Painting of St. Joseph and the Christ Child from an exhibit of art in the Cusco School style in the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, DC, August 2008
Posted on 03/19/2014 8:40:41 PM PDT by Pyro7480
"Families who wish to be Christian should resort to the patronage of St. Joseph. In this they will receive very special help in order to realize their noble ideal."
"'Joseph leads us directly to Mary, and Mary leads us to the source of all holiness, to Jesus who has consecrated family virtues by His own submission to Joseph and Mary. Thus our desire is to see all Christian families renewed by modeling themselves upon such beautiful examples of virtue. In this way, when the human community rests upon the foundation of the family, the day that the domestic social unit shall acquire more stability, when conjugal sanctity, harmony and fidelity shall be safeguarded more religiously, at that very instant shall be seen a new kinship, like a new force, spread across all the members of the human society, and the virtue of Christ penetrate into its very depths. That day we shall see flower not only the reform of personal morals, but also the reform of social and national life' (Pope Benedict XV)."
"These are words to meditate on. They reveal to us the secret of the intercession and the influence of St. Joseph. He works together with Mary and Jesus. He has his very own powerful influence, but he is likewise the mediator of the incomparable flow of graces which emanate from Mary his spouse, and of the graces which flow from the source of all graces, Jesus, his adopted Son."
"If he is invoked as the noble head of the Holy Family, he acts in this capacity. His action is, so to speak, reinforced by Mary's and carried with it the all-powerful action of Jesus. Such is the union of [the] three persons within the Holy Family, that it would be impossible to separate their manner of operating. Joseph, as the head, represents the Family in its entirety, and from this position his intervention seems decisive to us."
"Let us address ourselves to him with confidence so that he may heal the evils and disastrous lesions which disfigure the contemporary family, that he may make the impious law of divorce return to the depths of hell from whence it was ejected, that he may also correct and make disappear from the souls of spouses the latent separation of wills and contradictory tendencies which make the good upbringing of children impossible, that he may give back to spouses the sentiment of their dignity as procreators."
"O St. Joseph, grant that under the married roof spouses may be united, unanimes in domo, one in faith, one in the love of God and in attachment to His holy will, so that the family may be a seed-bed of Christians and of the elect."
"It is a question of rendering a Christian sense of things to souls, which will make them enter into the true meaning of the present life, a life of labor and of trial, not of enjoyment, but also a life of hope and of merit. By this are lusts extinguished, worries calmed. Souls, accepting the order willed by God, walk in a peace which nothing can trouble and which spills over onto society. Doubtless this infusion of Christian meaning constitutes a great miracle of grace. Let us pray with confidence for St. Joseph to make it come about. It is not beyond his power."
"It is to St. Joseph then that we must have recourse, the minister of the counsels of the Most High, who has been proclaimed the Protector of the Universal Church."
Catholic ping!
A little late but I forgive you.Here’s a secret-St Joseph leads you to God Our Father.A humble man.
http://www.lorettochapel.com/staircase.html
Two mysteries surround the spiral staircase in the Loretto Chapel: the identity of its builder and the physics of its construction.
When the Loretto Chapel was completed in 1878, there was no way to access the choir loft twenty-two feet above. Carpenters were called in to address the problem, but they all concluded access to the loft would have to be via ladder as a staircase would interfere with the interior space of the small Chapel.
Legend says that to find a solution to the seating problem, the Sisters of the Chapel made a novena to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. On the ninth and final day of prayer, a man appeared at the Chapel with a donkey and a toolbox looking for work. Months later, the elegant circular staircase was completed, and the carpenter disappeared without pay or thanks. After searching for the man (an ad even ran in the local newspaper) and finding no trace of him, some concluded that he was St. Joseph himself, having come in answer to the sisters’ prayers.
The stairway’s carpenter, whoever he was, built a magnificent structure. The design was innovative for the time and some of the design considerations still perplex experts today.
The staircase has two 360 degree turns and no visible means of support. Also, it is said that the staircase was built without nails—only wooden pegs. Questions also surround the number of stair risers relative to the height of the choir loft and about the types of wood and other materials used in the stairway’s construction.
Over the years many have flocked to the Loretto Chapel to see the Miraculous Staircase. The staircase has been the subject of many articles, TV specials, and movies including “Unsolved Mysteries” and the television movie titled “The Staircase.”
In hard times, don't forget about the humble carpenter Joseph
Saint Joseph: Complete submission to the will of God (Pope Benedict XVI) (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)
St. Joseph as Head of the Holy Family (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)
St. Joseph, Patron of a Peaceful Death [Catholic Caucus]
Octave: St. Joseph, A 'Man’s Man', Calling Men to Jesus
St. Teresa de Avila's Devotion to St. Joseph (Catholic Caucus)
Catholic Men's National Day of Prayer, MARCH 15, 2008, The Solemnity of St. Joseph (Catholic Caucus)
The Role and Responsibility of Fatherhood - St. Joseph as Model
St. Joseph - Foster Father of Jesus
Some divine intervention in real estate-[Bury St. Joseph Statues in Ground]
Many Turn To Higher Power For Home Sales
St. Joseph the Worker, Memorial, May 1
Catholic Devotions: St. Joseph the Worker
Nothing Will Be Denied Him (St. Joseph)
The Heart of a Father [St. Joseph]
St. Joseph's DAY
Quemadmodum Deus - Decree Under Blessed Pius IX, Making St. Joseph Patron of the Church
Father & Child -- St. Joseph
March 19 - Feast of St. Joseph - Husband of Mary - Intercessor of civil leaders
St. Joseph's Spirit of Silence
St. Joseph's Humility (By St. Francis de Sales)
St. Joseph [Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary], Solemnity, March 19
St Joseph’s Paternal Love
The Heart of St. Joseph
MORE THAN PATRON OF HOMES, IT'S TIME FOR ST. JOSEPH TO GAIN HIGHEST OF RECOGNITION [Fatherhood]
The Importance of Devotion to St. Joseph
St. Francis de Sales on St. Joseph (Some Excerpts for St. Joseph's Day 2004)
St. Joseph: REDEMPTORIS CUSTOS (Guardian Of The Redeemer)
(Saint) Joseph the Patriarch: A Reflection on the Solemnity of St. Joseph
How I Rediscovered a "Neglected" Saint: Work of Art Inspires Young Man to Rediscover St. Joseph
I used to be a church musician, with my organ located on the St. Joseph side of the altar. I felt a certain attachment to St. Joseph the Worker, as I did my job, for which I was paid what I considered good money (in high school). My boss is a Jewish carpenter, as they say, but sometimes His dad mentors me.
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