by no one else' )othin/ bears su&h a resemblan&e to the Father, .ith the 7n&reated !ord in %is bosom, as Jose"h, &arryin/ the 7n&reated !ord in his arms and on his heartB Jesus Christ, s"ea2in/ of %is %eavenly Father saysE , and the Father are one., These .ords .e may a""ly to St. Jose"hE he and Jesus are truly one. Sin&e it is &ertain that Jose"h "arti&i"ated in divine "aternity, .hat an honour it is for him to have a union so intimate .ith *od the Son, and .ith *od the Father a &ommunion of "ro"erty in .hat is in&ommuni&ableB Su""ose for a moment that the Father and the Son had entered into a holy rivalry to adorn and enri&h the heart and soul of St. Jose"h. The Father .ills that nothin/ shall be .antin/ to him .ho is to be the father of %is Son. The Son .ould .ish to /ive even more to him .ho is to be %is father. !ho .ill be the &on-ueror in this divine &ontest' The Eternal Father or the Eternal !ord' There is still another thou/ht that stri2es me. *od the Father havin/ &hosen St. Jose"h to /overn %is only Son in %is "la&e and in %is name, .ell 2ne. that .ithout s"e&ial assistan&e no mere mortal &ould a&-uit himself .orthily of su&h a noble and diffi&ult tas2. Therefore he too2 u" his abode in the heart of Jose"h in order "ersonally to dire&t %is Son Jesus throu/h the ministry of this man after %is o.n heart. The 1ord also &ommanded Moses to /o before Pharao, sayin/E , .ill be in thy mouth, and .ill tea&h thee .hat thou shalt s"ea2., 9D; f *od .illed to be in the mouth of %is servant Moses to s"ea2 .ith an earthly 2in/, &an you .onder that %e should "ut %imself into the heart of Jose"h in order to /overn, alon/ .ith him, %is o.n Son' !hat a sour&e of the most "re&ious /ifts must not this intimate "resen&e of *od the Father have been for the ado"ted father of JesusB !hat an o&ean of /ra&es must %e not have "oured into that holy

soulB !hat torrents of li/hts shed u"on Jose"h,s mindB !hat fire 2indled in his heartB and all this .as done on a&&ount of the nfant Messias, !hom Jose"h .as &alled u"on to dire&t, to defend, to nourish, and to instru&t in all thin/s. . &&&& #econd !easure of the graces of #t. Joseph the title of 2#pouse of Mary.2 The se&ond measure of the /ra&es and san&tity of St. Jose"h is his di/nity of S"ouse of (ur 1ady. #&&ordin/ to St. John $amas&ene the di/nity of S"ouse of Mary is one so elevated that no human elo-uen&e &an ex"ress it. )either is it "ossible .orthily to &elebrate the /reatness of St. Jose"h .ithout understandin/ that of his holy S"ouse, .ho is Fueen of the Saints and the #n/els, and the Mother of *od. !ho, then, is to form a true idea of the di/nity of St. Jose"h, 9H; as also of the /ra&es he holds in &onse-uen&e of that di/nity' St. Bernardin of Siena says that the vir/inal marria/e of Mary and Jose"h .as only &ontra&ted on earth after havin/ been de&ided in heaven, and that these t.o s"ouses .ere "erfe&tly .orthy one of the other. Mary sur"assed all men and #n/els in the soverei/n "lenitude of her /ra&es8 therefore it .as ne&essary that, after her, Jose"h should be the most holy human bein/ that existed, that had ever existed, or that should ever exist u"on earth. (r is it "ossible to believe that heaven &ontains any servant of Mary more eminent in holiness than he .ho has the honor of bein/ her s"ouse, her lord, and her master' #nd let us even su""ose that Jose"h had not been enri&hed .ith the most "re&ious /ifts of heaven before he es"oused the most %oly +ir/inE .hat must she not after.ards have as2ed *od for her s"ouse8 .hat innumerable /ra&es must not she have obtained for himB For if St. Bernard be ri/ht in assertin/ that no /ra&e &omes do.n from heaven to earth but throu/h the munifi&ent hands of the Mother of *od8 if there be no 2ind of &elestial blessin/ .hi&h she has not obtained for one or the other of her servants8 must .e not believe that she .ill have done more for her s"ouse and the /uardian an/el of her vir/inity than for all other human bein/s' %ere is a beautiful thou/ht .hi&h borro. from St. *re/ory of )a<ian<en, and .hi&h a""lies "erfe&tly to our sub?e&t. This /reat Bisho" tells us that his sister, St. *or/onia, had a husband .hom she loved li2e her o.n self8 and 2no.in/ from the %oly S&ri"tures that husband and .ife are not t.o, but one, she desired ardently that her husband should serve the 1ord as she herself did, lest she should find herself &onstrained to belon/ to *od only by halves. )o., there never .ere t.o hearts, t.o souls more united than those of Mary and Jose"h8 nor &ould this faithful +ir/in ever remain satisfied .ith renderin/ half servi&e to *od. Therefore she used every endeavour that her other half, St. Jose"h, should be su"remely exalted in all sorts of "erfe&tions. To use St. *re/ory,s o.n .ords, she intensely desired that her s"ouse should be "erfe&t, in order that no "art of herself should remain im"erfe&t. 9:I; Certainly Mary did everythin/ to se&ure this ob?e&tE she si/hed, she "rayed. #nd &an you believe that Jesus &ould refuse anythin/ .hi&h %is tender Mother as2ed for %is beloved father' Ea&h day, then, the treasure of /ra&es in Jose"h,s soul visibly /re.8 ea&h day his san&tity in&reased, and the &harity of his heart /re. more ardent. !hat, indeed, &ould he not ho"e for, havin/ %is s"ouse as advo&ate, %is son as arbitrator, and *od the Father as "rote&torB Su&h then are the t.o "rin&i"al titles by .hi&h .e must measure the /ra&es and san&tity

of Jose"h. Su&h are the t.o "lenteous sour&es, or rather the t.o ma?esti& rivers .hi&h .atered and enri&hed %is soul. )ever shall .e fully understand the "erfe&tions of the ado"ted father of Jesus, the holy S"ouse of Mary.

:. s. xxix. ::. =. $an. i. >3A. >. Suare<, De 0ncarnat., ". =, dis". D, se&t. :. @. ,Perinde est a& si dixisset8 E&&e hi& est Jesus -uem /enuisti, 9,o!!entar, in Joan., n. C; A. ,$e &arne vir/inis hominem formans, "aterno viro hui&, e?us -ui nas&ebatur infantis amorem "enitus infudit, 9in Matth., De gloria et honore %ilii ho!inis, lib. :;. C. S. Thom., ".:, -. =A, a. C, ad @. G. E&&li. xvii. =. D. ,Per/e i/itur8 et e/o ero in ore tuo do&ebo-ue te -uid lo-uaris, 9Ex. iv. :=; H. #&&ordin/ to the an&ient la., .hoever es"ouses a -ueen be&omes 2in/ by the fa&t of his marria/eE , *ubente! reginae conse3uens est rege! fieri., From this, St. 1eonard of Port Mauri&e dra.s the follo.in/ &on&lusionE ,Mary is the Fueen of #n/els and of Saints8 Jose"h is the S"ouse of Mary, therefore he is also Jin/ of #n/els and Saints8 and &onse-uently it is allo.able to invo2e him by this title, not.ithstandin/ that the Chur&h has &onse&rated the &ustom of addressin/ this invo&ation "rin&i"ally to Jesus Christ., 33333 #t. Joseph d2apres les #aints, "ar le R. P. Mar&el Bouix, &. xviii. 9)ote by the Editor.; :I. ,Cu"iebat ut maritus -uo-ue "erfi&eretur, ne i"sius ali-uid im"erfe&tum relin-ueretur, 45rat. in laude! sororis suce Gorgoniae6.

C%#PTER + .
C()SEF7E)CES (F T%E T!( PR )C P#1 T T1ES (F ST. J(SEP%8 #)$ %(! *RE#T #RE T%E R #$+#)T#*ES T( T% S *1(R (7S P#TR #RC%. t .ould be diffi&ult, if not im"ossible, to dedu&e all the &onse-uen&es of the t.o au/ust titles .hi&h are the /lory of St. Jose"h, and the sour&e and measure of his san&tity. !e shall therefore only treat of those .hi&h seem to us the most /lorious, and .hi&h "resent themselves most naturally to our mind. . 3333 %irst conse3uence Jesus and Mary belong to #t. Joseph, as well their persons as their goods. #n&ient la.s lay do.n &learly that if a treasure be dis&overed in a house or in a field, it belon/s, by ri/ht, to the "ro"rietor of the house or of the /round. This la. /ives /reat advanta/es to the /lorious St. Jose"h, for the n&arnation too2 "la&e in his house, no. the &ha"el of 1oretto. There it .as that his most holy s"ouse be&ame the Mother of *od, some months after their es"ousals8 hen&e the treasure of *od made man, the ineffable mysteries, the torrents of /ra&e, .hi&h .ere found in his house, and in his s"ouse, belon/ by a double title to St. Jose"h, as le/itimate o.ner of both.

$ivine la. a/rees .ith human la.. ,Thou shalt be under thy husband,s "o.er,, *od said to Eve, ,and he shall have dominion over thee8 9:; and all that is thine shall belon/ to him., Truly, if the "erson of the .ife be not in her o.n "o.er, inde"endently of her husband, mu&h less is all the rest. )o., a&&ordin/ to St. Bonaventure, all the treasures of *od, and of the #n/els, all the .ealth of Paradise, .as in the soul of (ur 1ady, 9=; and &onse-uently at the dis"osal of her holy s"ouse. She loved to say to himE ,( Jose"hB the #lmi/hty has done /reat thin/s in me8 in me, .ho am lo.liness itself, %e has sho.n the ri&hes of %is mer&y. %el" my soul to /lorify the 1ord, and to render to %im the than2s/ivin/s .hi&h are %is due8 for all have re&eived from %is infinite munifi&en&e belon/s to you8 Kall have is thine.K , 9>; #nd this &ommunion of /oods .as so absolute, that all .hi&h belon/ed to the one belon/ed to the other8 if indeed .e should not rather say that the husband .as still more master of all than the .ife. . 3333 #econd conse3uence Joseph has the right of co!!anding Jesus and Mary. This "ro"osition is so &lear, that there is no need to "rove it8 and the fe. .ords shall s"ea2 on the sub?e&t are not so mu&h to establish the fa&t, as s.eetly to o&&u"y our minds and hearts .ith this admirable "rivile/e of St. Jose"h. 1et us boldly a""ly to this holy Patriar&h .hat Cardinal St. Peter $amian says of the Fueen of %eavenE Mary does not merely re-uest, she &ommands8 for she is lady and mistress, not servant. 9@; Jose"h also &an, if he "lease, &ommand his s"ouse, and dis"ose absolutely of her "erson and her "ro"erty. ,$o this,, he &an say8 ,/ive me thatB for &ommand you by the "o.er /iven me by *od over you, and by the la.s of our le/itimate marria/e., t is true that this holy man .as so humble, and had su&h veneration for his s"ouse, that he never exerted his ri/ht of &ommandin/. The /ood as2 .hat they mi/ht &ommand, .hile fools &ommand instead of as2in/. But as Mary &onsidered in her heart that it .as *od !ho had /iven %er Jose"h as s"ouse, she loo2ed u" to him .ith entire submission, and anti&i"ated his .ishes .ith tender love. 6et Jose"h .as to en?oy still a hi/her "rero/ative. The 7n&reated !ord, by ta2in/ our nature in the .omb of the ever3blessed +ir/in, &hose to bind %imself to render her honor, servi&e, and obedien&e8 and Jose"h bein/ the s"ouse and master of Mary, it follo.s that Jesus &ould not be de"endent on %is Mother .ithout, at the same time, bein/ de"endent on him .ho .as her lord and master. %o. beautiful it is to see a mortal &ommand t.o "ersons .ho are .orthy to rule in heaven and earthB %o. admirable to see those t.o "ersons .hom the &elestial hierar&hies revere, obey the sli/htest desire of an humble artisan, .ho /ains his bread by the s.eat of his bro.B "hi&rates, a &elebrated #thenian /eneral, .as on&e as2ed by an orator .hat he .as, to have su&h a hi/h idea of himself. ,#re you a horse or a foot soldier' $o you use the bo. or the shield', "hi&rates re"liedE , am none of those of .hom you s"ea28 but &ommand them all., 9A; (h ho. ?ustly these .ords may be a""lied to St. Jose"hB n his humility, he re"eats that he is nothin/, that he has nothin/, that he &an do nothin/8 and yet, .e may say .ith truth that Jesus and Mary are under obedien&e to Jose"h8 sin&e it is &ertain that the "ro"erty of this son and of this s"ouse .ere at the dis"osal of the father of the family.

. 3333 7hird conse3uence Joseph has the right of being honoured by Jesus and Mary. 1et us &onsider, in the third "la&e, ho., as father and s"ouse, this in&om"arable Saint has a ri/ht to be honoured by Jesus and Mary, sin&e it is a "re&e"t, both natural and divine, that every son must honour his father, every .ife her husband. %ere *erson ex"resses a s.eet and lovin/ thou/ht8 in the same .ay, he says, as Sara, a&&ordin/ to the %oly S&ri"tures, &alled #braham her lord, so also the Blessed +ir/in, "enetrated .ith res"e&tful love for her s"ouse, /ave him no other name than that of lord and master. 9C; #nd .hat is still more, Jose"h .as su&h in very deed, havin/ absolute &ommand and dis"osal of her, and of her Son. The very love .hi&h bear to (ur 1ady, ma2es me lon/ to have Jose"h for my /ood master also, sin&e he is hers8 desire to honour Jose"h, be&ause Mary honours him. 6es, .ill "raise and honour Jose"h, be&ause, a&&ordin/ to a "ious author, .hoever "raises and honours Jose"h, "raises and honours the Blessed +ir/in also. For as they are one in heart, in love, and in soul, the honours "aid to the one are e-ually a&&e"ted by the other. ndeed, one feels in&lined to believe that the humility of (ur 1ady is so extreme, the love so disinterested and so "ure, that it "leases her more to see her beloved s"ouse honoured, than to be honoured herself. 2no., at least, that she on&e dei/ned to than2 St. Teresa for the honour that her <eal had "ro&ured to St. Jose"h throu/hout the .orld. But .hilst Mary addresses her holy s"ouse by the name of lord, listen to the divine voi&e of the nfant Jesus &allin/ himE ,My father, My father., #nd this not on&e, but a hundred times a day. t seems to me, that, .ere the Sera"him &a"able of ?ealousy, they .ould feel a holy envy of this blessed Patriar&h8 sin&e it is their hi/hest /lory to be the servants of Jesus and of Mary, .hose lord and father Jose"h is. !hile, beyond the firmament, those trans&endent s"irits are "rostrate before the throne of *od, and tremble at %is feet, they behold Jesus and Mary on earth, ex"e&tin/ and re&eivin/ the orders of Jose"h, .ith a submission and humility .hi&h trans"ort the #n/els .ith admiration. 6ou have read in the Boo2 of Esther ho. 2in/ #ssuerus re&om"ensed the fidelity of Mardo&hai. %e &ommanded that he should be &lothed .ith the 2in/,s a""arel, and set u"on the horse .hi&h the 2in/ .as used to ride u"on, and have the royal &ro.n u"on his head8 and that the first of the 2in/,s "rin&es should hold his horse, and, /oin/ throu/h the streets of the &ity, "ro&laim before himE ,Thus shall he be honoured, .hom the 2in/ hath a mind to honour., Somethin/ similar .as done by *od .ith re/ard to St. Jose"h, .ith the essential differen&e, ho.ever, that *od honours as *od, .hile man &an only honour as a man.

:. ,Sub viri "otestate eris, et i"se dominabitur tui, 9*en. iii. :C;. =. ,#/er est Maria, in -ua thesaurus #n/elorum, imo totus $ei Patris abs&onditus est, 9S. Bonavent., 0n #peculo 8.M.+., le&t. G;. >. ,(mnia mea tua sunt, 91u& xv. >:;. @. ,)on solum ro/ans, sed im"erans8 domina, non an&illa, 9S. Petr. $amian., #er!. @@. 0n *ativ. 8.M.+.;. A. Plutar&. #"o"hthe/m., De 0phicrate. C. E"istola de festo san&ti Jose"h &elebrando.

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P#R#11E1 BET!EE) ST. J(SEP% #)$ S(ME (T%ER S# )TS !e may safely assert that St. Jose"h "ossessed, in a su"erior de/ree, all the /ra&es .hi&h .e admire in the other Saints. The follo.in/ "a/es .ill establish this assertion and thereby materially stren/then our devotion to this /lorious Patriar&h. . 3333 #t. Joseph and the #aints of the 5ld 7esta!ent %o. mu&h ha""ier .as St. Jose"h, the last of the Patriar&hs, than all those .ho "re&eded himB Moses desired ardently to &ontem"late the divine Fa&e of the Messias, and he .as obli/ed to .ait fifteen &enturies before en?oyin/ this ha""iness for an instant on Mount Tabor. #braham sa. in s"irit the day of the &omin/ of the Saviour u"on earth, and this vision, .hi&h "assed li2e a flash of li/htnin/, trans"orted him .ith ?oy. %o. many 2in/s, "rin&es, "ontiffs, and "ro"hets lon/ed to see, if only for one instant, this $esired of the nations, and to "rostrate themselves in adoration before %im8 yet, never &ould they obtain this /ra&eB #nd behold, Jose"h &arries %im in his arms, &alls %im his Son, hears himself &alled Father by the nfant *od. ,!hen sa. the vision of the li2eness of the /lory of the 1ord,, says the Pro"het E<e&hiel, , fell u"on my fa&e., St. John .ritesE , sa. one li2e to the Son of Man, and .hen had seen %im fell at %is feet as dead., S&ri"ture saysE ,)o man shall see *od and live. have seen *od8 must die., 9:; 6et Jose"h sees the n&arnate *od fa&e to fa&e. %e sees %im everyday, and ea&h moment of the day, and he does not die either of fear or of love, or let us rather say, he dies of love8 but the love .hi&h 2ills also resus&itates him. The same flames ma2e him die, and brin/ him a/ain to life. . 3333 #t. Joseph and the Apostle #t. /eter. t is true that St. Peter re&eived from Jesus Christ most extensive "o.ers. Firstly, Christ /ave him the 2eys of heaven, .ith "o.er to o"en it, and, .hen ne&essary, to shut it8 se&ondly, %e &ommanded him to feed %is shee" and %is lambs8 thirdly, %e /ave him the &are of the .hole Chur&h, and the title of +i&ar of Christ. ,Thou art Peter, and u"on this ro&2 .ill build My Chur&h8, 9=; fourthly, he had the honour of lovin/ Jesus Christ more tenderly than the others, and of .ishin/ to defend %im at the ris2 of his life8 fifthly, he .as the first .hose feet the Saviour .ashed, the first .hom %e &onse&rated bisho", in /ivin/ him %is most "re&ious body. But are all those favours to be &om"ared .ith those /ranted by %eaven to St. Jose"h' n the first "la&e, it is true that the 2eys of heaven .ere not /iven to him as to St. PeterE the 2eys are /iven to servants. But to Jose"h, the s"ouse of the mother, the ado"ted father of the Son, not merely the 2eys, but the doors themselves are &onfidedE sin&e .e may

truly say that Jesus and Mary are the t.o livin/ /ates of Paradise. The Saviour /ives %imself this nameE , am the door of the shee",, 9>; and the Chur&h /ives the same to (ur 1adyE ,*ate of %eaven, "ray for us., )o., Jose"h has the &are of those /ates8 he is their /uardian, and o"ens and shuts them a&&ordin/ to his "leasure, .hi&h is that of *od. n the se&ond "la&e, it is not Jose"h .ho is &ommanded as a sim"le she"herd to feed the lambs and the shee"8 but to him it .as /iven to nourish the She"herd and the She"herdess themselves8 to feed the 1amb of *od, and the Mother of this $ivine 1amb. St. Peter distributes their food to the servants8 but it is Jose"h .ho must "rovide for the nfant 1ord Jesus, and for the /reat Mistress of heaven and earth, the Blessed +ir/in Mary. n the third "la&e, if St. Peter is the head of the Chur&h, St. Jose"h is the head of Jesus and of Mary, .ho are more "re&ious in the eyes of *od than the entire Chur&h. Simon Peter is also the +i&ar of Jesus Christ8 but shall sho. you "resently that Jose"h has been the vi&ar of ea&h of the three Persons of the most %oly Trinity. n the fourth "la&e, .hen Jesus Christ as2ed St. Peter if the love he bore %im .as /reater than that of the other dis&i"les, St. Jose"h .as not "resent8 and my heart tells me that the Saviour .ould not have as2ed this -uestion in the "resen&e of Jose"h, or that had %e done so, St. Peter .ould have been ea/er to transfer the honour to him .ho in&ontestably merited it. n the fifth "la&e, Jesus on&e .ashed St. Peter,s feet8 but ho. often must not the same Saviour have rendered similar servi&es to Jose"h durin/ the five and t.enty years that %e .as sub?e&t to himB 9@; #lso, it .as not one sin/le time that %e /ave %imself to Jose"h, but every day, and a thousand times a day. 1astly, %e made him, in a &ertain sense, Bisho" of the %oly Family, and thou/h his dio&ese .as only &om"rised of t.o "ersons, those t.o "ersons, in themselves, .ere .orth more than all heaven and earth. . 3333 #t. Joseph and the Apostle of the Gentiles. !hat shall .e say of the /reat St. Paul, .hose "arallel is to be found no.here' Truly, there is so mu&h that is sublime in this #"ostle, that, a&&ordin/ to St. John Chrysostom, he has no e-ual. %o. /lorious to have been surrounded .ith li/ht from heaven on the .ay to $amas&us, to have heard the voi&e of Jesus, to have s"o2en .ith %imB !as not he ra"t even to the third heaven, .here he heard se&ret ineffable .ords' !as not he armed .ith the s.ord of the $ivine !ord, and did not he announ&e this holy !ord to the *entiles, to the 2in/s, and to the &hildren of srael' 1astly, did he not &onfirm all he tau/ht by his "atien&e, by his mira&les, by his blood' )othin/ &an be more /lorious, o.n8 but the stars, ho.ever brilliant, are e&li"sed before the sun. St. Jose"h, it is true, .as not &au/ht u" to heaven8 but heaven des&ended into his house. %e .as not brou/ht before the throne of *od as a servant before his master8 but the n&arnate !ord .as brou/ht to Jose"h, as a son to his 2ind father. Jose"h did not see *od for a moment li2e St. Paul, .ho 2ne. not if it .ere in the body or out of the body, and .ho &ould re"eat nothin/ of all that .as said to him8 but he .as ra"t in body and in soul durin/ .hole years8 .e may say, indeed, that his .hole life .as one &ontinued e&stasy, one "er"etual vision of *od. #lso he .as -uite able to re"eat .hat he had heard, for he often s"o2e of it .ith his s"ouse, and to/ether they held s.eet and sublime &onferen&es

about all that Jesus had said to one or the other. $oubtless, fe. "ersons .ere &a"able of understandin/ those divine dis&ourses8 s&ar&ely any besides Jesus, Mary, and Jose"h. To St. Paul .as revealed .hat an #"ostle and a servant mi/ht 2no., but the se&rets of a son to his father and mother .ere reserved for Mary and for Jose"h. +. 3333 #t. Joseph, #t. John the 8aptist and #t. John the Apostle Most &ertainly these t.o Saints .ere /reatly favoured by the 1ord Jesus. The one re"osed u"on the %eart of his Master durin/ the 1ast Su""er8 the other "oured the .ater of Jordan u"on %is divine %ead, and, "ointin/ %im out to heaven and earth, saidE ,Behold the 1amb of *odB, For these reasons, avo. that they re&eived from the 1ord most s"e&ial /ra&es, and .ere exalted, not merely above ordinary men, but also above the /reatest Saints. 6et, hi/her still than these t.o /reat servants of *od, must .e exalt him u"on .hom their Master besto.ed the name of father. They &annot &laim to be "referred before the father of the family. # thousand times did this ha""y Patriar&h "ress the nfant Jesus to his heart8 a thousand times did he 2iss the sa&red breast, seat of the divinity. %e did not "our the .ater of Jordan on %is %ead one sin/le time8 but ho. many times may he have moistened that %ead .ith tears of ?oy and tenderness, .hen re&eivin/ %im from the hands of (ur 1ady and "ressin/ %im to his bosomB +. 3333 #t. Joseph and the holy Angels. 2no. .ell that St. Mi&hael .as the valiant defender of the n&arnate !ord, and that he overthre. 1u&ifer, .ho dared to dis"ute .ith the Man3*od the honours of $ivinity. But 2no., also, that Jose"h saved the same n&arnate !ord from the fury of %erod, .ho ho"ed to involve %im in the massa&re of the nno&ents. %e ex"osed his o.n life to save that of the nfant Jesus, to "reserve %im !ho .as to .or2 the salvation of the .orld by dyin/ on the Cross. Mu&h, indeed, do .e o.e to St. *abriel for the "art he too2 in the .or2 of the n&arnation, and for the /ood tidin/s of /reat ?oy .hi&h he brou/ht from heaven to earth. That is true8 but is not St. Bernard ri/ht .hen he affirms that Jose"h .as, durin/ his .hole life, the faithful &o3o"erator of *od in this /reat mystery' 9A; *abriel had only to /ive the orders8 Jose"h, to exe&ute them, must en&ounter labours, ?ourneys, dan/ers, and terrors. The #n/els &ame and ministered to the Saviour in the dread solitude of the desert8 but that .as only on&e, and they .ere in /reat number8 it &ost them little, or rather nothin/ to do so. But Jose"h, durin/ years, laboured day and ni/ht to /ain food for the $ivine nfant, for Mary, and for himself, and his .hole life .as one servi&e, or rather one "er"etual sa&rifi&e, .hi&h he offered to the Son of *od made man, so that this /reat Saint did, himself alone, .hat the others did alto/ether. + . 3333 #t. Joseph vicar of the three /ersons of the !ost Holy 7rinity.

The "rin&e of the #"ostles is hi/hly honoured for bein/ the vi&ar of Jesus Christ u"on earth, and it must be allo.ed that this di/nity is /reat. But "resently shall allo. you, as "romised, that St. Jose"h .as the vi&ar on earth of all the three Persons of the adorable Trinity. The Eternal Father a""ointed him %is vi&ar. *od, says the #bbot Ru"ert, dele/ated Jose"h to dis&har/e to.ards Jesus Christ all those offi&es .hi&h .ere in&om"atible .ith $ivinity. 9C; For this reason %e &ommuni&ated to him %is o.n name of father8 and as, in /ivin/ a name, *od /ives also the -ualities belon/in/ to that name, the heart of Jose"h, as the Saints tea&h us, .as so full of "aternal affe&tion to.ards Jesus, that no one but *od and himself &ould ex"ress it. !hat /reatness to have .ith the n&arnate !ord a relation of "aternity, similar, in a manner, to that of the Eternal Father .ith the 7n&reated !ordB ( Father and fatherB ( ineffable &ommuni&ationB ( in&om"rehensible mysteryB Can you, ( Jose"h, thin2 of it .ithout tremblin/' That %e .ho said to *od the Father, ,My Father, /ive us this day our daily bread,, should say also to you, ,My father, /ive us our daily bread8 for My heavenly Father has entrusted this to your foresi/ht and "aternal &are,B St. Paul, to "rove the divinity of Jesus Christ, saysE , To .hi&h of the #n/els hath %e said at any time, Thou art My Son', 9G; #nd here, to sho. the di/nity of Jose"h, .e must sayE ,To .hi&h of the #n/els did the n&arnate !ord say at any time, Thou art My father', But .hat the Son of *od never said to any #n/el, %e said to a man, to Jose"h, in .hom %e re&o/nised the vi&ar u"on earth of %is %eavenly Father. The Eternal !ord also made him %is vi&ar and dele/ate. Tell me, "ray you, .ho is the /reatest in the house of )a<areth' Certainly Jose"h only follo.s after Jesus and Mary8 and yet it is Jose"h .ho &ommands them both. Jesus, durin/ %is infan&y and hidden life, desires that Jose"h should s"ea2 for %im, that he should a&t for %im, and for %is Mother8 that %e and %is +ir/in Mother should remain hid, and that Jose"h alone should a""ear. The %oly S"irit, !ho, in the Canti&les, /ives to the mma&ulate +ir/in the name of S"ouse, has also &onstituted Jose"h %is vi&ar, sin&e %e &hose him, above all men, to be the veritable s"ouse and "rote&tor of (ur 1ady. My *odB ho. unlimited is the &onfiden&e "la&ed by the three $ivine Persons in this holy manB The Father /ives him %is SonE the Son /ives %imself in "erson to him8 the %oly S"irit &onfides to him %is s"ouse. The Father /ives to him the entire &har/e of Jesus, &onstitutin/ him the master of %is only Son8 the Son abandons %imself &om"letely to his dire&tion, doin/ nothin/ but in obedien&e to him8 the %oly S"irit establishes him as an/el /uardian to Mary, and as head of the family of *od. So that, .hile *od /overns all men, and the .hole .orld, one man, u"on earth, /overns the n&arnate *od and %is most holy Mother, and does so by the ex"ress &ommand of the Father, the Son, and the %oly *host. Sin&e, then, it has "leased the Most %i/h, in %is /oodness, so marvellously to exalt this most blessed of Patriar&hs, .hat honour should not be "aid to him by heaven and earth, .hat love should not inflame our hearts for himB Should not our indifferen&e and insensibility &over us .ith &onfusion' *reat Saint, .e most humbly besee&h you in our o.n name, and that of all men, to "ardon us8 and, "rostrate at your feet, from the bottom of our hearts, .e desire to ma2e re"aration.

:. E<. iii. :. 33 #". i. :>, :G. 33 Ex. xxxiii. =I. 33 Jud. xiii. ==.

=. ,Tu es Petrus, et su"er han& "etram aedifi&abo E&&lesiam meam, 9Matt. xvi. :D;. >. ,E/o sum ostium ovium, 9Joan. x. G;. @. ,)emo ambi/at $ominum Jesum, &um adhu& in "uerili esset aetate, obse-uia "raestitisse Mariae, i"si-ue Jose"h, 9S. 1aurent. Justin., 9ib.de 5bedientia, &. viii.;. A. ,Solum in terris ma/ni &on&ilii &oad?utorem fidelissimum, 9Ho!il. ll., #up. Missus est;. C. ,#d omnes labores, -uos $eus ferre non "oterat, Jose"hum "i/norat , 9Ru"ert.;. G. ,*ui dixit ali-uando an/elorumE Filius meus es tu', 9%eb. i. A;.

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T%E #$M R#B1E #)$ )C(MP#R#B1E + RT7ES (F T% S %(16 P#TR #RC%.

The extraordinary /ra&es .ith .hi&h it "leases *od to enri&h some of %is servants are al.ays infinitely "re&ious8 but it is not in our o.n "o.er to obtain them, and it .ould be temerity on our "art to desire them, sin&e they de"end only on the "ure liberality of (ne, !ho /ives them to .hom %e "leases, .hen %e "leases, and as %e "leases. %itherto .e have &onsidered and admired the ma/nifi&en&e of the #lmi/hty, .ith re/ard to St. Jose"h, .hom %e &ro.ned .ith in&ommuni&able /ra&es, or at least, /ra&es so s"e&ial, that they .ere &ommuni&ated to no other than himself. But in this admirable Saint there are also a&tions and virtues .hi&h may be imitated. The eminent favours, of .hi&h .e have s"o2en are /lorious for him8 the virtues, of .hi&h .e shall no. treat, have more utility for ourselves. The first ex&ite in us the desire to "ay him the homa/e due to him8 the se&ond /ive us the ho"e that, by imitatin/ him, .e may "arta2e, in some small de/ree, of his /lory8 .hi&h is for us of the /reatest im"ortan&e. . 3333 His faith. The first virtue of St. Jose"h is a faith so firm, that no trial, ho.ever rude, &ould sha2e it. St. John Chrysostom ex"lains this, .hen he &om"ares the seemin/ly &ontradi&tory .ords of the #n/el at t.o different times. ,Fear not,, said the &elestial messen/er to Jose"h, ,to ta2e unto thee Mary thy .ife, for that .hi&h is &on&eived in her is of the %oly *host. #nd she shall brin/ forth a son, and thou shalt &all %is name Jesus, for %e shall save %is "eo"le from their sins., !hat &ould be more en&oura/in/ than su&h a "romiseB #nd yet, a short time after, the same messen/er of *od returns, and says to himE ,Ta2e the Child and %is Mother, and fly into E/y"t8 and be there until shall tell thee8 for it .ill &ome to "ass that %erod .ill see2 the Child to destroy %im., ,$ivine #r&han/el,, mi/ht Jose"h have re"lied, ,your .ords &ontradi&t ea&h other8 ho. shall %e save others, !ho is in&a"able of savin/ %imself', But no, he ans.ered nothin/, but rather &hose to believe that the .ord of *od .ould be a&&om"lished in its "ro"er time, and mean.hile exe&uted .ithout delay the order he had re&eived. %o. admirable .as his faith .hen he believed, .ithout a doubt, that his s"ouse .as at on&e +ir/in and Mother8 .hen he believed, unhesitatin/ly, that the little Child, !hom he sa. .ee"in/ and tremblin/ on the stra., in a stable ex"osed to every .ind, .as indeed the *od of heaven and earthB

. 3333 His purity. The "urity of Jose"h .as -uite an/eli&al8 or, a&&ordin/ to St. Bernard, more than an/eli&al, inasmu&h as this virtue is more meritorious in men than in #n/els. The holy virtue of vir/inity .as so tenderly beloved by him, that had it been ne&essary to lose it, in be&omin/ the s"ouse of the +ir/in Mary, he .ould "robably have &hosen the virtue of the #n/els, rather than the Fueen of #n/els8 .hile she also .ould have "referred to be a vir/in .ithout $ivine maternity, rather than Mother of *od .ithout vir/inity. *erson has a very hi/h idea of the ex&ellen&e of St. Jose"h,s "urity. %e believes that he .as san&tified in his mother,s .omb, and delivered from the sour&e of &on&u"is&en&e .hi&h sin/es and devastates human nature. 9:; To me this o"inion seems most "robable. For if Jeremias .as "urified before his birth, .ho .as only to be the "ro"het announ&in/ the holy !ord of *od, ho. mu&h more "ressin/ .ere the reasons for /rantin/ the same favour to the s"ouse of Mary, the re"uted father of the Messias, a man in &onstant &ommuni&ation .ith the #n/els .ho &ame to &onfer .ith him about the order of the n&arnation, .ho, in a .ord, .as one of the t.o flo.ers, the t.o lilies, bet.een .hi&h the !ord made flesh should ta2e %is deli/htB . 3333 His fidelity. The first -uality re-uired in one to .hom treasures are entrusted is fidelity. )o., to Jose"h the #lmi/hty &onfided three "re&ious de"ositsE the Mother of *od, the Son of *od, and the se&ret of *od. St. Bernard admirably ex"resses it in these .ordsE ,St. Jose"h .as &hosen amon/ all men, to be the "rote&tor and /uardian of the +ir/in Mother of *od8 the defender and foster3father of the nfant *od, and the only &oo"erator u"on earth, the one &onfidant of the se&ret of *od in the .or2 of the redem"tion of man2ind., !hat "erfe&t fidelity .as ne&essary to "reserve .ith suitable &are those three ineffable treasuresB +. 3333 His hu!ility. (ri/en, St. Bernard, and several other Fathers, 9=; are over&ome in &ontem"latin/ the humility of this holy Patriar&h. They believe that .hen he "ro"osed to se"arate himself from (ur 1ady, it .as be&ause he &onsidered himself un.orthy to d.ell under the same roof .ith the Mother of *od and Fueen of #n/els. , $e"art from me,, said St. Peter to Jesus Christ, ,for am a sinful man,8 in the same .ay Jose"h, "enetrated by a sense of his lo.liness, said to himselfE ,%o. un.orthy am to &onverse .ith this &hosen +ir/in, .hom the %oly S"irit has filled .ith /ra&e, and adorned .ith so many virtuesB, #fter.ards, .hen he sa. the nfant *od submit %imself in all thin/s to his dire&tion and orders, he felt that he &ould not des&end lo. enou/h into the abyss of humility, and said to himself the .ord .ritten later by St. BernardE ,%o. shall a man not be humble in the "resen&e of a humble *od',

+. 3333 His confor!ity to the :ill of God. (ur 1ady revealed to St. Brid/et, that her &haste s"ouse had &onstantly in his mouth these .ordsE ,%eaven /rant that may live so as to a&&om"lish the !ill of my *odB, 9>; n the midst of his daily labours, this s.eet as"iration, this sim"le ex"ression of entire &onformity to the $ivine !ill, often es&a"ed from his mouth and heart. %e /ave stri2in/ exam"les of this virtue, as .ell at the time of the sudden fli/ht into E/y"t, as in many other very "ainful &ir&umstan&es. Then he adored the ?ud/ments of *od in "rofound silen&e, submittin/ his .ill .ithout any reserve to the orders of $ivine Ma?esty. !hen he sou/ht in vain amon/ the inns of Bethlehem, for a "la&e .herein to shelter his s"ouse and the Child she .as about to brin/ into the .orld, not one &om"laint issued from his li"s, and he felt -uite &ontent in the "oor stable. + . 3333 His obedience. This virtue, the mother and /uardian of all other virtues, has mu&h in &ommon .ith the "re&edin/ one. t .as &arried to su&h "erfe&tion by our /lorious saint, that St. John Chrysostom &annot suffi&iently admire him for it. )ever did he ex"ostulate, .hen re&eivin/ a &ommand from *od8 never did he ex&use himself8 never did he delay for one moment the exe&ution. %e is ordered to es"ouse the +ir/in Mary8 at on&e he a/rees. #fter.ards he is ins"ired to ma2e the vo. of &hastity, .hi&h in that a/e .as a thin/ unheard of, almost held as a dis/ra&e8 he obeys at on&e. %e "er&eives that this +ir/in more "ure than the sun, is about to be&ome a mother8 a thousand thou/hts "ass throu/h his mindE but .hen the #n/el orders him not to -uit her, he submits at on&e .ithout utterin/ a .ord. #fter the de"arture of the three 2in/s , he is told to fly to a distant &ountry .here he 2no.s no one, .here the demon is adored, .here he .ill "erha"s have to remain for years. %o. many ob?e&tions .ould have "resented themselves to the mind of Jose"h, or he re?e&ted them all8 for the truly obedient man has hands for the .or2, and feet for motionE but he has no ton/ue .here.ith to o""ose the de&rees of *od and of obedien&e. + . 3333 His patience. %is "atien&e .as admirable, and yet easy to imitate, for it &onsisted in bearin/ .ith resi/nation, and in silen&e, the trials .hi&h ea&h day brou/ht u"on him. %e .as .ont to &onsider all the events of life as the ex"ression of the $ivine !ill, and therefore he adored from the bottom of his heart the eternal dis"ositions of Providen&e. %e .as ever .illin/ to suffer .ithout any sensible &onsolation, and esteemed himself ha""y in thus sufferin/. Consider ho. the %oly Family .as banished into E/y"t, redu&ed to "overty, "erse&uted and abandoned by the .hole .orld. %o. /reat .ere the anxieties of Jose"h for the safety of the Child and of the MotherB %o. /reat his labour for their su""ort, .hile %eaven a""eared to allo. men to .or2 their .ill, or even seemed to favour the

enemies of JesusB #midst all these trials, Jose"h suffered .ith invin&ible &oura/e, and .ithout utterin/ a .ord8 or, if he did say anythin/, it .asE ,My *od, may al.ays live so as to a&&om"lish Thy !illB L

. 3333 His charity.

%is &harity .as most ardent, and his heart .as burnin/ .ith love for the amiable $ivine Child, !hom he re&o/nised to be the Son of the Eternal Father and of his most &haste s"ouse, the $esired of all nations, and the Saviour of the human ra&e. !hen on the day of the "resentation in the Tem"le, he had to redeem his firstborn, ho. /ladly .ould he have /iven, instead of the t.o doves, his heart, his life, heaven and earth a thousand times overB %o. tender .as his most "ure love for that in&om"arable +ir/in to .hom he had been /iven as a s"ouseB %e 2ne. that she .as the .ell3beloved dau/hter of the Eternal Father, the .ell3beloved Mother of the Son of *od, the .ell3beloved s"ouse of the %oly *host. %e 2ne. that this holiest and /reatest of .omen res"e&ted him as her lord and master, loved him as the /uardian of her vir/inal "urity, and as, after *od, the su""ort of her o.n life and that of her $ivine Son. 6ou may ima/ine .hat ardent &harity .as burnin/ in St. Jose"h,s soul. The *od of his fathers, the *od of #braham, of saa&, and of Ja&ob, had &hosen his humble d.ellin/ .herein to .or2 the most astonishin/ of all mira&les8 %e had &onfided to him, as to a /ood and faithful servant, %is most intimate se&retsB %o. &ould his heart es&a"e bein/ &onsumed, .hile &onstantly .itnessin/ these mar2s of *od,s &harity to.ards him, and ever abidin/ in the so&iety of those t.o /reat tea&hers of divine love, Jesus and MaryB 0. 3333 His !odesty and love of silence. Most edifyin/ and deli/htful is the modesty and silen&e of the holy Patriar&h Jose"h. # man so /reat, the lord and s"ouse of the Fueen of the universe, the su""osed father of the Messias, and yet so retirin/ that he never a""ears unless stri&tly obli/ed to do so8 that he never utters a .ord unless it be for the servi&e or defen&e of Jesus and Mary8 that in his heart he esteems himself the lo.est of men, a .orm of the earth3333is not this most stran/e and, to a &arnal mind, alto/ether in&om"rehensible' #t the birth of the nfant *od the she"herds hasten in &ro.ds to adore %im in the &rib. #fter.ards, the 2in/s arrive from the East to "rostrate themselves at %is feet, and offer %im "resents. (n different o&&asions the #n/els a""ear to Mary and to Jose"h, &onversin/ familiarly .ith them. (n the day of "urifi&ation Simeon and #nna say marvellous thin/s of the $ivine Child, and, in their "raises, for/et neither the +ir/in Mother nor the blessed man .ho is re/arded as the father of Jesus. $o you believe that the honours atta&hed to su&h rare "rivili/es ex&ite in his heart the least sentiment of self3&om"la&en&y' (bserve but his &ondu&t. f anythin/ must be said, he lets his dearest &onsort s"ea2, leavin/ all the honour to her, .ithdra.in/ himself from the attention of men. %e s"ea2s .ith Jesus and .ith Mary, but that only rarely, and in the retirement of their household8 beyond that, he has no other elo-uen&e but that of silen&e and modesty.

Consider the manner in .hi&h he /overned the %oly Family. #ssuredly, there never .as a man at the head of su&h an em"ire, sin&e he had for his sub?e&ts the Jin/ of 2in/s, and the Fueen of heaven and earth. But ho. &ould he, .ho .as so modest, &ommand Jesus and Mary8 he .ho esteemed himself un.orthy to be under their feet, or to loo2 them in the fa&e' %e &ommanded by re-uestin/8 he /overned by besee&hin/, or rather, he himself did all, for am &onvin&ed that he mu&h "referred doin/ to &ommandin/. But, on the other side, .e may also su""ose that Jesus and Mary, the Master and the Mistress of humility, use /entle violen&e to over&ome the modesty of Jose"h, and &onstrain him to submit to the order of *od the Father, !ho had established him as %is re"resentative u"on earth. ( em"ire, li2e to none otherB #ll three are su"eriors, all three are inferiors, all three masters, all three sub?e&ts. )o one .ishes to &ommand, ea&h one "erfe&tly fulfills .hat he has /ot to do, .hile the most entire subordination is observed, and the most admirable obedien&e is "ra&tised. 0. 3333 His devotion. The devotion of St. Jose"h .as "erfe&t in every "oint, sin&e he "ossessed all its &hara&teristi&s in an eminent de/ree. The masters of s"iritual life esteem hi/hly devotion to the "resen&e of *od, and they re/ard it, .ith reason, as one of the most effi&a&ious means of attainin/ to "erfe&tion8 a&&ordin/ to the .ords of *od to %is servant #brahamE ,!al2 before Me, and be "erfe&t., 9@; But .ho ever "ra&tised this holy exer&ise better than St. Jose"h, .ho had the 1ord Jesus and %is holy Mother &onstantly before his eyes' To others *od is only "resent by faith8 to Jose"h %e .as "resent both &or"oreally and s"iritually, .ithout interru"tion, and .ithout distra&tion of any 2ind. !hen St. Peter sa. his $ivine Master in the s"lendour of %is /lory on Mount Thabor he &riedE ,1ord, it is /ood for us to be here8 if Thou .ilt, let us ma2e here three taberna&lesE one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias,, and let us never leave this ha""y abode. )o., the entire life of St. Jose"h .as li2e a day of transfi/uration, .ithout any evenin/. Every day he &ontem"lated the divine Fa&e of the nfant Jesus8 he beheld the .hite &loud3333 mean his holy s"ouse, in .hi&h the Sun of Justi&e had &on&ealed %imself durin/ nine months8 %e lived under the same roof .ith them. ( ho. /ood it .as for him to abide in that house more deli/htful than the terrestrial "aradise, more holy than the %oly of %oliesB 1et us "ass to some other &om"arison. The holy Chur&h, our Mother, desirin/ from time to time to re2indle the devotion of her &hildren by her "ious solemnities, has established the forty hours ex"osition of the Blessed Sa&rament. But .as not the .hole life of Jose"h a &ontinuation of these forty hours, an uninterru"ted vision of Jesus Christ, a "er"etual ?ubilee, a &ontinual trans"ort, a daily &ollo-uy .ith *od' and mar2 here the s"e&ial &hara&ter of Jose"h,s devotion. %e sa. in Jesus Christ at on&e *od and man, a father and a son8 he addressed %im at the same time .ith the res"e&t of a son, and the authority of a father. !e understand .ell the 2ind of devotion .hi&h be/s and im"lores, for it is the devotion of all the Saints8 but the devotion .hi&h su""li&ates in &ommandin/ is 2no.n alone to St. Jose"h and his most holy s"ouse8 it belon/s to them ex&lusively and to no other. 6es, even in addressin/ his "rayer to the n&arnate !ord, Jose"h uses the "aternal authority /iven him by *od, and the Son of *od %imself desires that it should be so8 %e

&hooses to obey him as a son, and to do all that he &ommands. !e .ill &on&lude this sub?e&t .ith "ointin/ out some "arti&ular features in the devotion of the /lorious St. Jose"h. %irstly. %is &ontem"lation .as at on&e very sublime and very "rofound. !ho &an ima/ine .hat fervour, both s.eet and burnin/, martyri<ed his soul8 .hat unutterable ?oys the "resen&e of those t.o $ivine ob?e&ts, Jesus and Mary, often "rodu&ed in him' From them he learned the se&rets of that sublime devotion .hi&h transforms the life of man into intimate inter&ourse .ith *od. #econdly. That state of the soul .hi&h is &alled e&stasy .as habitual .ith him. For, havin/ at his dis"osal the t.o sour&es of devotion3333 mean the Saviour and %is most s.eet Mother3333he felt ,inebriated .ith the "lenty of *od,s house, and .as made to drin2 of the torrent of %is "leasure., 9A; 7hirdly. (ften there es&a"ed from his breast si/hs, intermin/led .ith tender and heart3 felt .ords, or e?a&ulatory "rayers .hi&h he laun&hed, .ith for&e, li2e fiery darts into the %eart of *od, 2no.in/ .ell that ,the 2in/dom of heaven suffereth violen&e, and the violent bear it a.ay., 9C; %ourthly. t .as easy for him to raise his soul to *od. ndeed, .hat others have /ot to see2 in heaven, he had in his o.n house, and &lose at hand. But .hen he raised his eyes from the vision of the humanity of the !ord n&arnate u" to its $ivinity, ( *od, ho. must his heart have melted .ithin him, and .hat trans"orts must he have ex"erien&edB am in&lined to believe that the habitual si/ht of Jesus and Mary .ould have made his life one &ontinual e&stasy, had not the effe&t, .hi&h these t.o $ivine ob?e&ts .ould naturally have "rodu&ed on him, been moderated by a mira&ulous "o.er. %ifthly. The li/ht .hi&h filled his mind, and the 2no.led/e &ommuni&ated to him by *od of the most "rofound mysteries, are thin/s .hi&h it is easy to believe but very diffi&ult to understand. The royal "ro"het saysE ,!ith Thee is the fountain of life, and in Thy li/ht .e shall see li/ht., 9G; !hat an abundan&e of 2no.led/e did this holy Patriar&h dra. from the heart of the !ord 7n&reated and n&arnate, and into .hat de"ths .as his soul "lun/edB #i;thly. To &ome into &onta&t .ith *od fills the soul .ith ha""iness8 but .ho ever ex"erien&ed this as Jose"h did' %e &onversed daily .ith Jesus and Mary, and his .hole life .as a &ontinual inter&ourse .ith *od. !hile St. #ntony, 2neelin/ beside St. Paul, the first hermit, min/led his "rayers .ith his, his heart .as as if on fire. ma/ine, then, ho. the heart of Jose"h .as inflamed .hen he "rayed, .hen he meditated, .hen he offered himself entirely to *od the Father, in &om"any .ith the $ivine nfant Jesus, and .ith the +ir/in his s"ouse. #eventhly. !ho &an des&ribe the divine &ommuni&ations, the visits of *od into a heart of su&h "erfe&t dis"ositions' !hen the eyes of Jesus met those of Jose"h, .hat an im"ression must have been made on his soul, and .hat an abundan&e of heavenly /ra&es must have flo.ed into the breast of this man, .ho .as indeed more favoured than the Sera"himB "ighthly. %is soul .as an abode of "ea&e, ha""iness, and heavenly deli/hts. St. Fran&is 0avier and St. E"hrem, .hen re&eivin/ divine &onsolations, &ried out that they &ould bear no more and liveE .hat must St. Jose"h have felt .hen he sa. himself the ob?e&t of the love and tenderness of Jesus, of Mary, and of the #n/els of heavenB , t is enou/h,, he re"eated /ently, ,it is enou/hB,

*inthly. The hi/hest summit of s"iritual life is the &lose union of an extremely "ure soul .ith *od, !ho is the essen&e of "urity. Could Jesus have found on earth a soul more inno&ent than that of %is foster3father, a soul .hi&h %e loved .ith more tender affe&tion, and of .hi&h %e &ould say .ith more truthE , love them that love Me..... and My deli/hts are to be .ith the &hildren of men,' 9D; Certainly not. )o one, ex&e"t the blessed Mother of *od, has ever e-ualled in devotion that holy Patriar&h St. Jose"h. 0 . 3333 All his other virtues. That the soul of St. Jose"h .as adorned .ith all virtues is a truth that .e .ould loudly "ro&laim, even had it not been ex"ressly affirmed by St. Bernardin of Siena. , believe,, says that /reat li/ht of the Sera"hi& (rder, ,that the s"ouse of Mary, and foster3 father of Jesus, .as endo.ed .ith vir/inity most "ure, humility most "rofound, &harity most ardent, &ontem"lation most sublime, and most ardent <eal for the salvation of men, after the exam"le of the most holy +ir/in, to .hom the %oly S"irit .ould not have /iven him as s"ouse, had he not been her faithful li2eness., 9H; !hat renders St. Jose"h still more dear to me, is that, as *erson relates, the fa&e of Jesus and his fa&e resembled ea&h other "erfe&tly8 for /ra&e, .hi&h often is "leased to imitate nature, had /iven the nfant Jesus features .hi&h made %im a""ear the real son of Jose"h. 9:I; But ohB my *od, ho. mu&h &loser .as the resemblan&e bet.een his heart and the %eart of Jesus, sin&e in the one as in the other .as to be found the union of all virtuesB (nly in heaven, /reat Saint, shall .e see your merits in all their s"lendour8 for as lon/ as you .ere on earth, your extreme humility 2e"t all your treasures hidden in your heart. 0 . 3333 7he uninterrupted growth of all virtues. #ll thou/h .e 2no. but very im"erfe&tly the ineffable virtues of Jose"h, .e &an be very sure that, as a /ood and faithful servant, he .as &areful to ma2e fruitful the talent &onfided to him by the 1ord. ,The "ath of the ?ust,, says the !ise Man, ,as a shinin/ li/ht /oeth for.ards and in&reaseth even to "erfe&t day., 9::; Even the name of Jose"h ex"resses this &ontinual "ro/ress, sin&e it si/nifies ,au/mentation, in&rease., (ne must have /ot but a "oor idea of the /reatness of our Saint, .ere he to dis&ourse at /reater len/th u"on su&h an in&ontestable truth' ndeed, if it be true, as *erson believes, that St. Jose"h .as san&tified in the .omb of his mother8 if it be true that the fire of &on&u"is&en&e, .hi&h in&lines the heart of man to evil, .as extin/uished or re"ressed in this "rivili/ed man8 if it be true that from his birth he .as endo.ed .ith the most s"e&ial /ra&es of %eaven8 ho. &ould he fail to advan&e daily in the "ath of "erfe&tion' 9:=; #dd the im"ression .hi&h the s.eet and "o.erful exam"les of Jesus and of Mary must have made on his soul. The Child, as St. 1u2e tells us, advan&ed daily in .isdom and a/e, and /ra&e .ith *od and men. #s for the most holy +ir/in, the Saints tell us that su&h .as the im"ression her "resen&e "rodu&ed, that "eo"le &ould not loo2 at her .ithout be&omin/ more virtuous. 9:>; %o. then &ould Jose"h, un&easin/ly d.ellin/ in the "resen&e of Jesus and Mary, have been one sin/le moment .ithout /ro.in/ in san&tity' t .as for the /reat *erson a sub?e&t of re/ret, and almost of tem"tation, that he had not

been able to hear the ordinary &onversations of St. Jose"h .ith (ur 1ady, or .ith the Child Jesus, or .ith both to/ether. 9:@; %e does not doubt that St. Jose"h in-uired from the Blessed +ir/in the true meanin/ of the , Ma/nifi&at,, of the ,Benedi&tus,, of Ma&harias, and of the ,)un& dimittis, of Simeon8 that he as2ed her about all that the #n/el had said to her of the Child, and about all those other thin/s .hi&h she 2e"t so &arefully in her heart. #lso his holy s"ouse, bein/ filled .ith the li/ht of the %oly S"irit, dis&overed to him the most sublime mysteries, and all the se&rets of the n&arnation. f Eli<abeth .as filled .ith "ro"heti& s"irit at the first .ord she heard from the mouth of Mary8 if it &aused St. John the Ba"tist to lea" in the .omb of his mother8 if the holy old man Simeon desired to die after havin/ seen %im !ho .as the salvation of Ja&ob, and the li/ht of the *entiles8 if #nne the "ro"hetess .as so trans"orted as to s"ea2 of the nfant *od to all .ho loo2ed for the redem"tion of srael8 .hat must have been the &ondition of St. Jose"h,s heart, .ho, durin/ so many years, s"o2e every day so familiarly .ith his dear s"ouse, and her Son Jesus Christ, and .ho listened to the re"lies they so .illin/ly /ave to all his -uestionsB )o one &an ima/ine ho. sublime .as his 2no.led/e of all the mysteries of faith, and the ineffable /reatness of *od8 for he learned all, either from the #r&han/els .ho often s"o2e to him, or from (ur 1ady .ho &onferred .ith him every day, or from Jesus !ho .as his &hief tea&her. *erson is &arried even farther by his devotion to St. Jose"h. ,#hB, he ex&laims, ,.hy &an not hear the voi&e of (ur 1ady, .hen, to re?oi&e her $ivine Son, she san/ to %im the son/s of Sion, and the hymns of Paradise' 9:A; Must not St. Jose"h .henever he listened to this, more than sera"hi&, voi&e, have been moved even to tears' !e 2no. only one &anti&le of the Blessed +ir/in, the ,Ma/nifi&at8, but ho. often may the %oly S"irit have ins"ired her .ith others as beautiful, even more beautiful, sin&e they .ere &om"osed for the n&arnate !ordB St. Fran&is of #ssisi on&e heard an #n/el sin/, and he thou/ht he must have died of ?oy8 ho. is it that Jose"h did not die ea&h time that he heard Fueen of #n/els either sin/, or dis&ourse .ith her Blessed Son, and that he listened to the divine re"lies of this (ra&le of heaven and of earth' From son/s, *erson "asses to tears. %e su""oses, a&&ordin/ to the /eneral o"inion, that St. Jose"h died before the time of the Passion, for other.ise the Saviour .ould not on the Cross have re&ommended %is Mother to St. John. %e then &ontinuesE , t is my belief that .hen St. Jose"h .as dyin/, he .as assisted by Jesus and Mary, and that, sin&e virtue ma2es natural affe&tion more "erfe&t, Jesus .e"t for %is foster3father and served him in his last illness, &onsolin/ and stren/thenin/ him for the final "assa/e. believe that his holy s"ouse min/led her tears .ith those of her Son, .ee"in/ .ith tenderness for her .ell3beloved s"ouse, and than2in/ him affe&tionately for all the servi&es he had rendered her., 9:C; #nd .hy should not Jesus have shed tears at the death of Jose"h %is father, as he after.ards shed them at the death of 1a<arus %is friend' But .ho &an des&ribe to us the feelin/s of the holy Patriar&h, .hen he sa. himself the ob?e&t of su&h tears' !ho &an ma2e us understand the divine &onsolations .ith .hi&h Jesus inundated his soul, and the .ords of s.eetness addressed to him by the most holy Mother of *od, his s"ouse' )ever did man re"eat .ith more truth those tou&hin/ .ordsE ,1ord, into Thy hands &ommend my s"irit,, sin&e .ith humble &onfiden&e he &ommitted his into the hands of the Son of *od %imself, !ho had &hosen him to be %is /uardian and %is father. Could there be a death more holy, or in more holy &om"any'

:. *erson, #er!. de *ativ. gloriosa +. M. et de co!!endatione virginei e-us #ponsi Joseph. ,onsiderat. ii. et iii. =. (ri/en., Ho!il. ., in diversos "vangelistas.3333Bernard., Ho!il. ll., #uper Missus est. >. , Totum desiderium suum fuit obedire voluntati $ei.....Continue di&ebatE 7tinam vivam, et videam adim"letam voluntatem $ei , 9 S. Bri/itt., Revelat., lib. C, &. lix.;. @. , E/o $eus omni"otens8 ambula &oram me, et esto "erfe&tus , 9 *en. xvii. :;. A. Psa. xxxv. H. C. Matt. xi. :=. G, , Fuoniam a"ud te est fons vitae8 et in lumine tuo videbimus lumen , 9 Psa. xxxv. :I ; D. , E/o dili/entes me dili/o......et deli&ieae meae esse &um filiis hominum , 9 Prov. viii. :G, >:;. H. , Credo istum virum san&tum Jose"h, fuisse mundissimum in vir/initate, "rofundissimum in humilitate, ardentissimum in $ei amore et &haritate, altissimum in &ontem"latione, solli&itissimum "ro hominum salute, ad similitudinem illius +ir/inis s"onsae suae , 9 #er!. de #. Joseph, art. =, &.i.;. :I. , Fa&ies Jesu erat similis fa&iei Jose"h8 similem autem non &aro, sed /ratia fe&it, /ratia enim sae"e naturae &onsona vult fieri., ::. , Justorum autem semita -uasi lux s"lendens "ro&edit, et &res&it us-ue ad "erfe&tam diem, 9 Prov. iv. :D;. :=. , Maria si&ut fuerat in utero san&tifi&ata "rius-uam nas&eretur, ita de Jose"h, vir/inali viro suo, "ia &reduliatate &redi "otest -uamvis non omnino similiter, 9 #er!. de *ativ. 8.+., Considerat. ii.;. , Maria si&ut habuit re"ressionem fomitis ori/inalis, ne in vitiosam ex&andes&eret &on&u"is&entiam8 ita de Jose"h, s"onso suo intelli/i "ie "otest, "raesertim dum matrimonialiter eidem &on?un&tus est, 9 Considerat. iii.;. :>. , Eam 9 &on&u"is&entiam ; "otius extin/uebat ille divinus as"e&tus, -uasi fri/idus -uidam ex o&ulis ros vir/ineus s"iraret vel efflueret a mente sua &astissima , 9 *erson, #er!. citato ;. :@. , Fuis det interfuisse &ollo&utionibus hu?usmodi' , 9 #er!. citato;. :A. , Fuis det hymnum de &anti&is Sion ex Maria suaviter audivisse in terra aliena', 9 #er!. cit., Considerat. iii.;. :C. , Christus adest &um matre "ia,, et&. 9 *erson, Josephina, $istin&t. xii.;

C%#PTER 0.
S T P(SS B1E T( PR# SE (7R 1#$6 #)$ ST. J(SEP% ) # M#))ER !(RT%6 (F T%EM' C()TEST BET!EE) T%E #BB(T TR T%EM 7S () T%E ()E S $E, #)$ ST. BER)#R$ #)$ (T%ER S# )TS () T%E (T%ER.

The &elebrated and venerable #bbot Trithemius 9:; of the order of St. Benedi&t, one of the ornaments of his a/e, and of the li/hts of *ermany, .as an ardent lover of (ur 1ady. The "roof .hereof you may find in his boo2s in .hi&h he extols the Mother of *od in the very hi/hest terms, and "la&es her on the most elevated "inna&le. )ay, he even seems to defy all others to say anythin/ better in her "raise. But here, as it .ere, St. Bernard ta2es u" the &hallen/e. 1et the reader be ?ud/e .hi&h of the t.o is more elo-uent in her "raise. But, at the same time let him remember that, to .hi&hever side the balan&e in&lines, the &ause of Mary must al.ays /ain, and that, .hatever is said in her "raise, must also turn to the /lory of her s"ouse. :. Trithemius be/ins by borro.in/ the .ords of a Fren&h "oet, 9=; and saysE

,Could you transform into ton/ues all the /rains of sea sand, all the floods of the o&ean, the dro"s of rain, the fla2es of sno., the flo.ers of the fields, the leaves of the forest, and the stars of the firmament, &ould you em"loy the ton/ues of all the animals that are u"on the earth, and of all the birds .hi&h fly in the air, you .ould still be unable to &elebrate the Mother of *od, in a manner .orthy of her., s it "ossible to say more' , 6es,, re"lies St. Bernard, , one must addE f all the #n/els .ished to ex"lain to us the marvels o"erated by *od in Mary, in s"ite of all their 2no.led/e and of all the love .hi&h animates them for their Fueen, they never .ould su&&eed, for none other than the #uthor of this divine master"ie&e is &a"able of "raisin/ it a&&ordin/ to its deserts., 1et us ma2e an a""li&ation of this to St. Jose"h. (ur 1ady revealed to St. Brid/et that all that has been said in her "raise may be /enerally and "ro"ortionately a""lied to her s"ouse. She is the handmaid of the 1ord8 Jose"h is %is /ood and faithful servant, and so .ith the rest. , t .ould be a small thin/ for Mary,, says St. #u/ustine, , to have been Mother of *od a&&ordin/ to the flesh, had she not first been so a&&ordin/ to the s"irit, by her faith, her obedien&e, and her love., But .as not St. Jose"h father of Jesus Christ a&&ordin/ to the s"irit, by the "ra&ti&e of all virtues' #nd as this s"iritual "aternity is very a/reeable to *od, and St. Jose"h "ossessed it in the most sublime manner, it follo.s, from the "assa/es -uoted above, that no ton/ue &an /ive us an idea of the ex&ellen&e of this /reat Patriar&h. =. , The +ir/in Mary,, &ontinues #bbot Trithemius, , .hom *od "reserved from all stain, even of ori/inal sin, is the fountain of salvation, the fulness of /ra&e, the re"aration of man2ind., Can anythin/ be added to these "raises' , 6es,, re"ly St. Bernard and St. Bonaventure, , she is not merely a fountain, she is an o&ean8 she is not merely full of /ra&e, but full of *od %imself, and of all the "lenitude of the Most %oly Trinity., #s St. Peter $amian says, the "lenitude of $ivinity has des&ended into her8 and St. Chrysostom addsE , 6ou s"ea2 to us of a broo2, of a rivulet of .ater, .hile .e s"ea2 to you of an abyss .hi&h has neither bottom nor shore., But .ho is the master of this fountain, the o.ner of this o&ean' !ho has the 2eys of this abyss, from .hi&h he may dra. .hen he .ill and .hat he .ill' s it not Jose"h, the /eneral administrator and re"resentative of the %oly S"irit u"on earth' Behold, ho. .hatever is said to the "raise of Mary, li2e.ise redounds to the /lory of Jose"h. >. , maintain,, &ontinues the learned #bbot, , that Mary is the "earl of vir/inity, the ar2 of eternal salvation, a &loud filled .ith divine abundan&e, a treasure of all "urity., Can you, "ray, find more /lorious titles than these' Still the other Saints /o beyond all that and sayE , The most ex&ellent +ir/in is not merely an ar2, but the "aradise of the se&ond #dam8 she is not a &loud, but a /olden firmament, more vast than the immensity of the universe8 she is not merely a treasure for herself, but an inexhaustible sour&e of s"iritual ri&hes for all .ho "la&e themselves under her "rote&tion, and im"lore .ith filial &onfiden&e the hel" of her holy "rayers., )o., St. Jose"h is a "earl resemblin/ in all "oints that other "earl. t is he .ho has the /olden 2ey of that ar28 .ho distributes all the ri&hes and all the treasures it &ontains8 .ho is the first to "arti&i"ate in all these /lories. n a .ord, as there is nothin/ .hi&h so resembles a diamond as another diamond from the same mine, so there is no other so resemblin/ the Mother of Jesus as that ha""y man .ho is &alled by Jesus %is father. Truly, .e &annot "raise the Mother of Christ, .ithout allo.in/ the same "raises to %is foster father.

@. Mary is the house of /old, in .hi&h $ivinity ma2es %is abode8 she is the foundation of all "erfe&tion, the mirror of holy sim"li&ity, in .hi&h #n/els may &ontem"late and admire the in&om"arable ex&ellen&e of their soverei/n "rin&ess. These are the .ords of Trithemius. , #lasB, re"ly St. Bernard and St. Peter $amian, , .hy be so ni//ardly in "raisin/ the Fueen of the universe, the Mother of the Creator and Redeemer of the .orld' 6ou say she is the /olden house of $ivinity8 say rather that her heart, her soul, her .hole bein/ is transformed into "ure love of *od, and that, sin&e she &arried *od in her breast, everythin/ in her is, so to s"ea2, deified. She is not merely the mirror of the #n/els, but the mirror of *od %imself, !ho has made her so beautiful that %e &annot loo2 on her .ithout ex&laimin/E K %o. beautiful are thy ste"s, ( dau/hter of the Prin&eB and thy .al2, ho. full of /ra&eBK f .hat is the least /reat in this Fueen, mean by her .al2 and de"ortment, already trans"orts the heart of the s"ouse, .hat must be her fa&e, her heart, her soul, and her entire "erson, .hi&h "arta2es the &harms of all that is beautiful in the .orld, and indeed sur"asses it, as li/ht &hases a.ay dar2nessB, But, as *od and %is #n/els ta2e their &om"la&en&y in Mary, thus Mary turns to Jose"h and a&2no.led/es him to be the mirror of vir/inal "urity, and the master"ie&e that "re&eded from the hands of the Most %i/h. A. (n&e more Trithemius returns to "raisin/ the Mother of *od. ,Mary,, he says, ,is the aurora of eternal ha""iness, the s"lendour of divine 2no.led/e, the "ala&e of &lemen&y and of all heavenly s.eetness., #nd yet the other Saints, as it .ere, &onsider these to be but "oor "raises in &om"arison of .hat (ur 1ady deserves. 6ou &all her the da.n of day, but .hy not affirm .ith St. Bernard, that she is a livin/ ray of $ivinity, and more res"lendent than the sun' She is not merely the "ala&e, but the mother of &lemen&y and mer&y. !ho then is the man .ho, above all the .orld, "raises most elo-uently the Fueen of Paradise' t is he .ho in/enuously &onfesses that nothin/ he &an say &an e-ual the extent of her almost boundless "erfe&tions. Consider no., that to St. Jose"h belon/s this s"ouse, .ith all that she "ossesses in the .orld. *od s"ared nothin/ in enri&hin/ her .ho .as to be %is Mother8 and .hen %e had over.helmed her .ith %is favours, %e /ave her to this fortunate man, .ho .as so little in his o.n eyes, and so /reat in the eyes of the 1ord. C. Trithemius, as it .ere, ma2es yet another attem"t to &arry off the "alm in the "raises of Mary. %e states ei/ht reasons, .hi&h .e refrain from -uotin/, to sho. that a /reat number of tem"les should be ere&ted all over the earth, in .hi&h all men mi/ht be invited to honour in a .orthy manner the most holy Mother of *od, and her blessed s"ouse. Thou/h the mouth and heart of one man, or even of many to/ether be in&a"able of honourin/ them suffi&iently, let all men, .ithout ex&e"tion, he says, unite in sin/in/ their "raises. , )o,, re"ly the other side, , this .ould not be enou/h. 1et the .hole universe be but one tem"leE its vault, the s2y8 its li/hts, the stars8 its in&ense, the "erfume of the flo.ers8 its musi&, the son/s of birds8 its ornaments, all the ri&hes of nature8 its ministers, all man2ind. #ll hearts of men and of #n/els should be so many tem"les dedi&ated to the honour of Jesus, of %is s.eet Mother, and of the Patriar&h St. Jose"h. There should be /athered the "alms of the martyrs, the laurels of the #"ostles, the lilies and roses of the vir/ins, all the san&tity of Paradise to form one &ha"el of li/ht, in .hi&h to ere&t three

altars, the first for Jesus, the se&ond for Mary, and the third for Jose"h., But let us raise our thou/hts still hi/herE let us say that three tem"les should be "re"ared for the +ir/in MaryE the first, in the %eart of the Eternal Father8 the se&ond, in the %eart of the 7n&reated !ord8 the third, in the %eart of the %oly *host8 and then, even must St. Jose"h be "la&ed beside her. For if St. El<ear .as ?ustified in .ritin/ to his s"ouse, St. $el"hine, that the abode in .hi&h she &ould al.ays find him .as the %eart of Jesus Christ, .hy should not .e be allo.ed to say that the Fueen of the Sera"him should d.ell in the %eart of the three $ivine Persons' There it is the Fueen of the .orld must abide, not in tem"les made of dust. There all men and all #n/els must &ontem"late her, so as to exalt as mu&h as they are &a"able of doin/, the /lory of this &hosen +ir/in, and of her in&om"arable s"ouse8 and .hen they have done so let them even &onfess that it belon/s to *od alone to "raise .orthily these &hief marvels of %is almi/htiness and mer&y. 9>;

:. #uthor of the 7raite des illustres "crivains ecclesiasti3ues, and of several other "ious and learned .or2s. %e died in :A:C, at the a/e of fifty3four. =. Peter Comestor, a native of Troyes, &anon of that to.n, and &han&ellor of the Chur&h of Paris in the t.elfth &entury.333333Joan. Trithem. de Miraculis 8eatiss. Mariae se!per +irginis in "cclesia nova prope Dittelbach factis, lib. :, &. x. >. t is &ertain that thou/h #bbot Trithemius "raises the Mother of *od in a most beautiful and varied manner, he is far from flatterin/ himself that he has done so as mu&h as it is "ossible to do. f our author seems to insinuate the &ontrary, .e must say that he has made use of an inno&ent fi&tion in order to /ive more life and interest to his sub?e&t.333339 *ote of the "ditor.; #lso, sin&e #bbot Trithemius lived so lon/ after the Saints .ith .hom he is su""osed to have had a &ontest, it is evident that Father Binet it is .ho has "ut into that form -uotations from their different .or2s.

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T%E *1(R6 (F ST. J(SEP%

The most holy +ir/in, as related above, revealed to St. Brid/et, that St. Jose"h fre-uently made use of these beautiful .ordsE , %eaven /rant that may live so as to a&&om"lish the .ill of my *odB , #nd she addedE , Therefore it is that the /lory of Jose"h is no. so /reat., 9:; These .ords at first si/ht are "lain enou/h. But to understand them fully, .e ou/ht to remember ho. moderate, in her assertions, (ur 1ady .as. %ad she .ished to "oint out an ob?e&t most sublime, she .ould sim"ly have saidE , t is /reat., Thus .hen Eli<abeth said to her, , Blessed art thou that hast believed, be&ause these thin/s shall be a&&om"lished that .ere s"o2en to thee by the 1ord,, her re"ly .as, , The 1ord hath done /reat thin/s to me,, .hi&h means thin/s -uite ineffable. n the same .ay, .hen she says, , The /lory of my s"ouse is /reat,, .e must understand that it sur"asses all that &an be ima/ined in this .orld. $ivine /lory, a&&ordin/ to St. Bernardin of Siena, "lun/es this /reat Patriar&h into the

infinite o&ean of $ivinity, absorbs him as in a bottomless abyss. %is heart is not vast enou/h to re&eive all the /lory "re"ared for him by *odE hen&e, it is not *od !ho enters into him, but he it is that enters into, and loses himself in the %eart of *od. 9=; !hen on earth, Jose"h re&eived the n&arnate !ord into his house, he "ressed %im to his breast, and had it been "ossible, .ould have .ished to ma2e him enter into his heart. s it not reasonable that no. the same !ord, re&eivin/ him into the house of %is /lory, should also "ress him to %is %eart, and ma2e enter so "rofoundly into %is $ivinity, as, in a manner, to identify %imself .ith him' Formerly, the loo2s, the &aresses, even the breath of the nfant *od 9>; had been the unutterable deli/ht of %is ado"ted fatherE but no. *od sho.s the same, %is /lorious divine &ountenan&e, and re.ards him .ith the embra&e of %is infinite "erfe&tion. Theolo/ians tea&h that the amount of /ra&e a&-uired in this life is the measure of the /lory to be re&eived in heaven. f this be true, .hi&h .e &annot doubt, .e may be sure that St. Jose"h,s "la&e in the heavenly Jerusalem is an extremely hi/h one. 1et us hear .hat the learned Chan&ellor of Paris says on this "oint. n his sermon on the )ativity of the Blessed +ir/in, .hi&h he "rea&hed before the Fathers of the Coun&il of Constan&e, he ma2es t.o assertions, the first of .hi&h isE , &annot tell you, my Fathers, .hi&h is the most admirable, the humility of Mary, or the sublimity of Jose"h., 9@; )o. the humility of (ur 1ady bein/, so to s"ea2, infinite, .hat must .e thin2 of the e-ually sur"risin/ /reatness of her holy s"ouse' +erily, if Jesus Christ still &alls Jose"h %is father, and if the Blessed +ir/in still &alls him her lord, ho. ineffable is his /loryB f he, of all men, holds still a &laim to these titles in the "resen&e of all #n/els and Saints, ho. exalted must be his station amon/st themB The se&ond "ro"osition of *erson is as follo.sE , !ho .ill /ive me .ords to ex"lain .orthily the ineffable mystery of this admirable Trinity, Jesus, Mary, Jose"h', 9A; For those three "ersons, are a true and livin/ ima/e of the adorable Trinity, .here there is one Father, one Son, and one S"irit, !ho is the bond, the love, and the /ift of both. %ere also .e find a father, a son, and the imma&ulate heart of a +ir/in, .ho is the love of both, and .ho forms a very &lose bond, unitin/ father to son, and son to father, mother to son, son to mother, husband to .ife, and .ife to husband. # bond so identifyin/, that these three hearts seem to be no lon/er three, but one and the same heart. From this sublime do&trine the learned &han&ellor dra.s the follo.in/ &on&lusionE , !here am,, says our 1ord Jesus, , there also shall My minister be., Sin&e, then, Jose"h .as, .ith (ur 1ady, the nearest to %im u"on earth, .hy should he not be, after Mary, the nearest to Jesus in heaven' 9C; *reat *odB &an anythin/ more be said in his "raise' #lasB ho. little devotion, ho. little love is ours for a man endo.ed .ith so many /ra&es, and &ro.ned .ith su&h /loryB t is here the "la&e to remember an o"inion of several learned authors, .hi&h .e have already mentioned before. They thin2 that St. Jose"h is in heaven body as .ell as soul, havin/ follo.ed (ur Saviour thither on #s&ension $ay. , t is a "ious belief,, say St. Bernardin of Siena and Suare<, 9G; , that St. Jose"h and (ur 1ady are, body and soul, .ith Jesus Christ in the deli/htful life of /lory, as they .ere to/ether in the laborious life of /lory, as they .ere to/ether in the laborious life of exile., This o"inion is &onfirmed by the do&trine of those theolo/ians .ho &onsider the order of /ra&e in (ur 1ady and St. Jose"h to be a hierar&hy a"art, destined for the immediate servi&e of the divine "erson of the Messias. )o., if thus "re3eminen&e is /iven to them amon/ all other Saints of the

Chur&h militant, St. Bernardin believes that they must li2e.ise o&&u"y the hi/hest ran2 in the Chur&h trium"hant8 and that there, above all Saints and #n/els, Jesus, Mary, and Jose"h form a Trinity a"art, en?oyin/ a love, a /lory, and a union so sublime and so intimate, that in this hierar&hy there is only room for those three. 6ou may safely &on&lude from this, that St. Jose"h is the /reatest Saint in heaven. The "ious and learned Suare< does not hesitate to sayE , t is not an arti&le of faith, but a .ell3founded "ious belief, that St. Jose"h sur"asses all other Saints in /ra&e and in /lory, and that he is, in body and soul, the nearest to Jesus and Mary in heaven, as he .as the nearest to them .hile on earth., 9D; ,*ive, and it shall be /iven to you8 /ood measure, and "ressed do.n, and sha2en to/ether, and runnin/ over shall they /ive into your bosom8 for .ith the same measure that you shall mete .ithal, it shall be measured to you a/ain., 9H; 1et this rule be observed .ith re/ard to St. Jose"h. !hat, indeed, did he not /ive to the n&arnate !ordB %e /ave %im his house to d.ell in, his heart as a "la&e of s.eet re"ose, his hands to nourish %im by their labour. )o. Jesus Christ renders him abode for abode, heart for heart, measure for measure in the /lory of heaven. #ll other Saints, even the /reatest in di/nity and /lory, are only servants, and are treated as servants8 .hile Jose"h is the le/al father, the re"uted father, the foster3father of Jesus, and is therefore treated as father. *lory does not &han/e the natural relations, but brin/s them to "erfe&tion. !herefore this admirable Patriar&h, .ho &onstantly had the honour of &ommandin/ Jesus and Mary, and the ha""iness of servin/ them all his life, .ith in&om"arable love and fidelity, stands no. hi/hest in the /lory of heaven. Truly my s"irit loses itself in these ineffable hei/hts, and the s"lendour of that in&om"arable /lory da<<les me and redu&es me to silen&e. &an but as2 the "ardon of this /reat and amiable Saint for treatin/ of his ex&ellen&e in so un.orthy a manner. !hen Jose"h, after some months of vir/inal marria/e, desired, in his humanity, to se"arate himself from his holy s"ouse, it .as ne&essary, that *abriel should a/ain des&end from heaven and address these .ords to himE Jose"h, son of $avid, fear not8 do not se"arate yourself from your s"ouse8 it is the .ill of *od that you live in the same house .ith her, sin&e you are one in heart. f Jose"h, seein/ his s"ouse so /reat and so elevated in heaven, should no., in res"e&tful a.e, .ish to se"arate himself from her, it seems to me *od .ould send a Sera"h to say to himE , Fear not, Jose"h8 nor thin2 of se"aratin/ yourself either from Jesus or from Mary8 the Eternal Father desires that you remain near %is Son, be&ause on earth you o&&u"ied %is "la&e beside %im8 the Son .ills that you remain near %im, be&ause you .ere %is foster3father8 the %oly S"irit &ommands you to remain near Mary, be&ause you .ere the /uardian3an/el of %is &haste s"ouse8 Mary demands that the order of the three $ivine Persons be res"e&ted, be&ause you are her s"ouse8 and all the inhabitants of the heavenly &ourt de&lare, .ith one voi&e, that your "la&e is beside Jesus and Mary, and that those .hom *od united, durin/ so many years, on earth, must not be se"arated in heaven., My heart re?oi&es, ( /reat Saint, to see you so &losely and so inse"arably united to Jesus and Mary in /lory. )ever shall se"arate you from the Son, nor from the Mother, in my devotions and "rayers8 and may al.ays be the humble and most ha""y &lient of Jesus, of Mary, and of Jose"h.

:. , deo nun& /loria sua ma/na est, 9 Revelat.,lib, C, &, lix.;, =. S. Bernardin., #er!. de #. Joseph, art. =, &. ii. >. ,Cum filiali as"e&tu, afflatu at-ue am"lexu, 9#er!. tle #. Joseph, art. =, &. ii.;. @. ,)es&io sane, Patres orthodoxi, hi& -uid am"lius habeat mirabilius, vel humilitas in Maria, vel in Jose"h sublimitas, 9 #er!. de *ativitate 8.M.+., Considerat. iv.;. A. ,Cu"erem mihi verba su""eterent ad ex"li&andum tam altum et abs&onditum a sae&ulis mysterium, tam admirandam venerandam-ue Trinitatem Jesu, Mariae et Jose"h, 9 0bid.;. C. ,Profe&to si non mentiebatur Jesus, -ui aitE K 7bi sum e/o, illi& et minister meus erit K 9 Joan. xii.=C ;E ille "roximior videtur &ollo&andus in &oelis, -ui in ministerio fuit vi&inior, obse-uentior, at-ue fidelior "ost Mariam inventus in terris , 9 *erson, loco citato;. G. S. Bernardin., #er!. de #. Joseph. art. >.33333Suare<, De 0ncarnat., ". =, dis". D, se&t. =. D. Suare<, De 0ncarnat. ". =, dis". D, se&t. =. H. 1u2e vi. >D.

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T%E P(!ER (F ST. J(SEP% (ne &annot .onder that this /reat Patriar&h should be so "o.erful, seein/ that he &ommands the t.o authorities of heaven and earth, Jesus and Mary. The learned *erson s"ea2s of him as a "rote&tor, influential, "o.erful, almost all3"o.erful, 9:; sin&e he is the re"uted father, the foster3father, and /uardian of Jesus, and the s"ouse, the "rote&tor, and the /uardian of Mary. !hat &an be refused to the man .ho "rodu&es titles so valid and authenti& as these' Besides, .hatever Jesus demands from %is %eavenly Father, the Father .ills8 .hatever (ur 1ady demands from her beloved Son, the Son .ills8 and .hatever Jose"h demands from his holy s"ouse, she .ills. $oes it not follo. that as Mary is all3"o.erful throu/h Jesus, Jose"h is all3"o.erful throu/h Mary' (h, ho. /ood it is to have St. Jose"h for advo&ate, sin&e nothin/ in the .orld is im"ossible to himB The other Saints su""li&ate Jesus and Mary, St. Jose"h &ommands them8 this bold idea of (ri/en has been ado"ted by several $o&tors. St. Jose"h s"ea2s as a father8 but a father does not "etition his son, he &ommands him. The other Saints thro. do.n their &ro.ns at the feet of the 1amb, and "ray as su""liants8 St. Jose"h su""li&ates as one &ommandin/, or rather, the humility of this holy man is too /reat to "ermit him to &ommand the 1ord Jesus8 but the /oodness of (ur 1ord is so &ondes&endin/, that %e a&&e"ts the "rayers of Jose"h as "aternal &ommands, and /rants all he re-uests. %a""y Patriar&hB .ho alone of all men has relations so s"e&ial, union so intimate .ith the Saviour of the .orld, and %is most holy MotherB The Son of Mary o.es obedien&e to you8 your s"ouse o.es you honour, you have the ri/ht to &ommand them both8 &an you then fear to "ray to them for your &lients' !hen t.o ?ust men &onsent u"on earth &on&ernin/ anythin/ .hatever that they demand in the name of Jesus Christ, it shall be /ranted to them by %is Father in heaven. 9=; %ere, indeed, is this "romise of the Saviour verified. !hen Mary and Jose"h "lead to/ether before the throne of their $ivine Son, in favour of one of their servants, is there any /ra&e

.hi&h they &annot obtain' *reat *odB /ive to me those t.o all3"o.erful advo&ates8 /rant that they may al.ays "lead my &ause before Thine adorable Ma?esty, and that may ever render to them a&&e"table servi&e. !here is there to be found an ob?e&t more beloved by Thee and more .orthy of our love than those t.o noble hearts' !hen thin2 on the history of Ja&ob returnin/ to the land of his fathers, my heart is filled .ith ho"e. %e and Ra&hel, holdin/ their son Jose"h by the hand, advan&ed in &onfiden&e, and .hen they arrived before Esau, they a""eased the .rath of this fier&e man. Even so, ima/ine that if Mary and Jose"h, holdin/ Jesus by the hand, "resent themselves before *od the Father in my favour, %is ?ust .rath must infallibly be &almed, the thunderbolt .ill fall from %is hands, and %e .ill loo2 on me .ith favour. So "o.erful is the inter&ession of Jesus, Mary, and Jose"h, .hen they have ta2en in hand the &ause of a "oor sinner. St. John, exiled to Patmos, .here he .rote the #"o&aly"se, .as one day ra"t in s"irit, and beheld , a throne set in heaven, and u"on the throne one sittin/. #nd %e that sat .as to the si/ht li2e the ?as"er and the sardine stone8 and there .as a rainbo. round about the throne, in si/ht li2e unto an emerald., 9>; Some authors thus ex"lain this vision. The throne is the most "ure +ir/in Mary8 %e .ho sits u"on the throne is Jesus Christ our Saviour8 the rainbo. .hi&h surrounds Jesus and Mary are all the Saints, but more es"e&ially Jose"h, to .hom *od &onfided the &are of the Child and of %is Mother. This iris, by .hi&h mean our holy Patriar&h, shines bet.een t.o &louds of /lory, and is adorned .ith all the beauties of Paradise, bein/ the symbol of mer&y, and the "re&ious "led/e of divine /oodness. #t the si/ht of this bo., *od "romises to "ardon human nature, and to for/et %is ?ust resentment. #nother ex"lanation is, that Jesus, Mary, and Jose"h are themselves the three "rin&i"al &olours of the bo. of ho"e and salvation .hi&h surrounds the throne of the Most %i/h. The red is the Blood of Jesus8 the blue, the "urity of (ur 1ady8 the /reen, the san&tity of Jose"h. These three heavenly &olours have the virtue of arrestin/ and a""easin/ the .rath of *od the Father. , shall,, %e says, ,see the bo., and shall remember My &ovenant .ith you, that there shall no more be .aters of a flood to destroy all flesh. This shall be the si/n of the &ovenant .hi&h have established bet.een Me and all flesh u"on the earth., !ill you then, reader, have, if not "erfe&t &ertainty, at least a .ell3founded ho"e of your salvation' #&&e"t the "romise of this heavenly rainbo., Jesus, Mary, Jose"h8 a&&e"t the influen&e of their holy ins"irations, and the numberless /ra&es .ith .hi&h they enri&h their servants. *erson re&ounts that those .ho, havin/ lost any ob?e&t, re&ommend themselves to St. Jose"h, are sure to find it a/ain. 9@; %e &ites the exam"le of a friend of his8 but believe the friend is no other than himself. #lasB .e have lost *od by sin, and in losin/ *od .e have lost Paradise, .e have lost allB 1et us often say to our holy Prote&tor those .ords of the *os"elE , Sir, .e .ould see Jesus., 9A; S.eet Jose"h, .e have lost Jesus Christ8 .ill not you sho. %im to us, and /ive %im ba&2 to our souls' Mary and Jose"h, .e have lost %im !ho is all our ?oy8 have not you found %im' (h, tell us .here %e is, /ive %im ba&2 to usB My soul is desolate, havin/ lost its treasure. ( Jose"h, lead us ba&2 to Jesus and MaryB ( Mary, lead us ba&2 to Jesus and Jose"hB ( Jesus, lead us ba&2 to Mary and Jose"h and ThyselfB 1et us a/ain find all three, to "raise and bless all three, to love all three .ith "erfe&t love, in &om"any .ith the #n/els and the Saints, durin/ all eterntiyB #men.

:. ,Ma/ne Jose"h . . . im"eriose "atrone, 9Josephina, sub finem;. =. Matt. xviii. :H. >. #"o&. iv. =, >. @. Josephina, sub finem. A. ,$ominem, volumnus Jesum videre, 9Joan. xii. =:;.

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ST. J(SEP%, P#TR() (F C%R ST #)S (F #11 R#)JS #)$ C()$ T ()S. ST. J(SEP% is the "atron of all Christians, in all ne&essities and dan/ers of life. )o. that the /lorious reformer of Carmel and the /reat Bisho" of *eneva have .ritten so admirably on the "o.er of the holy s"ouse of Mary, .ho &an venture to &all this truth in -uestion ' do not remember, says the sera"hi& Teresa of Jesus, to have ever demanded from this /reat Saint a sin/le /ra&e, .hether for body or for soul, .hi&h .as not /ranted. This ma2es me believe that .hile *od /ives to other Saints the "o.er of hel"in/ us in &ertain s"e&ial ne&essities, to St. Jose"h %e /ives the "rivili/e of hel"in/ us in all &ir&umstan&es .here his "rote&tion is needful for us. This is also tau/ht by St. Fran&is of Sales, .ho thus ex"resses himselfE , St. Jose"h is in heaven, body and soul8 of that there &an be no doubt. (hB ho. ha""y shall .e be if .e &an merit to have "art in his holy inter&essionsB for nothin/ &an be refused to him, either by (ur 1ady or by her /lorious Son., 9:; T.o su&h .itnesses may suffi&e for the "resent. )o., let us examine in detail .hat "ersons have a s"e&ial &laim to the "rote&tion of our /reat Patriar&h. n the first "la&e, he is the "atron of vir/ins, sin&e he .as the first amon/ men to en/a/e himself by vo. to "er"etual vir/inity. Se&ondly, he is the "atron of married "eo"le, be&ause he .as united to the most holy of .omen by the bonds of a true and most ha""y marria/e. %e "led/ed to her his faith, and re&eived hers, formin/ .ith her but one heart and one soul. Thirdly, he is the "atron of the fathers of families, sin&e he .as by ri/ht, and by fa&t, the head of the %oly Family. Fourthly, he is the "atron of .or2in/ men, for he /ained his bread by the s.eat of his bro., handlin/ the sa. and the "lane, and had as a""renti&e the Son of *od, of !hom the inhabitants of )a<areth said, , s %e not the &ar"enter,s son', Fifthly, he is the "atron of all &har/ed .ith the edu&ation of youth, be&ause, havin/ himself brou/ht u" the Son of the Most %i/h, he has re&eived from *od a s"e&ial /ra&e for the "rote&tion of &hildhood and youth. Sixthly, he is the "atron of interior souls, sin&e his .hole life .as "assed in &ontem"lation of the sublime virtues of Mary, and of the humanly divine a&tions of the n&arnate !ord. Seventhly, he is the "atron of Reli/ious, be&ause he .as an ex&ellent master of "overty, &hastity and obedien&e, a "erfe&t model of &ommon life, a livin/ rule for both a&tive and &ontem"lative life. Ei/hthly, he is the "atron of Priests, havin/ been the first of all men to tou&h .ith his hands the Sa&red Body of the Saviour of the .orld, and havin/ offered to the Eternal Father the first dro"s of the "re&ious Blood .hi&h the n&arnate !ord shed in the &ir&um&ision. %e also fre-uently &arried %im in his arms .ith the most tender feelin/s of "iety, love and reveren&e. )inthly, he is the "atron of Prelates, be&ause, durin/

lon/ years, in the most "ainful and diffi&ult &ir&umstan&es, he /overned, .ith in&redible soli&itude and admirable .isdom, the t.o most holy "ersons .ho ever .ere u"on earth, Jesus and Mary. Tenthly, he is the "atron of all .ho are in "ositions of "o.er and di/nity, be&ause the Chur&h sin/s of him, , *od hath established him the lord of %is house, and the master of all %is "ossessions., 9=; There are still other &lasses of "eo"le .ho have a s"e&ial &laim on St. Jose"h and stand in s"e&ial need of his "rote&tion8 they are the sinners, the affli&ted, and the dyin/. (f these .e shall treat in the follo.in/ &ha"ter.

:. "ntretien <l<. sur les vertus de #t. Joseph. =. 9iturg., in festo St. Jose"h.

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ST. J(SEP%, SPEC #1 P#TR() (F S ))ERS, (F T%E #FF1 CTE$, #)$ (F T%E $6 )*. To &om"lete my sub?e&t, say, in the first "la&e, that St. Jose"h is the "atron of re"entant sinners8 and .ould here d.ell more at len/th on this &onsolin/ sub?e&t, had not already tou&hed u"on it at the end of the eleventh &ha"ter. Still, ho.ever, shall add one or t.o reasons .hi&h ex"lain .hy St. Jose"h feels su&h tender &om"assion .ith sinners. t is evident that the same motive .hi&h indu&es Mary to be their refu/e, must e-ually influen&e her s"ouse. !ould he ever have been the father of the Saviour, had there been no sinners u"on earth ' )or &an any man understand so .ell as he does the /reat misfortune of the sinner in havin/ lost *od. %e himself on&e lost the Child Jesus durin/ three days, and althou/h it .as in no .ay his fault, ho. /reat .as his an/uishB )o father ever suffered su&h sorro. as did this foster3 fatherB Jud/e from this .ith .hat &om"assion St. Jose"h re&eives the sinner .ho &onfidently im"lores his hel", and .ith .hat ardour he strives to ma2e "ea&e bet.een him and Jesus. n the se&ond "la&e, say that St. Jose"h is the "atron of the affli&ted. (ur 1ady on&e revealed to St. Brid/et that, as the Child Jesus be/an to /ro. u", "eo"le .ent to loo2 at %im .hile %e laboured in the .or2sho" of %is father. 9:; 1ittle by little they be&ame familiar .ith %im, and ventured to as2 %im -uestions, to .hi&h %e re"lied .ith rare .isdom. %is .ords .ere so s.eet, and %is beauty so attra&tive, that %e inflamed all hearts, and those .ho .ere in affli&tion saidE , 1et us /o to the Son of Mary, and %e .ill &onsole us8 for this %oly Child seems to be the Master of hearts, movin/ their s"rin/s as %e .ill., They addedE , See ho. the Son of Jose"h tea&hes the masters themselves, for a /reat s"irit s"ea2s in %im., 9=; Many believed %e had learned all this from him .hom they re/arded as %is father8 so that the house of Jose"h .as the refu/e of the unfortunate, and the &onsolation of the

affli&ted. Those .ere esteemed ha""y .ho, "ossessin/ the friendshi" of this holy man, &ould, throu/h him, obtain the "rivili/e of s"ea2in/ .ith the $ivine Child, !ho .as the !isdom of the .orld. !e, too, .ould find ourselves effe&tually relieved in all our troubles, .ere .e to say to ourselvesE , 1et us /o to Jose"h, and to the Son of Jose"h8 let us not leave them till our hearts are filled .ith heavenly &onsolation, for .ith them is Paradise,, #nd this &an be done -uite as .ell no. as then8 Jesus Christ is still as 2ind as %e then .as, and as .illin/ to hel" us. But in order to a""roa&h %im .ith true &onfiden&e, let us first turn to %is foster3father, let us as2 him to inter&ede on our behalfE %e that &hose to be sub?e&t to him on earth, &an refuse him nothin/ in heaven. n the third "la&e, St. Jose"h is the "atron of the dyin/. f it be so im"ortant durin/ lifetime, on the stormy sea of the .orld, to have a "o.erful "rote&tor, ho. mu&h more is it so at the su"reme and de&isive moment on .hi&h eternity de"endsB For the ?ust man, a holy death is the &ro.n of /ood .or2s and of all virtues8 for the re"entant sinner, it is the renun&iation, the solemn re"aration of all "ast faults8 for both, it is the end of all evil, and the be/innin/ of unendin/ bliss. But amon/ all the Saints of *od, to .hom shall .e address ourselves in "referen&e, to obtain for us this most "re&ious of all blessin/s. !e &annot hesitate. Jose"h is the father of our Jud/e8 he .ill /ain our "ardon. %is "o.er is terrible to the enemies of our salvation8 he .ill "ut them to fli/ht. )ever .as there a death so s.eet and so "rivili/ed as that of Jose"h8 he .ill obtain for us also the /ra&e of a s.eet and holy death. do not, then, fear to s"ea2 in&orre&tly, nor to dis"lease the au/ust Fueen of %eaven, in a""lyin/ to her holy s"ouse the .ords s"o2en by St. Bernard about herselfE , %e offers to all men the hel" of his "rote&tion. By invo2in/ him, the ?ust man re&eives /ra&e8 the sinner, "ardon 8 the affli&ted, &onsolation8 the si&2, re&overy, or "atien&e in sufferin/8 the dyin/, s.eet &onsolation in the merits of the Saviour8 in a .ord, all re&eive of his fulness, and are loaded .ith his benefits., 9>;

:. #&&ordin/ to an an&ient &ustom, .hi&h still "revails amon/ the #rabs and other Eastern nations, Jose"h exer&ised his trade in another house from that inhabited by Mary. %is .or2sho", in .hi&h Jesus Christ %imself .or2ed, .as a lo. room, ten or t.elve feet lon/, and as many broad 9(rsini, Histoire de la Mere de Dieu, &ha". viii.;. The same author -uotes, as a note, the follo.in/ "assa/e from F. de *erambE , This house of Jose"h is situated about a hundred and thirty to a hundred and forty "a&es from that of St. #nn8 the "la&e is still &alled Joseph2s workshop. # lar/e &hur&h .as built there, but the Tur2s have destroyed "art of it. There still remains a &ha"el, in .hi&h the holy sa&rifi&e of the Mass is daily offered., 9/elerinage a Jerusale!, "ar le R. P. de *eramb;. These details are &onfirmed by Monsei/neur Mislin 9 9es #aints 9ieu;, &ha". xxxvi.;. =. ,Cu?us visus et lo&utio si& mirabilis erat, ut multi tribulati di&erentE Eamus ad Filium Mariae, a -uo "ossumus &onsolari. E&&e Filius Jose"h do&et ma/istros8 ali-uis s"iritus ma/nus lo-uitur in eo, 9S. Bri/itt., .evelat., lib. vi, &. AD;. >. #er!. in #ignu! !agnu!, n. =.

C%#PTER 0 +.
() $ FFERE)T $E+(T ()S !% C% M#6 BE PR#CT SE$ ) %()(7R (F T%E *1(R (7S ST. J(SEP%.

!e do not "raise the Saints merely for the sa2e of "raisin/ them8 as St. Bernard says, they are so full of heaven,s /ifts that our "oor "raises &an s&ar&ely add anythin/ to their /lory. !e "raise them in order to admire them8 .e admire them in order to love them8 .e love them in order to serve them8 .e serve them in order to imitate them8 and by imitatin/ them .e /ain their favour, and merit to have them as "rote&tors in heaven. t is /lorious for St. Jose"h to be so /reat, but .hat do .e /ain by his /reatness if he do not share it .ith us, if he be not our advo&ate on hi/h' )o. he is .illin/ to be of servi&e to us if .e sho. ourselves .orthy, if .e render him some "oor servi&e, and offer him really heart3felt homa/e. t is &ertainly "raise.orthy to re&ite "rayers in his honour, to adorn his statue .ith flo.ers, or even to re&eive %oly Communion on the day of his feast. #ll that is /ood, but there are other "ious "ra&ti&es .hi&h .e may add8 and shall mention some .hi&h are .ell suited to aid those .hose s.eet ambition it is to /ain the love and fervour of the /lorious Patriar&h, .hose "o.er is so /reat in heaven. %irst Devotion.33333 The best devotion to St. Jose"h is to imitate his virtues, to model your a&tions on his, and to a&t as he a&ted. %e and (ur 1ady .ill a&&e"t your feeble efforts and hel" you, and *od .ill /ive you %is blessin/. #econd Devotion.33333 Say attentively everyday some short "rayer in honour of St. Jose"h, and if your devotion in&lines you to it, a""ly to him some of the invo&ations addressed to (ur 1ady in her litanies8 .ith the ex&e"tion of a fe. .hi&h belon/ ex&lusively to the Mother of *od, they re-uire but little alteration to be a""ro"riate to St. Jose"h. Try this "ra&ti&e, and your heart .ill derive from it both &ontentment and "rofit. 7hird Devotion.33333 From time to time &onse&rate an entire .ee2 to the /lorious St. Jose"h, that he may offer all you do to Mary, to Jesus, to the Most %oly Trinity, and that he may dis"ose, a&&ordin/ to his "leasure, of the fruit of your /ood .or2s. %ourth Devotion.33333 Choose seven titles of honour, one for ea&h day of the .ee2, by .hi&h to do homa/e to this /reat Saint, and vary your devotion. The first day you may honour him as s"ouse of (ur 1ady8 the se&ond, as father of the Saviour8 the third, as model of vir/inity and &hastity8 the fourth, as the most faithful and most favoured of "atriar&hs8 the fifth, as /overnor of Jesus and Mary8 the sixth, as fosterer of the %oly Family8 the seventh, as /uardian of the nfant Jesus, and distributor of the treasures of the Messias. %ifth Devotion.33333 For the feast of St. Jose"h, do not be satisfied .ith one day, .hi&h is not enou/h for the honour of so /reat and holy a "atron, but &elebrate the entire o&tave. Ea&h day of the o&tave either say or hear Mass, &ommuni&ate in his honour, or /ive alms a&&ordin/ to your means8 better still, if you &an, do all that at on&e8 he .ill render it to you a hundredfold in heaven. %as he not often &ome at the hour of death to &onsole his devout servants' %as he not sho.n himself to them in the &om"any of his holy s"ouse, and of her and his Son, Jesus Christ' !ere he to do the same for you, you .ould deem yourself am"ly re.arded for your devotion to him. #i;th Devotion.33333 mitate those .ho, every !ednesday, in honour of St. Jose"h, either say Mass, or &ause a Mass to be said, .hi&h they attend. f you .ish to do still more, ma2e a "er"etual foundation, so that, till the end of the .orld, *od may be /lorified by your means.

#eventh Devotion.33333 Try to .in others to the devotion to St. Jose"h8 s"ea2 often of him, and more from the heart than only from the li"s8 .ords stri2e but the ear, .hile elo-uen&e from the heart /ains other hearts. # &elebrated "rea&her .as .onderfully &onsoled at the hour of his death, .hen (ur 1ady a""eared to him and told him she &ame to assist him, be&ause of his holy "ra&ti&e of relatin/, in ea&h of his sermons, some story in her honour, or in that of her &haste s"ouse. The same /lorious +ir/in dei/ned to than2 St. Teresa for havin/ rea.a2ened devotion to St. Jose"h throu/hout the Chur&h. "ighth Devotion.33333 #l.ays have in your oratory, or u"on your heart, the "i&ture of this /reat and amiable Saint. 1ay all your troubles at his feet8 s"ea2 to him familiarly as if he .ere "resent8 in all your ne&essities /o to him8 in life and death ta2e him for your advo&ate. Should you lose every other su""ort, remember, and believe .ith &ertainty, that Jesus, Mary, and Jose"h .ill never fail you. *inth Devotion.33333 !hen you re&eive %oly Communion, unite yourself s"iritually to (ur 1ady and St. Jose"h, and, .ith them, 2ee" the Child Jesus &om"any, as they did .hen they &arried %im to the tem"le to "resent %im to %is Father. 6our heart is then the true tem"le of the 1ord. Say to %im lovin/ly that to3day is the feast of the Presentation is &elebrated in your soul8 and should Mary and Jose"h desire to ransom the $ivine Child, tell them that %e has been /iven to you by *od the Father, that they themselves are the t.o doves .hom you demand for the ransom of Jesus, and that you .ill be &ontented .ith none else. 7enth Devotion.33333 , )ever,, says *erson, , did anyone .orshi" St. Jose"h .ith more honour and veneration than the holy +ir/in. She &onsidered him as her lord, as her s"ouse, as the foster3father of Jesus, as the man the most holy on earth, as the master .ho had been /iven to her by *od %imself. n si&2ness and in health, she served him .ith the /reatest tenderness., The Chan&ellor of Paris, in the "oem &alled , Jose"hina,, .hi&h he &om"osed in honour of St. Jose"h, des&ribes .ith sin/ular "leasure, in verses of &harmin/ sim"li&ity, the assiduous &are .hi&h (ur 1ady un&easin/ly lavished on him from .hom she herself had re&eived so many servi&es. mitate her as far as you &an, and be/ her to tea&h you true devotion to her holy s"ouse. "leventh Devotion.33333 Ma2e an irrevo&able &ontra&t in "resen&e of the Celestial Court, and under the eyes of the au/ust and adorable Trinity. *ive to Mary and to Jose"h your body, your soul, your heart, your entire self8 and then say, .ith St. Catherine of SienaE , )o. re&ommend to you your heart, and your "oor servant. no lon/er belon/ to myself, but to both of you. as2 but one thin/ of youE 2ee" .hat belon/s to you 8 never "ermit me to ta2e it ba&2 from your blessed hands. This is my irrevo&able resolution, for all eternity to belon/ entirely to Jesus, to Mary, and to Jose"h, and renoun&e, as far as it is "ossible for me to do so, all "o.er of ever revo2in/ this "romise., 7welfth Devotion.33333 The /ift of yourself is un-uestionably more desirable and a/reeable to Mary and Jose"h than au/ht else8 yet if *od has /ranted you means, dedi&ate to them a more or less &onsiderable share of .hat you "ossess. # /reat Saint, .ho, after havin/ been "atri&ian and &onsul, shed his blood for Jesus Christ, em"loyed his immense ri&hes in sola&in/ the si&2 and the "oor, servin/ them .ith his o.n hands. 9:; )o., .hile the memory of Roman em"erors is held in affe&tion by no one, the name of this holy man is not for/otten, and his memory is held in benedi&tion on earth, and still more in heaven. $o you similar a&ts of &harity in honour of St. Jose"h. 7hirteenth Devotion.33333 There have been noble and .ealthy "ersons .ho have ere&ted

&hur&hes or &ha"els in honour of the s"ouse of Mary, .ith a "rivili/ed altar for the sola&e of the souls in Pur/atory. %ourteenth Devotion.&&&&& 7nderta2e the maintenan&e of a youn/ s&holar, in the ho"e that he may one day be&ome a /ood Priest, or holy Reli/ious8 or hel" a "oor /irl in honour of St. Jose"h. This devotion is most "leasin/ to him, for its effe&ts are real, and its results solid and lastin/. 9=; %ifteenth Devotion.33333 The Chan&ellor of Paris .as very devout and very in/enious in his devotion. n his old a/e he .as most assiduous in tea&hin/ the &hildren of 1yons the Cate&hism, and at the end of ea&h lesson he made these little inno&ents "ray, , My *od, my Creator be mer&iful to your "oor servant John *ersonB, Their voi&es brou/ht tears to the eyes of all .ho heard them, and dre. do.n the mer&ies of *od u"on this virtuous man, .ho died a holy death. $o you then, in a similar manner, unite your heart .ith all those hearts .ho love St. Jose"h8 unite your voi&e and your affe&tions .ith those of all the Saints in Paradise, of all the ?ust u"on earth, of all the holy souls in "ur/atory, and say to *od, to (ur 1ady, and to St. Jose"h, that you a""rove of all that others do and say in their honour8 that .ere it in your "o.er to do as mu&h as they to/ether do, you .ould assuredly do it .ith all your heart, and .ith all your stren/th. Than2 all the Saints for the homa/e they "ay to this /reat Patriar&h, entreat them to redouble their "raises, as far as the la.s of heaven and the de&rees of $ivine Providen&e "ermit them. #s you &annot ta2e "art in their &anti&les, be/ at least to be their e&ho, and tell them you ratify .hatever they do and have done in honour of St. Jose"h. #i;teenth Devotion.33333 The last devotion .hi&h "ro"ose to you is the avo.al of your o.n insuffi&ien&y. t seems to me that St. Jose"h, &ontem"latin/ the n&arnate !ord in the lo.ly house of )a<areth, must often have said in his heartE , adhere to all that my s"ouse says8 unite myself .ith all that she does8 ta2e "art in all her desires. do not s"ea2 myself8 but ho"e that, as a/ree .ith all that she thin2s .ell to say, Jesus .ill a""rove of my silen&e. She and are one in heart8 she says all8 say nothin/ ex&e"t throu/h her mouth and her heart., Reader, do the same8 re"eat to (ur 1ady that you a""rove and ratify all that she says and does in honour of her s"ouse, and that you than2 her for all a thousand times. #dd that it is not the .ant of &ordial affe&tion .hi&h ma2es you silent, but rather its ex&ess, be&ause you &an find no .ords to ex"ress it, and your ton/ue &annot 2ee" "a&e .ith your feelin/s. Say that sin&e St. Jose"h by his silen&e has said as mu&h as, and more than all others, you desire to imitate him. St. John tells us that .hen the 1amb had o"ened the seventh seal of the mysterious boo2 mentioned in the #"o&aly"se, there .as silen&e in heaven, as it .ere, for half an hour8 all the Saints .ere as if entran&ed, and &ould do nothin/ but admire the infinite ma?esty of *od. So may you also do. Tell St. Jose"h that .hile others do .onderful thin/s, your "art must be to humble yourself, and a&2no.led/e your o.n nothin/ness8 .hile they offer their love, you &an but offer nothin/ness and ab?e&tion, and a&2no.led/e yourself in&a"able and un.orthy of s"ea2in/. Fear not to imitate St. #u/ustine and other Saints .ho &om"lained of *od to *od %imself, in some su&h terms as theseE , Thou &ommandest me to love Thee, ( *od most .orthy of love8 .hy then, hast Thou /iven me su&h a "oor and narro. heart' !hy art Thou so /reat and so little' The ob?e&t bein/ infinite, should not the heart and love be infinite also', Then you may &ontinueE , Thou hast made St. Jose"h so /reat8 Thou ins"irest me .ith the ardent desire to love him, and yet Thou seest ho. in&a"able am of doin/ anythin/ .orthy of Thee or of him. #ssist

my .ea2ness, besee&h Thee, ( 1ordB desire to do .hat is ri/ht, but have not the "o.er. *ive me the "o.er to do more. #t any rate, be satisfied to see one .ho desires more than he is able to "erform, .ho .ould fain do all that &an be done by all men and all Saints, so as to honour Thee in the /reat thin/s Thou hast done to St. Jose"h. #nd no., reader, have &ome to the end of .hat had to say to you about the /lorious St. Jose"h. Pardon me if have ex"ressed myself in terms .hi&h may obs&ure rather than ex"lain the /lory of this /reat Patriar&h, ex&use me if have rather &ooled than inflamed your devotion. am &ertain of the indul/en&e of the holy s"ouse of Mary, .ho sees in my heart the most sin&ere desire to "lease him8 and so ho"e for your indul/en&e also, unless, indeed, you be less desirous to imitate his 2indness than his other virtues.

:. St. *alli&an, .o!an Martyrology, =Ath June. =. This 2ind of devotion deserves to be illustrated by some exam"les. The maire of a villa/e in Fran&e, to .hom *od had not /ranted &hildren, "ro"osed to his .ife that they should brin/ u" t.o or"han boys in their house. #fter a time he "la&ed them first in a &olle/e, and later in the dio&esan seminary, and both be&ame Priests. # lady, .hose fortune .as not lar/e, nevertheless mana/ed &onstantly to maintain either a student in the seminary, or a youn/ Reli/ious in the novitiate of missionaries. n a &ountry not far from Fran&e, a man of hi/h ran2, but .hose fortune neither e-ualled his "osition nor the /enerosity of his dis"osition, had saved a sum of CII fran&s for a ?ourney of re&reation. (n the "oint of settin/ out he heard that a youn/ /irl .as in dan/er of losin/ her inno&en&e and her soul, if she &ould not "ro&ure a do.ry of at least CII fran&s. The do.ry .as at on&e "aid, and the "ro"osed ex&ursion /iven u". 3333 *ote of the "ditor.

St. Jose"h our hel"er in Every +ariety of )e&essity.

:. +E)ER#TE ST. J(SEP% F 6(7 ! S% T( $ E %#PP 16. # +E)ET #) mer&hant had the habit of daily visitin/ an ima/e of St. Jose"h .hi&h stood in a ni&he at the &orner of one of the streets of the to.n in .hi&h he lived. Fallin/ si&2 of a dan/erous illness, .hi&h soon brou/ht him to the brin2 of the /rave, St. Jose"h a""eared to him as his last moments a""roa&hed. #t the si/ht of the Saint, to.ards .hom he had ever been so devout, the si&2 man .as filled .ith &onsolation, but above all his &ons&ien&e be&ame so enli/htened, that in an instant he seemed to "er&eive &learly all the sins of his "ast life, and in their full heinousness and /uilt8 .hile at the same time he felt a ne. and ex&eedin/ /reat &ontrition, to/ether .ith the s.eetest ho"e of "ardon. #s a "riest .as "resent .ith him, he made a fresh and fervent &onfession, and havin/ re&eived absolution, full of "ea&e and ?oy, "iously ex"ired in our 1ord. =. M#R6 #)$ J(SEP% The venerable servant of *od, #lexis of +i/evano, a Ca"u&hin, ended his meritorious life .ith a death full of s.eetness. # fe. moments before his de"arture he as2ed one of the brothers to li/ht some &andles.

They .ere astonished at his re-uest, and .anted to 2no. the reason of it. , (ur dear 1adye is &omin/ "resently .ith her S"ouse, and therefore it is fittin/ to li/ht &andles, that they may both be re&eived .ith the /reatest reveren&e., Soon they "er&eived that the visit he had "redi&ted had already &ome to "ass, for the dyin/ Father ex&laimed, radiant .ith ?oyE , There &omes the Fueen of %eavenB There &omes St. Jose"hB Jneel do.n, my brethren, to re&eive them reverently., But he .as no. to rea" the fruits of this heavenly visitation, for at the same moment, in the "resen&e of Mary and Jose"h, he breathed out his soul into their hands. t .as the :Hth of Mar&h, the day of trium"h for St. Jose"h, .ho visited this /ood reli/ious on his feast day, to re.ard him for the lovin/ devotion he had al.ays sho.n to him. >. ST. J(SEP%, TE#C%ER (F PR#6ER. Prayer and meditation are the food of interior life. Therefore .e should besee&h St. Jose"h that he may obtain for us the /ra&e to be very faithful in these t.o "ra&ti&es, and that .e may "erform them in a ri/ht manner. St. Teresa saysE , 1et him .ho needs a /uide to lead him on in the .ay of "rayer and meditation ta2e St. Jose"h as a master, for he .ill sho. him the ri/ht "ath, and safely &ondu&t him to a /ood termination., Father Barry relatesE , # reli/ious desired on&e, as she herself &onfessed to me, to be freed from her distra&tions in "rayer. n order to obtain this /ra&e, she felt herself ins"ired to have re&ourse to St. Jose"h. She did so .ith /reat devotion, and the /ift of "rayer .as besto.ed on her in a hi/h measure., @. F#T%ER P C(T $E C1(R + ERE. This saintly "riest .as a member of the &on/re/ation of the Sa&red %eart in the time of the terrible Fren&h Revolution. t seems that he had obtained from St. Jose"h the /ra&e of an ever3in&reasin/ love to the most %oly Sa&rament of the #ltar. #/ainst all ex"e&tation, he .as ordained "riest 8 but he had so /reat an im"ediment in his s"ee&h, that he .ould have been unable to /ive himself to the a"ostoli& labours if he had not been &ured of this defe&t in a mira&ulous manner. Then he "rea&hed in many &hur&hes, and as his only re.ard, he desired to obtain throu/h the inter&ession of St. Jose"h from *od the /ra&e to die at the foot of the #ltar in adoration of the most %oly Sa&rament, .ithout bein/ a burden to anyone. St. Jose"h .ho is so "o.erful over the %eart of Jesus, &ertainly "leaded for the re-uest of his &lient. For one Sunday, .hen, as usual, Father Pi&ot de Cloriviere .ent to the &ha"el in order to "ay a visit to (ur 1ord in the Blessed Sa&rament. %e 2nelt do.n, and as his .ea2ness did not allo. of his 2neelin/ u"ri/ht .ithout su""ort, he leant his elbo. on a railin/ .hi&h se"arated the san&tuary from the &hur&h. Then he be/an to "ray8 but his soul follo.ed his "rayer, and as&ended also on hi/h before

the Throne of *od. (ne of the Fathers, .ho had ?ust before heard his &onfession and /iven him absolution, .as .itness of this holy death. %e died at the a/e of ei/hty3five years. A. ST. J(SEP% # *7 $E () T%E R(#$. # "ious lay3brother of the /reat Benedi&tine monastery of Monserrat in S"ain, had the &ustom of veneratin/ .ith "arti&ular devotion the mystery of the Fli/ht into E/y"t. %is heart es"e&ially /rieved at all St. Jose"h had to suffer, .hen he had to fly in su&h /reat "overty and haste, .ith Jesus and Mary, into a stran/e and idolatrous &ountry. t on&e ha""ened that this brother had to return to his monastery from a /reat distan&e. #lready the shado.s of evenin/ .ere fallin/, it be/an to /ro. dar2, and the monastery .as still far off. Suddenly he "er&eived that he had lost his .ay, and he feared that he should have to s"end the ni/ht in the o"en air, surrounded by dan/erous "re&i"i&es8 and it .as the more sad as, to the dan/ers of the mountains, .as added the fear of the .ild beasts, .hi&h he 2ne. infested those "arts. #ll of a sudden, .hilst he .as full of those anxious thou/hts, he sa. not far off a man, .ho led a don2ey by a bridle. Seated on its ba&2 .as a lady of ex&eedin/ly /reat beauty, .ith a most noble and ma?esti& a""earan&e. n her arms rested a little slee"in/ &hild. The Brother hastened for.ard to meet the stran/er in order to as2 him to dire&t him in the ri/ht .ay. But his ?oy at this si/ht in&reased still more, and .as mixed .ith s.eet &onsolation, as the un2no.n man bade him follo. him, and "romised to /uide him to the monastery. !hilst they "ursued their .ay, &onversations of .onderful un&tion refreshed the heart of the Brother8 but s&ar&ely .as the monastery /ate in vie., than suddenly the /uide and his family disa""eared from before his eyes, and no.here .as the least tra&e of them to be dis&overed. But in the heart of the Brother a.o2e the ?oyful &onvi&tion that St. Jose"h himself had been his /uide, and that he had re.arded in this manner his devotion to this sorro., in the mystery of the Fli/ht into Ey/"t. C. # BE#7T F71 $E#T% (F # F# T%F71 C1 E)T (F ST. J(SEP%. The venerable Fran&is&an )un, Prudentia Ma/noni, .ho .as reno.ned for her extraordinary virtues, had durin/ her .hole life a most fervent devotion to St. Jose"h. n return, at her death she re&eived an ex&eedin/ /reat favour8 for the Saint a""eared to her and assisted her in her a/ony. n order to /ive her still more &onsolation, he held in his arms %im !ho is the ?oy of the #n/els, the $ivine Child Jesus. The /ood nun dre. from his si/ht the s.eetest &onsolation and deli/ht8 her ?oy .as not to be des&ribed, and the nuns .ho .ere "resent assistin/ at her a/ony .ere mu&h tou&hed as they heard her &onversin/ no. .ith St. Jose"h and no. .ith the $ivine Child, than2in/ them for their visit, and de&larin/ that she already tasted beforehand the ?oys of Paradise. From her loo2s and /estures, it .as evident to all around that St. Jose"h had /iven her the $ivine Child to &aress in her arms, thus /ivin/ to his faithful servant the hi/hest "roof

of his favour that he .as able in the moment of her /reatest need and extremity. G. ST. J(SEP% # M#STER (F T%E )TER (R 1 FE. # Father of the So&iety of Jesus, bein/ on a ?ourney, met one day a youn/ man .ith .hom he entered into &onversation. %e very soon re&o/nised in him a &hosen soul, ri&h in /ra&es and rare /ifts, so that he &ould not remember ever to have found a soul more advan&ed in "erfe&tion. But his astonishment in&reased as he learned that no one had ever instru&ted the youn/ man &on&ernin/ the lessons of a s"iritual life8 yet he heard him s"ea2in/ on the most sublime sub?e&ts li2e a saint and a theolo/ian. #s the Father &ould not understand ho. this &ould be, he as2ed the youn/ man .here he had /ained this .isom and s"iritual 2no.led/e. , Ten years a/o,, he re"lied, , *od ins"ired me to &hoose St. Jose"h for my "atron saint and /uide8 all that have learnt has been from him., Then he s"o2e of the san&tity of the Foster3Father of Jesus, and &on&luded his &onversation .ith the assuran&e that this Saint .as the s"e&ial /uide and "rote&tor of those souls, .ho led a hidden and interior life. D. %(! ST. J(SEP% RE!#R$S T%(SE !%( PR(M(TE % S %()(7R. !hen Father 1allemant .as Re&tor of the Jesuit Colle/e at Bour/es, he &alled t.o of the youn/ "rofessors and "romised ea&h of them that they should re&eive that /ra&e .hi&h they most desired, if they .ould exhort their s&holars to venerate St. Jose"h, and offer him some "arti&ular homa/e on his feast, .hi&h .as ?ust then a""roa&hin/. The t.o "rofessors ?oyfully a/reed to this "ro"osal, and they so <ealously en&oura/ed their s&holars that on the feast of St. Jose"h both &lasses re&eived %oly Communion in his honour, besides "erformin/ other "ra&ti&es of devotion. (n the same day, the t.o "rofessors .ent to the Father3Re&tor, and revealed to him se&retly the "arti&ular /ra&e .hi&h they .ere ea&h desirous to re&eive. The first .as the &elebrated Fr. )ouet, .ho desired the /ra&e to be able to .rite and to s"ea2 .orthily of our $ivine Saviour. t is not 2no. .hat /ra&e the se&ond as2ed for, but it is 2no.n for &ertain that he, as .ell as Fr. )ouet, obtained .hat he desired.

#PPE )$ 0 3333333333 # )oti&e on the Cord of St. Jose"h.

. TS (R * ).

The devotion to the Cord of St. Jose"h too2 its rise in the to.n of #nt.er" 9Bel/ium;, in the year :CAG, in &onse-uen&e of a mira&ulous &ure effe&ted by the .earin/ of this "re&ious /irdle. #t the above e"o&h there lived at #nt.er" an #u/ustinian nun remar2able for her "iety, &alled Sister Eli<abeth, .ho, durin/ three years, had suffered ex&ru&iatin/ "ains, o&&asioned by a most &ruel distem"er. She had then rea&hed su&h a sta/e that the "hysi&ians, seein/ no resour&e "ossible, de&lared her death to be inevitable, and fast a""roa&hin/. 1osin/ all ho"e in human aid, the Sister addressed herself to heaven, and havin/ al.ays had a "arti&ular devotion to St. Jose"h, she "rayed him to inter&ede .ith our 1ord for her re&overy. #t the same time she had a &ord blessed in the Saint,s honour, /irded herself .ith it, and a fe. days after, as she .as "rayin/ before his ima/e, she found herself all of a sudden freed from "ain. Those .ho 2ne. the disease and its nature, in her instan&e, de&lared her re&overy mira&ulous. #n authenti& a&t .as dra.n u" in "resen&e of a "ubli& notary, and a Protestant "hysi&ian &ould not hel" "ro&laimin/ the truth. This fa&t, related by the Bollandists, .as admitted by the author of a ,Month of St. Jose"h,, "ublished at Rome in :D:I. The readin/ of this boo2 in :D@=, in St. )i&holas,s Chur&h at +erona, .here the devotion of the Month of Mar&h .as be/innin/ to be "ra&tised, brou/ht to the 2no.led/e of several "ersons the event above related. mmediately, in imitation of the reli/ious of #nt.er", many "atients, animated by a tender "iety to.ards St. Jose"h, "ro&ured a &ord blessed in the Chur&h of St. )i&holas, .here there is a &ha"el 9sin&e be&ome a &elebrated san&tuary; &onse&rated to the Saint. )umerous s"e&ial /ra&es .ere obtained and the devotion soon s"read ra"idly. %undreds of &ords .ere des"at&hed to Fran&e, Bel/ium, all "arts of taly, and even to #meri&a and #sia. The &ord of St. Jose"h .as as2ed, not merely as a remedy a/ainst bodily ailments, but also as a "reservative of the virtue of "urity. Ere lon/, his lordshi" the Bisho" of +erona be&ame a.are of the ne&essity of addressin/ a su""li&ation to the Con/re/ation of Rites, .hi&h he did by a letter bearin/ date January :@, :DAH. #fter a mature examination the Sa&red Con/re/ation, in a&&ordan&e .ith the re-uest, a""roved, by a Res&ri"t of Se"tember :H, :DAH, the ne. formula of blessin/, and "ermitted its solemn and "rivate use. Finally, his lordshi" obtained for the #sso&iation of the Cord of St. Jose"h the "rivili/e of bein/ de&lared ,"rimarie,, and at the same time %is %oliness Po"e Pius l0. enri&hed it .ith "re&ious indul/en&es. . *R#CES #TT#C%E$ T( T%E !E#R )* (F T%E C(R$ (F ST. J(SEP%. *ra&es "re&ious to the "iety of St. Jose"h,s servants are atta&hed to the .earin/ of his &ord. They areE 3333 :st, St. Jose"h,s s"e&ial "rote&tion8 =, "urity of soul8 >, the /ra&e of &hastity8 @, final "erseveran&e8 A, "arti&ular assistan&e at the hour of death. . 3333 )#T7RE (F T%E C(R$ #)$ M#))ER (F !E#R )* T.

The Cord of St. Jose"h should be of thread or &otton, endin/ at one extremity in seven 2nots, indi&ative of the ?oyful, dolorous, and /lorious mysteries of the au/ust Patriar&h. t is .orn as a /irdle, and ou/ht to be blessed by a "riest "ossessin/ "o.ers to en/ird one .ith it. +. 3333 PR#6ERS (F T%E %(16 C(R$. Re&ite daily in honour of St. Jose"h seven times *loria Patri, to/ether .ith the follo.in/ "rayerE ( St. Jose"h, Father and Prote&tor of +ir/ins, to .hose faithful &ustody Child Jesus, nno&en&e itself, and Mary +ir/in of +ir/ins, .ere &ommitted8 "ray and besee&h thee by these dear "led/es Jesus and Mary, that bein/ "reserved from all un&leanness, may .ith s"otless mind, "ure heart and &haste body, ever most &hastely serve Jesus and Mary all the days of my life. #men. +. 3333 P1E)#R6 )$71*E)CES #TT#C%E$ T( T%E C(R$ (F ST. J(SEP% :. (n the day of entran&e into the #sso&iation. =. (n the day of the Feast of the Es"ousals of the Blessed +ir/in and St. Jose"h 9January =>rd;. >. (n the :Hth of Mar&h, the Feast of St. Jose"h, and on one of the seven days .hi&h immediately follo. that festival. @. (n the Patrona/e of St. Jose"h 9>rd Sunday after Easter;. A. #t the arti&le of death, for all the #sso&iates .ho, bein/ truly "entitent, and havin/ &onfessed their sins, shall re&eive the %oly +iati&um8 or .ho, not bein/ able to do this, shall invo2e .ith the mouth or at least .ith the heart the )ame of Jesus. C()$ T ()S F(R *# ) )* T%E S# $ )$71*E)CES :. To be truly &ontrite, and to &onfess and &ommuni&ate. =. To visit the &hur&h or &ha"el of the #sso&iation or any other &hur&h or "ubli& oratory. >. To "ray there for "ea&e bet.een Christian "rin&es, the extir"ation of heresies, and the exaltation of our holy Mother the Chur&h. The "lenary indul/en&e of a "rivili/ed altar is atta&hed to all Masses &elebrated for a de"arted #sso&iate. #n indul/en&e of seven years and seven -uarantines on ea&h of the Sundays .hi&h &ome immediately after the Ember Saturdays for the #sso&iates .ho shall visit .ith a &ontrite heart the &hur&h of the #r&h3Confraternity, and there "ray for the intentions of the Soverei/n Pontiff. #ll these indul/en&es are a""li&able to the souls in Pur/atory.

F ) S. PR#6ERS T( ST. J(SEP%

T%E 1 T#)6 (F ST. J(SEP% 1ord, have mer&y on us. ,hrist, have !ercy on us. 1ord, have mer&y on us. Christ hear us. ,hrist, graciously hear us. *od the Father of %eaven, have mer&y on us. *od the Son, Redeemer of the .orld, *od the %oly *host, %oly Trinity, (ne *od, %oly Mary, pray for us. St. Jose"h, Reno.ned offs"rin/ of $avid, 1i/ht of Patriar&hs, S"ouse of the Mother of *od, Chaste /uardian of the +ir/in, Foster father of the Son of *od, $ili/ent "rote&tor of Christ, %ead of the %oly Family, Jose"h most ?ust, Jose"h most &haste, Jose"h most "rudent, Jose"h most stron/, Jose"h most obedient, Jose"h most faithful, Mirror of "atien&e, 1over of "overty, Model of artisans, *lory of home life, *uardian of vir/ins, Pillar of families, Sola&e of the affli&ted, %o"e of the si&2, Patron of the dyin/, Terror of demons, Prote&tor of %oly Chur&h,

1amb of *od, !ho ta2est a.ay the sins of the .orld, #pare us, 5 9ord= 1amb of *od, !ho ta2est a.ay the sins of the .orld, Graciously hear us, 5 9ord= 1amb of *od, !ho ta2est a.ay the sins of the .orld, Have !ercy on us. +. %e made him the lord of his household. R. And prince over all His possessions. 9et us pray O *od, !ho in Thy ineffable Providen&e didst vou&hsafe to &hoose Blessed Jose"h to be the s"ouse of Thy most holy Mother, /rant, .e besee&h Thee, that .e may have for our advo&ate in %eaven him .hom .e venerate as our "rote&tor on earth. !ho livest and rei/nest .orld .ithout end. #men. )(+E)# T( ST. J(SEP% O *lorious St. Jose"h, faithful follo.er of Jesus Christ, to thee do .e raise our hearts and hands, to im"lore thy "o.erful inter&ession in obtainin/ from the beni/n %eart of Jesus all the hel"s and /ra&es ne&essary for our s"iritual and tem"oral .elfare, "arti&ularly the /ra&e of a ha""y death, and the s"e&ial favor .e no. im"lore 9!ention your petition;. 47hen say the following seven ti!es in honor of the seven sorrows and -oys of #t. Joseph. 6 ( *lorious St. Jose"hB Throu/h the love thou bearest to Jesus Christ and for the /lory of %is )ame, hear our "rayers and obtain our "etitions. Jesus, Mary and Jose"h, assist us. MEM(R#RE (F ST. J(SEP%

Remember, ( most illustrious Patriar&h St. Jose"h, on the testimony of St. Teresa, thy devoted &lient, never has it been heard that anyone invo2ed thy "rote&tion or sou/ht thy mediation .ho has not obtained relief. n this &onfiden&e &ome before thee, my lovin/ "rote&tor, &haste S"ouse of Mary, foster3father of the Saviour of men and dis"enser of the

treasures of %is Sa&red %eart. $es"ise not my earnest "rayer but /ra&iously hear and obtain my "etition.
9et us pray.

( *od, !ho by Thy ineffable Providen&e didst vou&hsafe to &hoose Blessed Jose"h for the s"ouse of Thy most holy Mother, /rant, .e besee&h Thee, that he .hom .e venerate as our "rote&tor on earth may be our inter&essor in %eaven. !ho livest and rei/nest for ever and ever. #men. PR#6ER F(R # %#PP6 $E#T%

O *lorious St. Jose"h, behold &hoose thee today for my s"e&ial "atron in life and at the
hour of my death. Preserve and in&rease in me the s"irit of "rayer and fervour in the servi&e of *od. Remove far from me every 2ind of sin8 obtain for me that my death may not &ome u"on me una.ares, but that may have time to &onfess my sins sa&ramentally, and to be.ail them .ith a most "erfe&t understandin/ and a most sin&ere &ontrition, in order that may breathe forth my soul into the hands of Jesus and Mary. #men. PR#6ER F(R S7CCESS ) !(RJ

G1(R (7S St. Jose"h, model of all those .ho are devoted to labor, obtain for me the /ra&e to .or2 &ons&ientiously, "uttin/ the &all of duty above my natural in&linations8 to .or2 .ith /ratitude and ?oy, &onsiderin/ it an honor to em"loy and develo", by means of labor, the /ifts re&eived from *od, .ithout re&oilin/ before .eariness or diffi&ulties8 to .or2, above all, .ith "urity of intention, and .ith deta&hment from self, havin/ al.ays death before my eyes and the a&&ount .hi&h must render of time lost, of talents .asted, of /ood omitted, of vain &om"la&en&y in su&&ess, so fatal to the .or2 of *od. #ll for Jesus, all for Mary, all after thy exam"le, ( Patriar&h St. Jose"h. Su&h shall be my .at&h.ord in life and death.
PR#6ER F(R P7R T6

S# )T Jose"h, father and /uardian of vir/ins, into .hose faithful 2ee"in/ .ere entrusted nno&en&y itself, Christ Jesus, and Mary, the +ir/in of vir/ins, "ray and besee&h thee, throu/h Jesus and Mary, those "led/es so dear to thee, to 2ee" me from all un&leanness, and to /rant that my mind may be untainted, my heart "ure and my body &haste8 hel" me al.ays to serve Jesus and Mary in "erfe&t &hastity. #men.
PR#6ER T( (BT# ) # SPEC #1 F#+(R

O B1ESSE$ Saint Jose"h, tenderhearted father, faithful /uardian of Jesus, &haste s"ouse of the Mother of *od, .e "ray and besee&h thee to offer to *od the Father, %is divine Son, bathed in blood on the &ross for sinners, and throu/h the thri&e3holy )ame of Jesus, obtain for us from the eternal Father the favor .e im"lore. #""ease the $ivine an/er so ?ustly inflamed by our &rimes, be/ of Jesus mer&y for thy &hildren. #mid the s"lendours of eternity, for/et not the sorro.s of those .ho suffer, those .ho "ray, those .ho .ee"8 stay the #lmi/hty arm .hi&h smites us , that by thy "rayers and those of thy most holy S"ouse, the %eart of Jesus may be moved to "ity and to "ardon. #men.
#aint Joseph, /ray for us. T% RT6 $#6S PR#6ER T( ST. J(SEP% %or Any #pecial 0ntention

E+ER B1ESSE$ and /lorious Jose"h, 2ind and lovin/ father, and hel"ful friend of all
in need and sorro.B Thou art the /ood father and "rote&tor of or"hans, the defender of the defenseless, the "atron of those in need and sorro.. 1oo2 2indly on my re-uest. My sins have dra.n do.n on me the ?ust dis"leasure of my *od, and so am surrounded .ith unha""iness. To thee, lovin/ /uardian of the Family of )a<areth, do /o for hel" and "rote&tion. 1isten, then, be/ of thee, .ith fatherly &on&ern to my earnest "rayers and obtain for me the favor as2. as2 it by the infinite mer&y of the eternal Son of *od, .hi&h moved %im to ta2e our nature and to be born into this .orld of sorro.. as2 it by the .eariness and sufferin/ thou didst endure .hen thou didst find no shelter at the inn of Bethlehem for the holy +ir/in, nor a "la&e .here the Son of *od &ould be born. Then, bein/ every.here refused, thou hadst to allo. the Fueen of %eaven to /ive birth to the .orld,s Redeemer in a &ave. as2 it by the loveliness and "o.er of that sa&red )ame, Jesus, .hi&h thou didst &onfer on the adorable nfant. as2 it by that "ainful torture thou didst feel at the "ro"he&y of holy Simeon, .hi&h de&lared the Child Jesus and %is holy Mother future vi&tims of our sins and of their /reat love for us. as2 it throu/h thy sorro. and "ain of soul .hen the an/el de&lared to thee that the life of the Child Jesus .as sou/ht by %is enemies. From their evil "lan thou hadst to flee .ith %im and %is Blessed Mother into E/y"t. as2 it by all the sufferin/, .eariness, and labors of that lon/ and dan/erous ?ourney. as2 it by all thy &are to "rote&t the Sa&red Child and %is mma&ulate Mother durin/ thy se&ond ?ourney, .hen thou .ast ordered to return to thy o.n &ountry. as2 it by thy "ea&eful life in )a<areth, .here thou didst meet .ith so many ?oys and sorro.s. as2 it by thy /reat distress .hen the adorable Child .as lost to thee and %is Mother for three days. as2 it by thy ?oy at findin/ %im in the Tem"le, and by the &omfort thou didst find at )a<areth, .hile livin/ in the &om"any of the Child Jesus . as2 it by the

.onderful submission %e sho.ed in %is obedien&e to thee. as2 it by the "erfe&t love and &onformity thou didst sho. in a&&e"tin/ the $ivine order to de"art from this life, and from the &om"any of Jesus and Mary. as2 it by the ?oy .hi&h filled thy soul, .hen the Redeemer of the .orld, trium"hant over death and %ell, entered into the "ossession of %is 2in/dom and led thee into it .ith s"e&ial honors. as2 it throu/h Mary,s /lorious #ssum"tion and throu/h that endless ha""iness thou hast .ith her in the "resen&e of *od. ( /ood fatherB be/ of thee, by all thy sufferin/s, sorro.s, and ?oys, to hear me and obtain for me .hat as2. 9 Here !ention your petitions or think of the!.6 (btain for all those .ho have as2ed my "rayers everythin/ that is useful to them in the "lan of *od. Finally, my dear "atron and father, be .ith me and all .ho are dear to me in our last moments, that .e may eternally sin/ the "raises of Jesus, Mary and Joseph= # blameless life, ( St. Jose"h, may .e lead, by thy 2ind "atrona/e from dan/er freed. #men. # )(+E)# PR#6ER T( ST. J(SEP% 4 7o be said four ti!es a day 6 ( my *od, than2 Thee for St. Jose"h,s devotion to /ra&e. 1ord Jesus, humbly besee&h Thee that too .ill be truly devoted to /ra&e. St. Jose"h, if it meets .ith *od,s %oly !ill, humbly and ur/ently as2 that my "rayer .ill be /ranted. 4 Mention your petition.6 ( my *od, than2 Thee for St. Jose"h,s devotion to the interior life. 1ord Jesus, humbly besee&h Thee that too .ill be truly devoted to the interior life. St. Jose"h, if it meets .ith *od,s %oly !ill, humbly and ur/ently as2 that my "rayer .ill be /ranted. 4 Again, !ention your petition.6 ( my *od, than2 Thee for St. Jose"h,s devotion to the $ivine Child. 1ord Jesus, humbly besee&h Thee that too .ill be truly devoted to the $ivine Child. St. Jose"h, if it meets .ith *od,s %oly !ill, humbly and ur/ently as2 that my "rayer .ill be /ranted. 4 Again, !ention your petition.6 ( my *od, than2 Thee for St. Jose"h,s devotion to (ur 1ady. 1ord Jesus, humbly besee&h Thee that too .ill be truly devoted to (ur 1ady. St. Jose"h, if it meets .ith *od,s %oly !ill, humbly and ur/ently as2 that my "rayer .ill be /ranted. 4 Again, !ention your petition.6 #men. PR#6ER F(R T%E !E1F#RE (F T%E C%7RC%

T( T%EE, ( Blessed Jose"h, do .e have re&ourse in our tribulation, and havin/ im"lored the hel" of thy thri&e3holy S"ouse, .e &onfidently invo2e thy "atrona/e also. By that &harity .here.ith thou .ast united to the mma&ulate +ir/in Mother of *od, and by that fatherly affe&tion .ith .hi&h thou didst embra&e the Child Jesus, .e besee&h thee and .e humbly "ray, that thou .ouldst loo2 /ra&iously u"on the inheritan&e .hi&h Jesus Christ hath "ur&hased by %is Blood, and assist us in our needs by thy "o.er and stren/th. Most .at&hful /uardian of the %oly Family, "rote&t the &hosen "eo"le of Jesus Christ8 2ee" far from us, most lovin/ father, all bli/ht of error and &orru"tion8 mer&ifully assist us from %eaven, most mi/hty defender, in this our &onfli&t .ith the "o.ers of dar2ness8 and even, as of old thou didst res&ue the Child Jesus from the su"reme "eril of %is life, so no. defend *od,s holy Chur&h from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity8 2ee" us one and all under thy &ontinual "rote&tion, that, su""orted by thine exam"le and thine assistan&e, .e may be enabled to lead a holy life, die a ha""y death and &ome at last to the "ossession of everlastin/ blessedness in %eaven. #men. PR#6ER F(R T%E TR 7MP% (F T%E C%7RC% ( *1(R (7S Saint Jose"h, &hosen by *od to be the foster3father of Jesus, the &haste s"ouse of Mary ever +ir/in, and the head of the %oly Family, and then a""ointed by the +i&ar of Christ to be the heavenly "atron and defender of the Chur&h founded by Jesus, most &onfidently do im"lore at this moment thy "o.erful aid for all the Chur&h Militant on earth. $o thou shield .ith thy truly "aternal love es"e&ially the Su"reme Pontiff and all the Bisho"s and "riests .ho are in union .ith the %oly See of Peter. Be the defender of all .ho labor for souls amidst the trials and tribulations of this life, and &ause all the "eo"les of the earth to submit themselves in a do&ile s"irit to that Chur&h .hi&h is the ar2 of salvation for all men. Be "leased also, dear Saint Jose"h, to a&&e"t this dedi&ation of myself .hi&h no. ma2e unto thee, dedi&ate myself .holly to thee, that thou mayest ever be my father, my "atron and my /uide in the .ay of salvation. (btain for me /reat "urity of heart and a fervent devotion to the interior life. *rant that, follo.in/ thine exam"le, may dire&t all my a&tions to the /reater /lory of *od, in union .ith the Sa&red %eart of Jesus and the mma&ulate %eart of Mary and in union .ith thee. Finally, "ray for me, that may be a "arta2er in the "ea&e and ?oy .hi&h .ere thine at the hour of thy holy death. #men.

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