Part 9

Choice Of St. Joseph As A Patron.

O blessed Joseph, faithful guardian of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, protector of thy chaste spouse, the Virgin Mother of God, I choose thee this day to be my special patron and advocate, and I firmly resolve to honor thee from this time forth. Therefore I humbly beseech thee to receive me as thy client, to instruct me in every doubt, to comfort me in every affliction, to obtain for me and for all the knowledge and love of the Heart of Jesus, and finally to defend and protect me at the hour of death. Amen.

Virginum Custos.

Guardian of Virgins, and father, holy Joseph, to whose faithful care Christ Jesus, Innocence itself, and Mary, Virgin of virgins, were committed, I pray and beg of thee, by these dear pledges, Jesus and Mary, free me from all uncleanness, and make me with spotless mind, pure heart, and chaste body, ever most chastely to serve Jesus and Mary all the days of my life. Amen.

An indulgence of one hundred days, once a day.

Sorrows and Joys of St. Joseph.

1. O glorious St. Joseph, most pure spouse of thy most holy Mary, even as the trouble and anguish of thy heart was great in the perplexity of abandoning thy most chaste and stainless spouse, so, too, inexplicable was thy delight when by the angel was revealed to thee the sovereign mystery of the incarnation.

Through this sorrow and this joy of thine, we pray thee, now and in our last agony, to comfort our soul with the joy of a good life, and of a holy death, like unto thine between Jesus and Mary.

Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be to the Father.

2. O glorious St. Joseph, most blessed patriarch, who wast selected for the office of reputed father of the Word made man, the grief which thou didst feel at seeing the Child Jesus born in such great poverty was suddenly changed for thee into heavenly exultation at hearing the angelic harmony, and seeing the glories of that most resplendent night.

Through this sorrow and this joy of thine, we beseech thee to obtain for us that, after the journey of this life is over, we may pass hence to hear the angelic praises, and to enjoy the splendors of the glory of heaven.

Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be to the Father.

3. O glorious St. Joseph, who didst fulfil most obediently all God’s commands, the most precious blood which the Child Redeemer shed in the circumcision struck death into thy heart, but the name of Jesus revived it, and filled it full of joy.

Through this sorrow and this joy of thine, obtain for us that, all vices having been taken from us during life, we may expire in exultation with the most holy name of Jesus in our hearts and upon our lips.

Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be to the Father.

4. O most glorious St. Joseph, most faithful saint, who wast a partaker in the mysteries of our redemption, if Simeon’s prophecy of that which Jesus and Mary were to suffer caused thee a mortal pang, it filled thee also with a blessed joy at the salvation and glorious resurrection of innumerable souls, which he at the same time foretold would thence proceed.

Through this sorrow and this joy of thine, obtain for us that we may be of the number of those who, through the merits of Jesus, and at the intercession of the Virgin Mother, are to rise again in glory.

Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be to the Father.

5. O glorious St. Joseph, most watchful guardian and familiar attendant of the incarnate Son of God, how much didst thou suffer in supporting and in serving the Son of the Most High, particularly in the flight which thou hadst to make into Egypt; but how much again didst thou rejoice at having always with thee that same God, and at seeing the idols of Egypt fall to the ground.

Through this sorrow and this joy of thine, obtain for us that, by keeping far from us hell’s tyrant, especially by flying from dangerous occasions, every idol of earthly affection may fall from our hearts; and that, wholly occupied in the service of Jesus and of Mary, we may live for them alone, and die a happy death.

Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be to the Father.

6. O glorious St. Joseph, angel of the earth, who didst marvel at beholding the King of heaven subject to thy commands, if thy consolation at bringing him back from Egypt was disturbed by the fear of Archelaus, yet, assured by the angel, thou didst with Jesus and Mary dwell in joy at Nazareth.

Through this sorrow and this joy of thine, obtain for us that our heart, unclouded by hurtful fears, may enjoy peace of conscience, and that we may live secure with Jesus and Mary, and with them may also die.

Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be to the Father.

7. O glorious St. Joseph, model of all holiness, when, without fault of thine, thou hadst lost the Child Jesus, thou didst seek Him for three days in the greatest sorrow, until with joyful heart thou didst possess again thy life, finding Him in the Temple, among the doctors.

Through this sorrow and this joy of thine, with fervent sighs we supplicate thee to interpose in our behalf, that so it may never befall us to lose Jesus by mortal sin; but that, if unhappily we ever lose Him, we may seek Him again with unwearied sorrow, until once more we find His favor, especially at the moment of our death, that so we may pass to the enjoyment of Him in heaven, and there, with thee, sing His divine mercies for all eternity.

Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be to the Father.

_Ant._ Jesus Himself was beginning about His thirtieth year, being (as it was supposed) the son of Joseph.

_V._ Pray for us, O holy Joseph.

_R._ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

_Let Us Pray._

O God, Who by Thy ineffable providence didst vouchsafe to choose the blessed Joseph for the spouse of Thy most holy Mother; grant, we beseech thee, that he whom we venerate as our protector on earth may be our intercessor in heaven; Who livest and reignest forever and ever. Amen.

Indulgences: One hundred days each time, three hundred days on Wednesdays, three hundred days on each day of the two novenas before St. Joseph’s feast and his patronage; plenary on those two feasts; plenary once a month for daily recital; three hundred days for each Sunday when recited seven Sundays running. Applicable to the dead.

Responsory To St. Joseph.

Ye that would live and die secure, In merit strong, of mercy sure, Choose Joseph for your heavenly friend To guide your steps and bless your end.

He was sweet Mary’s consort dear, And Jesus’ sire, when exiled here; Just, true, of purity untold, Say, shall he ask and God withhold?

He worshipp’d at the manger‐bed, And then the exile comforted; And sought his Son, and joyous found, While on His Father’s business bound.

He through sweet toil and patient pains The world’s Artificer sustains; And Whom th’ angelic legions praise Obedience to His creature pays.

And now he waxes old, and dies; But first beholds with loving eyes, Jesus and Mary, gracious sight— Then sleeps entranced in deep delight.

_Ant._ Behold the faithful and prudent servant whom the Lord set over His house.

_V._ Pray for us, holy Joseph.

_R._ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Litany of St. Joseph.

(_For Private Devotion Only._)

Lord, have mercy on us. _Christ have mercy on us._ Lord, have mercy on us. Jesus hear us. _Jesus, graciously hear us._ God the Father of heaven, _Have mercy on us_. God the Son, Redeemer of the world, _Have mercy on us_. God the Holy Ghost, _Have mercy on us_. Holy Trinity, one God, _Have mercy on us_. Holy Mary, spouse of St. Joseph, _Pray for us._ St. Joseph, confirmed in grace, _Pray for us._ St. Joseph, guardian of the Word Incarnate, _Pray for us._ St. Joseph, favorite of the King of heaven, _Pray for us._ St. Joseph, ruler of the family of Jesus, _Pray for us._ St. Joseph, spouse of the ever‐blessed Virgin, _Pray for us._ St. Joseph, nursing‐father to the Son of God, _Pray for us._ St. Joseph, example of humility and obedience, _Pray for us._ St. Joseph, mirror of silence and resignation, _Pray for us._ St. Joseph, patron of innocence and youth, _Pray for us._ St. Joseph, exiled with Christ in Egypt, _Pray for us._ St. Joseph, intercessor for the afflicted, _Pray for us._ St. Joseph, advocate for the humble, _Pray for us._ St. Joseph, model of every virtue, _Pray for us._ St. Joseph, honored among men, _Pray for us._ St. Joseph, union of all Christian perfection, _Pray for us._ St. Joseph, patron of the dying, _Pray for us._ Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, _Spare us, O Lord_! Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, _Graciously hear us, O Lord_! Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, _Have mercy on us, O Lord_!

_V._ Pray for us, O holy St. Joseph.

_R._ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

_Let Us Pray._

Grant, O Lord, we beseech Thee, by the merits of the spouse of Thy most holy Mother, that what our unworthiness cannot obtain may be given us by his intercession with Thee, Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.

APRIL. THE PASSION: MEDITATIONS FOR EVERY DAY OF LENT.

During the month of April we generally celebrate Holy Week, and so this month is dedicated to the Passion of Our Lord. The followers of Christ should be acquainted with the history of their leader, Jesus, the Master; they should know what He has endured for His followers, and they should think frequently of His sufferings, especially in Lent, when the Church, in all her offices, keeps the commemoration of the Passion foremost in her mind. There are many things to be done during this month. You ought to recite the stations of the cross privately, or be present when they are publicly performed; hear sermons on religious topics, practise a little fast or abstinence. This last is not so much to do, yet God takes note of it, and makes a great fuss over it, like a father that has received an insignificant present from his child. Take from any book the meditations on the Passion, read them slowly, and with sympathy; slowly, so as to be able to follow the recital and to be able to realize it; with sympathy, that you should bring to it a feeling for Our Lord, and show that you are touched with all that He endured for you. The God‐man going to a disgraceful death, after a most apparently unsuccessful life, should make us feel for the loving Jesus. St. Augustine remarks that nothing is so useful to our advancement in the spiritual life, as daily to meditate on the Passion of Our Lord. Certainly the most appropriate time for these considerations and prayers is during Lent, which happens about this time.

We shall give forty short considerations for every day in Lent. They can be begun upon Ash Wednesday; we will then strive to gain spiritual benefit from these considerations, by perusing them with piety and with a great love for our crucified Lord. Before the time of Augustine, Origen writes that it is impossible for a man to remain in sin, as long as he often remembers the sufferings of Our Lord, and nothing will so inflame our hearts with love for Christ. Father Alvarez said that so many Christians are lost, because they ignore the treasures that are concealed in the Passion of Our Lord; and he led his penitents to perfection by enjoining on them frequent contemplation of the Passion. St. Francis de Sales tells us, “That every wound of Our Lord is a tongue, which teaches what the Lord suffered for us.” What flames of love will naturally burn in our hearts, when we see the love with which Our Lord regarded us! Happy, therefore, the soul who will find leisure for this holy exercise of the mind and heart. “You will draw water with joy from the fountains of the Saviour.” The sinner will receive confidence in the mercy of God, and know that his case is not so desperate as long as he has the wounds of the Lord to plead to the Father for mercy and forgiveness—for all our transgressions have been laid upon the shoulders of Jesus.

How, then, can we have any fear, says St. Paul, that God will refuse us His graces? “He that spared not even His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all.”

Considerations and Prayers for Every Day.

First Day.

Before Our Lord’s suffering took place, He disclosed to His disciples the story of the cross. It was good for them to understand and to remember what the sufferings of Jesus were to be. The prophets of the Old Testament had declared that the Son of man must suffer. Daniel, especially, describes the Passion of Our Lord very minutely. This was the future that was before Our Lord, and it was well that the disciples should know it and think of it. So it should be with ourselves. We, too, are the disciples and followers of Christ, and we, too, must make the Passion a subject of serious thought. The Church has chosen the Lenten time as the most appropriate for this exercise. She joins penance with this meditation, as being the most efficacious means of stirring ourselves up to a pious life. Let us approach these meditations with a conviction that we are really unworthy to be admitted to the graces of this holy contemplation; but Jesus will help us.

Prayer.

Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, whilst before Thy face I humbly kneel, and with burning soul pray and beseech Thee to fix deep in my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope, and charity, true contrition for my sins, and a firm purpose of amendment; the while I contemplate with great love and tender pity Thy five wounds, pondering over them within me, whilst I call to mind the words which David, Thy prophet, said of Thee, my Jesus: “They pierced My hands and My feet; they numbered all My bones.”—Ps. xxi. 17, 18.

Second Day.

It is not hard to understand why the Lord desires us to think of His Passion. St. Francis Xavier is said to have gone over the Passion once every month; but we know, too, with what love he was attached to the Lord, with what wonderful patience and perseverance he continued to labor. It was the effect of the meditation on the Passion. We, too, should grow in the love of Our Lord. But how will we grow, unless by contemplating all that Jesus has done for us in His Passion, until He died on the cross? As the Apostle says, “He loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.” In this way the Lord wants us to study His Passion, so that we may learn how intensely He loved us; that although He was God, and we poor miserable creatures, still He did not hesitate to sacrifice His life in order to redeem us from eternal perdition.

Prayer.

Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, etc., etc.

Third Day.

Our Lord desires that we should think of His Passion, in order that we may imitate Him in our own sufferings: for we have many things to endure in this life on account of the original fault of our first parents. You will learn to die with Christ, and your sympathetic heart will avoid sin. By the frequent thought of the Passion the Lord will have you love the sacrifice of the Mass, where in an unbloody manner the Passion of Our Lord is repeated, and we begin to appreciate it the more the better we understand their relation to each other. The Lord will have you show sympathy for Him in His sufferings; for you must remember that it was for you that He suffered, that you caused His suffering by your sins. Now, if you have inflicted these punishments on the Lord, would it not be an act of horrible ingratitude if you were not to show your sympathy for Christ? Another effect of the contemplation of the Passion will be that you shall be stirred up to do great things for Christ. Your time of labor will be sanctified, and your life will be given to the service of Jesus.

Prayer.

Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, etc., etc.

Fourth Day.

We should think often of the Passion of Our Lord, but not with coldness or repugnance. It is a sad subject, and not at all pleasing to the human feelings, but when we have learned to love Jesus it will be an exercise that will make us very happy. We are dreadfully poor spiritually, and nowhere will we be able to find more spiritual wealth than in the Heart of Jesus in His Passion. “There flow living fountains of blessed waters, there is the bread of life.” Approach, then, with a lively faith to the foot of the cross, and remain there faithfully; let the blood of the Lord flow upon your body and soul, realize that Jesus died for you, see Mary, our dear Mother, beneath the cross; St. John and Mary Magdalen, with some other faithful followers of Christ at a short distance from it; associate yourself with them and study what were their sentiments; try to bring them home to yourself, and your heart will surely fill up with love, gratitude, and confidence.

Prayer.

Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, etc., etc.

Fifth Day.

The feeling of love towards Our Lord must be specially aroused. We are supposed to have the faith: but we need more love, so that we may understand why Our Lord underwent such terrible sufferings for poor humanity. Let us look upon the Lord: He is an innocent, holy person, an untiring benefactor, a true friend, a wonderful consoler, a man of peace and of blessings, the noble Son of the great King, the Son of God Himself. This good Jesus has saved you from eternal damnation. He descended from heaven and did the work of a miserable slave. And the worst and bitterest consideration is that you really, individually and personally, are the cause of the sufferings of Christ. You have struck Him in the face and spit upon Him, you have crucified Him, you have mocked and derided Him, and cried out, “Vah; if Thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.” The Lord, reflecting upon all His sufferings, declared that all this happened in the house of His beloved ones. What did the Lord do to you, that you should treat Him in this manner? Now then return Jesus love for all this, and He will be satisfied.

Prayer.

Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, etc., etc.

Sixth Day.

The Jews now began to consult among themselves how to catch Jesus by some intrigue or other. Our Lord could have avoided the Passion; He might have prolonged His life, but He wanted to die just then. The machinations of the Jews could only furnish an occasion for the death of Our Lord, but it was His own divine will that regulated time, place, and circumstance. Judas the disciple makes a contract with the high priests that on a certain night, when the Lord would go out to Gethsemani to pray according to His custom, the high priests would be ready with their guards to bind Him. For the miserable price of thirty pieces of silver was the Lord sold, by a man whom He had befriended so much in His career of public ministration.

Prayer.

Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, etc., etc.

Seventh Day.

Let us consider the case of Judas in another reflection and apply it to ourselves. Judas began as well, perhaps, as any of the other disciples; but now he is approaching the dreadful abyss of sin into which he fell, as we know from the Gospel. How much the Lord did for that disciple! By kind words and patience, He made him understand that though He knew of his impending fall, still He did not cast him off, but tried to win him back. When Judas had eaten the morsel which Our Lord had presented to him, the devil seemed to have entered into him. It was only then that the Lord gave him up, and bade him go and do quickly what he had in his mind. Now His mercy is at an end, and with terrible severity Our Lord speaks of the scandal, and says it would have been better that Judas had never been born. All this shows that unless we co‐operate with the grace which God almighty offers us, we, too, shall fall into sin, notwithstanding all the good instruction and good example given us. It shows that if we follow our own bent of evil intentions, we will go from bad to worse in spite of all that God has done. There are times of grace that are all‐important for us.

Prayer.

Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, etc., etc.

Eighth Day.

When the Lord sat at the Last Supper He made all the apostles aware of their future infidelity. Simon Peter spoke for himself rather than for all, when he said: “Although all should be scandalized in Thee, I will not: I am ready to go with Thee, both into prison and to death.” Our Lord foresaw his frailty and corrected him for his presumption, though no doubt it was well meant at the time, and said to him, “Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat.” Peter followed the Lord from afar, to see what the end would be, and entering the courtyard of the prison, he was accosted by a maid‐servant, and before her and the bystanders he cursed and blasphemed that he “did not know the man.” As in the case of Peter, so Our Lord knows our frailty—that we cannot stand by ourselves. We ought to distrust ourselves, and remember how sinful we have been, and now that we stand be careful lest we fall.

Prayer.

Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, etc., etc.

Ninth Day.

The Lord called His disciples together in order to eat the Pasch with them for the last time on earth, and also take a long farewell of them. They would not meet again until after the resurrection. St. John the Evangelist gives us much of the discourses which the Lord held with His disciples. “Let not your heart be disturbed,” He says, “at what is going to happen to Me.” The sorrow at parting, and the dreadful suffering which the Master was to undergo, acted in a most depressing manner on their spirits. No wonder they felt so downcast. He was their great friend, the joy of their heart, and now He is about to leave them. It is related that when Jesus was a boy, His companions felt such consolation in His presence that when any of them were distressed, they would say, “Let us go to the Son of Mary; He will console us.” Even now Jesus is our great joy and consolation; now that He is to be found in the Blessed Sacrament, now that He is in heaven at the right hand of the Father, to Him we can always go, and find refuge in His kindness.

Prayer.

Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, etc., etc.

Tenth Day.

At the Last Supper Our Lord continued His discourse, consoling and encouraging His disciples by telling them: “In My Father’s house there are many mansions; if not, I would have told you: that I go to prepare a place for you.”—John xiv. 2. Lift up your eyes, My beloved disciples, from this vale of tears to heaven, where you are to dwell for all eternity. My separation from you will be but short. I will go to heaven, and where I am, My faithful servants shall be. This earth is a desert for the one that loves God; there is no hope of peace and perfect happiness. Eternal joys are reserved for us in heaven if we are faithful to Jesus, and confide in Him. Though our sins may be many and great, we will be washed clean in the blood of the Lamb, and we may still hope to enter the realms prepared for us by Christ Himself. Resolve now to be noble‐hearted in the service of God, and shrink not from work or suffering.

Prayer.

Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, etc., etc.

Eleventh Day.