St. Joseph: The Spirit of Poverty

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God should be EVERYTHING to you, and you should be NOTHING to yourself.

If any task of yours, whether it be the conquering of a vice, a penance or due mortification, or any duty according to your state, whatever it might be, seems abhorrent to you or cause you to recoil even in the slightest by its undertaking and even for a moment, promptly remember that as it is your duty, it is given to you by God.  The task that is most abhorrent to you, is the greatest medicine for your sickened soul and weak will, because every duty of yours suits you according to God's Providence (God's Will).  And to say that it 'suits you', is only in the context that it is, in fact, a tremendous mercy, and in that remembrance, one should seek to promptly and more assiduously apply himself to those tasks that are, by that portion of his will that is yet ordered to God, that are, to him, least desirable.  This is the proof of one's professed love for God, and will do more to bring him to unite his will to God's than any other activity, regardless of how it is perceived by man, since such reluctance to do one's duty is a sign of that distance one holds himself away from God.  

Remember St. Joseph's spirit of poverty; his humility is what allowed him to carry out his tasks as the foster-father of Jesus.  One who carefully observes even that little that we know of this great saint, will notice that his wisdom was NOT at all of the way of the world, but rather, he had within him the very humility and meekness of God, given to him by his meekness and promptness to do whatever God willed and as He willed.  St. Joseph trusted not himself, but God, even when God was silent to him.    St. Joseph sought only God, as he saw him to be not only the source of all God, but God, to St. Joseph, was his every good, his all.


As God was St. Joseph's all, St. Joseph was able to have a spirit of detachment for all created goods.  As the great saint and Doctor of the Church described of herself, St. Teresa of Avila said it was important only "to use (created things) as if I use them not."    Detachment of created goods offers one the ability to see themselves clearly and consistently in the eyes of God, as their end is in view (the "Four Last Things"), and therefore, created goods are used to the end of God's Will.  It is only by uniting one's will to God that one's  efforts to a given task gathers merit and the fruit of God's blessing.

Antiphon for Divine Office on Feast of St. Joseph

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Feast of St. Joseph, March 19
This is the antiphon for the 1st Class Feast of St. Joseph, March 19.  Each phrase is a wonderful meditation on the Christ child and the life of his foster father, St. Joseph.  It is sung in the liturgy of the Divine Office and is said by the priest before the liturgy of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on that day, both in the Roman Catholic Rite.  This is a very ancient Gregorian hymn.  
The video below is not a great rendition, but I could not find any other audios of this on the internet for years, and wanted there to be one out there for those who wished to learn it.

My favorite aspects of this meditation is the fact that the more you consider these phrases, the more deeply your heart becomes convicted of the holiness of the man chosen by God to be the foster father of God the Son.   We should consider the honor that God has given to St. Joseph, who preserved himself in perfect purity of heart, body and therefore, of soul, even while he was conceived in concupiscence.  St. Joseph was able to meet the duties of his state chosen for him by God in as magnificent a fashion as the very magnificence of his state.  We can each strive to imitate St. Joseph by being attentive to the presence of Christ in our hearts in our daily lives, as we bear witness by our actions in how we protect the sanctity of Christ, His Bride the Church, the Sacraments and life itself, especially that life made in God's own image.


We can be a small imitation of Joseph when:

• We 'hear' God in the Word of God.
• We 'see' God in the Holy Eucharist.
• We 'embrace' God in our hearts by holy obedience and diligence to our work and duties of state.
• We 'kiss' God by charity of reverence to holy reverence to Him and all things belonging to Him, and by loving our neighbor for love of Him.
• We 'clothe' Christ by protecting our own purity (through temperance) and to the degree that we are able, guarding the purity of others (through modesty).
• We 'guard' Christ by knowing his teachings that have been handed down by him to and through the apostles and defending the teachings of His Holy Bride.  Also, we guard him by honoring him in the Most Blessed Sacrament through reverence in our deportment and worship, and by making everything we do ordered to him that we may receive him worthily.

The 7 Sorrows and 7 Joys of St. Joseph

• The doubt of Saint Joseph (Matthew 1:19) and the Message of the Angel (Matthew 1:20)
• The poverty of Jesus' birth (Luke 2:7) and the Birth itself (Luke 2:7)
• The Circumcision (Luke 2:21) and the Holy Name of Jesus (Matthew 1:25)
• The prophecy of Simeon that many would be lost (Luke 2:34) and his prophecy that many would rise (Luke 2:34)
• The flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:14) and the Overthrow of idols (Isaias 19:1
• The return from Egypt (Matthew 2:22) and Life with Mary and Jesus (Luke 2:39)
• The loss of the Child Jesus (Luke 2:45) and Finding Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:46)

Sermon on the Feast of St. Bernardine, Holy Purity and Chastity

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Here is a sermon that begins with a little bit about St. Bernardine, who I wrote a little bit about regarding his devotion to St. Joseph.  St. Bernardine, besides having a devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, and promoting the devotion to St. Joseph (his holy example and powerful intercession), but he was also a great promoter of chastity (which goes hand in hand with devotion to the foster father of Jesus).

There are some personal remarks I wish to make on this in the near future.   Although I generally do not like to make personal remarks on my blog, I wish to do so to exhort my friends to pursue with increase rigor both devotion to St. Joseph and to holy purity and chastity. 

Since Blogger doesn't make easy (not impossible, just not very easy) to upload audios unless they are already on another server, I decided to make this audio into a video and then upload it here.  As a result, some of the pictures do not always coincide with the concurrent audio.  Also, the very beginning of the audio did not get recorded.  All it was anyway was a part of the introduction where the priest mentions some virtues of St. Bernardine, whose feast was celebrated this past Thurday.

Speaking of holy purity, here is ... A Great Website on St. Gemma

The Nobility of St. Joseph

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+The other day we celebrated the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker.  A sermon I heard that morning inspired by the mystical writings of St. Bernardine of Sienna, made me think a little deeper on St. Joseph's role in the Holy Family. 

St. Joseph is often underestimated by Catholics for his saintliness and efficacy of his intercessions.  It is important to point this out because any Catholic who doesn't already have a devotion to St. Joseph lacks in some basic understanding and/or appreciation for the Holy Family, and therefore of the love of God represented here.

St. Joseph was more than merely a carpenter, for he was a man from a most noble background.  The Holy Ghost emphasizes this because here this is something for us to admire and from which to learn a bit about natural moral law.  There is, indeed, a hierarchy in nature, even human nature.  Although, this doesn't say whether or not a person has a propensity to enter heaven, it does demonstrate God's desire for man to see His Authority here on earth in a form of hierarchy, even if the man is a carpenter, who happens to come from a noble lineage. St. Bernadine points out, "Whenever divine grace selects someone to receive a particular grace, or some especially favoured position, all the gifts for his state are given to that person, and. enrich him abundantly." -- St. Bernardine, Sermon 2

The Blessed Mother, who was "full of grace", depended upon St. Joseph for his strength.  How can this be, when no other creature ever created or to be created would be more united to the Holy Trinity and have as great a fullness of grace?   The Holy Ghost hints to this by emphasizing the lineage of St. Joseph.  St. Joseph, also was full of grace but not in the sense of how the Blessed Mother had fullness.  The Blessed Mother was indeed "full of grace", but her nature was already fully united to God, so that everything she did was most significantly an action of her spiritual spouse, the Holy Ghost.  St. Joseph, being a man of highest virtue, was enobled by God with the graces required of his lineage, and of his state (as foster-father of Jesus).   He demonstrated a strength of will because of this enoblement, and this is how the Blessed Mother was able to depend upon the strength and wisdom of St. Joseph, the earthly authority of God, the 2nd Person and the Most Holy Trinity, as well as her authority as her earthly husband.  Whatever direction St. Joseph gave, she had no need to question that it was from anywhere else but Divine judgement, and even according to His Perfect Will.

Almighty God, at the beginnings of our salvation, when Mary conceived your Son and brought him forth into the world, you placed them under Joseph's watchful care. May his prayer still help your Church to be an equally faithful guardian of your mysteries, and a sign of Christ to mankind.

(We make our prayer) through our Lord.

(Through Christ our Lord.)

Twelth Sunday After Pentecost, and St. Joseph Prayers

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AMDG

Epistle: II Cor. 3:4-9 (an excerpt of this Sunday's Epistle below)

"BRETHERN: Such confdience we have through Christ towards God. Not that we are sufficient to think anything of ourselves, as of ourselves: but our sufficiency is from God."

Gospel: Lk. 10:23-37 (an excerpt of this Sundays' Gospel below)
"Blessed are the eyes that see the things which you see. For I say to you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them; and to hear, and have not heard them."

O BLESSED Joseph, happy man, to whom it was given not only to see and to hear that God Whom many kings longed to see, and saw not, to hear, and heard not; but also to carry Him in your arms, to embrace Him, to clothe Him, and guard and defend Him.

Latin Version: O FELICEM virum, beatum Ioseph, cui datum est Deum, quem multi reges voluerunt videre et non viderunt, audire et non audierunt, non solum videre et audire, sed portare, deosculari, vestire et custodire!

V. Pray for us, blessed Joseph.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.
God, who hast conferred upon us a royal priesthood,we pray thee give us grace to minister at Thy holy altarswith hearts as clean and lives as blameless as that blessed Josephwho was found worthy to hold in his armsand with all reverence to carry Thy Only-Begotten Son, born of the Virgin Mary.Enable us this day to receive worthily the sacred Body and Blood of Thy Son,and fit us to win an everlasting reward in the world to come:through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Guardian of virgins, and holy father Joseph, to whose faithful custody Christ Jesus, Innocence itself, and Mary, Virgin of virgins, were committed; I pray and beseech thee, by these dear pledges, Jesus and Mary, that, being preserved from all uncleanness, I may with spotless mind, pure heart, and chaste body, ever serve Jesus and Mary most chastely all the days of my life.
Amen.

Latin version:Virginum custos et pater, sancte Ioseph, cuius fideli custodiae ipsa Innocentia Christus Iesus et Virgo virginum Maria commissa fuit; te per hoc utrumque carissimum pignus Iesum et Mariam obsecro et obtestor, ut me, ab omni immunditia praeservatum, mente incontaminata, puro corde et casto corpore Iesu et Mariae semper facias castissime famulari. Amen.

St. Joseph, help us to grow in purity of heart, that we may love in true charity, God alone, and our neighbor out of love of God.

(continuation from above of the Gospel Lk 10:23-37)

"And behold a certain lawyer stood up, tempting Him, and saying: Master, what must I do to possess eternal life? But he said to him: What is written in the law? How readest thou? He answering, said: Thou shalt love the Lord they God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And He said to him: Thou hast answered rightly: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said to Jesus: And who is my neighbor? And Jesus answering, said: A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, who also stripped him, and having wounded him went away, leaving him half dead. And it chanced that a certain priest went down the same way, and seeing him, passed by. In like manner also a Levite, when he was near the place and saw him, passed by. But a certain Samaritan being on his journey, came near him, and seeing him, was moved with compassion, and going up to him, bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine; and setting him upon his own beast, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And the next day he took out two pence, and gave to the host, and said: Take care of him, and whatsoever thou shalt spend over and above, I, at my return, will repay thee. Which of these three, in thine opinion, was neighbor to him that fell among robbers? But he said: He that showed mercy to him. And Jesus said to him: Go and do thou in like manner." +