Year of St. Joseph

December 8, 2020 - December 8, 2021

The Washington Province of the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites has provided a webpage of resources on St. Joseph in the history of the Carmelite order.

See this link for further information.

St. Joseph - Silent Witness (Chapter 8)

Brian Lombardi offers this reflection on Chapter 8 of Consecration to St. Joseph

“I did not understand St. Joseph well enough, but that will change”-St. John of the Cross

St. John of the Cross humbly acknowledged that he lacked the full understanding of St. Joseph probably because the church at that time hadn’t accepted St. Joseph in the full light of revelation as is now the case. Maybe the reason that it takes longer to understand St. Joseph is that his witness is one of silence rather than of words. How fitting it is that we as devotees to the Carmelite tradition, devoted to silent prayer, turn to St. Joseph as our guide and companion on our personal journey towards a contemplative life?

I have dedicated my journey to holiness to St. John of the Cross as my personal guide. Thus I looked to his writings to find the references to silence. My daily recitation of one of the 175 Sayings of Light and Love quickly revealed a broad and consistent call to silence. 18 of the Saying of Light and Love directly address developing an inner silence in daily life. Today I will select a few that seem to support St. Joseph’s mission by God to lead us into silence.

80. Bridle your tongue and your thoughts very much, direct your affection habitually towards God, and your spirit will be divinely kindled.

In today’s world, everyone seems to have a voice and a platform to use it. We face a daily plethora of emails, social media, and podcasts with various people expressing their opinions on a wide range of topics. This barrage of words and the thoughts that they represent can be quite damaging to the quiet that St. Joseph calls us to inside our souls. How often do we also fail to “bridle our tongues” on the many problems and issues of the day rather than go quietly with St Joseph to prayer for God’s will to be done rather than our own? I take this challenge quite seriously as a person gifted with “gab” I am trying my best especially during Lent to speak interiorly to God rather than out loud to the person next to me. A good example of this is recently with my brothers and sisters as we try our best to care for my 96 year old mother that continues to slowly fail in her health. Each of us, while well intended, has our opinion of the next right thing for Mom. More often than not, we don’t agree, even on the simplest tasks of her care. But rather than raise my opinion, I go “inside” to prayer and ask God to provide for her the best care. Small? Yes, but letting go of the small details can do wonders to “quiet” the inner spirit.

100. The Father spoke one Word, which was His Son, and this Word he speaks always in eternal silence, and in silence must it be heard in our souls.

Fr. Calloway does an amazing job addressing the fact that St. Joseph does not speak one word in the bible. Often our Christian brothers and sisters of different faiths will use this fact as the basis to discourage devotions to him. But we, as Catholics seeking the way of Carmel, should delight in this fact that human words spoken out loud are far less effective in reaching Christ than quiet inner dialogue. Jesus speaks to us daily in eternal silence but we assuredly hear Him don’t we? Our search for deeper experiences of contemplation hinges upon quieting ourselves and listening to God. I know for me personally, contemplation emerges best after I start with meditating on the Word and letting that soak into my soul. Only then can I hear God speaking. While I treasure written vocal prayers like the daily Liturgy of the Hours, it’s usually in the silence of my quiet times that God etches His Word into my inner space. If one Word is good enough for God the Father, that that same one Word is surely good enough for us to find His Son.

109. Wisdom enters through love, silence, and mortification. It is great wisdom to know how to be silent and to look at neither the remarks, not the deeds, nor the lives of others.

Many people today are always searching for wisdom. Most of us on this call are considered “elders”, and have the opportunity to pass along our experiences to those in our lives. I find myself often in the situation to offer a point of wisdom especially to my adult children, which is good and just, but I must also recognize when to be a silent leader like St. Joseph. I can see how practices of mortification will leave a deeper imprint on the souls of my family than my words. Quietly performing tasks to serve them will be long remembered more than my words. I especially see this in caring for my grandson who is nearly 2. He instinctively follows grandpa mainly because I spend so much time and attention on him. Love is best displayed with action rather than words and certainly Jesus and Mother Mary loved Joseph dearly and saw his daily actions offered in love, silence and mortification.

132. What we need the most in order to make progress is to be silent before this great God with our appetite and with our tongue, for the language that He best hears is silent love.

It would be difficult to find a better description of the recipe to a deeper contemplative life than this saying by St. John of the Cross. Also it’s obvious that St. Joseph can be our model to progressing into deeper silence. It’s easy to visualize St. Joseph in deep prayer when holding Baby Jesus and how God would have blessed him with a tremendous gift of silent love. We all know that feeling of silent love when we hold a baby, but we also know that silent love when experiencing Jesus in the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Jesus speaks to us interiorly in these moments, and I’m in awe thinking about how St Joseph was in daily adoration of Jesus for so many years. What a model and guide St. Joseph is for us then, as we strive to be closer to God in the true presence of the Eucharist! I attend monthly Nocturnal Adoration at our parish and have begun to add prayers to St. Joseph during our devotion. Silent adoration is a true path to hear God more clearly and praying with St. Joseph in front of the Blessed Sacrament is a great way to assist us in achieving that goal.

153. Be silent concerning what God may have given you and recall that saying of the bride: “My secret is myself”-[Is, 24:16]

I reflect on the multitude of conversations that must have occurred between Jesus and St. Joseph. There seems to be a reason why none of these are recorded in Sacred Scripture. One thing that I’ve learned just recently in my faith life, and as a result of studying the works of St. John of The Cross, is that I shouldn’t try to pass along everything that God tells me when I’m in contemplative prayer. My initial reaction was to write it all down in my journal and if it was especially impactful, to share it with some close friends. However, I’ve come to recognize that God often speaks to us personally and privately. God communicates to us in “whispers” because He is very gentle, and His love is bestowed as “love stirring breezes”. (Spiritual Canticles Stanza’s 14 & 15). The secrets that Jesus and St. Joseph whispered to each other are holy. Who better to go to than St. Joseph to connect with Jesus and seek His divine intervention in our daily lives?

While these are just a few of the references that St. John of the Cross makes to silence, I think they make the point that he highly valued inner silence. And it seems equally obvious that St. Joseph, was a man of great prayer and witness to silence. In a world so loud with competing agendas, we can model ourselves after a man that truly understood and valued silence. Silence is truly a Carmelite virtue and now we know where to go to get help to be silent with God present. As Pope Benedict tells us “Let us allow ourselves to be filled with St. Joseph’s silence! In a world that is often too noisy that encourages neither recollection nor listening to God’s voice, we are on such great need of it.”

For reference, below are the 17 Sayings of Light and Love that pertain directly to inner silence: #80, 100, 109, 118, 121, 122, 132, 139, 141, 145,147, 148, 150, 151, 153, 162, 170

St. Joseph - Adorer of Christ (Chapter 7)

A reflection from Sheila of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross on Chapter 7 of Consecration to St. Joseph

“What a sublime vision to have the Son of God ever before his eyes! Ecstasy most rare! Rapture most marvelous!” Blessed William Joseph Chaminade

St. Joseph most likely lived with Jesus for 30 years. This home was the first Christian monastery. St. Peter Julian Eymard said St. Joseph knew our Lord more thoroughly than did all the saints together. As foster father of Jesus and husband of Mary, Joseph ranks among the elite of heaven.

I loved how St. Peter Julian said “From His entry into the world, even while still enclosed in Mary’s womb as in a living ciborium.” What a glorious thought.

St. Joseph Marello says, “When we receive Holy Communion, let us consider that Jesus comes to us as a little baby, and then let us pray that St. Joseph helps us welcome Him, as when he held Him in his arms.”

Fr. Calloway said whenever St. Joseph traveled with his wife and son his home became an adoration chapel. St. Joseph gave the world the greatest adoration chapel, the Catholic Church.

Before St. Joseph was aware of Mary being a walking tabernacle, God was preparing him to be the loving father of Jesus. As a newly married man St. Joseph was surprised to learn of Mary’s desire to visit Elizabeth for 3 months. I think St. Joseph must have accompanied Mary as it was nearly 100 miles away. I find I am in good company too as many saints and mystics believe so as well.

I thought it was interesting to read that Bethlehem means house of bread and that the Bread of eternal life would be born there. Then Jesus was born in poverty and placed in a manager. The word manager is related to the well known Italian word mangiare-“eat”.

From Bethlehem St. Joseph took his family to Egypt, 120 miles away, to stay until he knew it would be safe to return to Nazareth. There St. Joseph worked hard, supported his family and raised Jesus to be a carpenter just like him.

THE HOUSE OF LORETO

This was a real awakening for me because I had never heard of this. This is the holiest house in the world. The House of Loreto in Italy is the family home of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. How did it get there? It was transported by angels from Nazareth.

The home of the Holy Family remained in Nazareth for 13 centuries. On May 10, 1291 it disappeared and all that remained was the foundation. Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich witnessed in a vision the transporting of the House of Loreto by 7 angels over the sea.

It first went to Trsat in Croatia. It became clear 3 years later that if the house had stayed in Nazareth that it probably would have been completed destroyed by invading Muslims. So why was it transported to Croatia? No one really knows. No one except God.

The home was in Croatia for 3 years and then went to Piceno Italy where it was located for 8 months. From there it went to a hill close to Piceno for a few months. Finally near the end of December 1295 it was transported to Loreto.

Is this true? Yes the Catholic Church appointed 16 envoys to investigate everything. Their investigation proved that everything they studied at each site matched perfectly. Scientists centuries later proved through a chemical analysis and the results were conclusive that this was the Holy Family’s home.

Since that time a big church has been built around the house to accommodate the many pilgrims that would come to Loreto. Eventually the Holy Family’s home was fortified and enclosed in Carra marble.

Why would God and the Church take such measures to preserve this house? Mary was born and raised there, the Incarnation happened here, Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary here and it is a house of supernatural wonders where the Holy Family lived.

Thousands of saints have visited the House of Loreto including our own St. Therese of Lisieux. Blessed Pope Pius IX said, “Is it not by an unparalleled miracle that this Holy House was brought over land and sea from Galilee into Italy? By a supreme act of benevolence on the part of the God of all mercy, it has been placed in our pontifical domain, where for so many centuries it has become the object of the veneration of all the nations of the world and is resplendent with incessant miracles.”

Litany of St. Joseph: https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/prayers-and-devotions/litanies/litany-of-saint-joseph

St. Joseph: Just and Reverent Man

A reflection by Erin of Jesus Crucified on Chapters 5 & 6 of Consecration to St. Joseph

Matthew 1:18-25

In Chapter 5 of Consecration to St. Joseph, Fr. Calloway talks about St. Joseph as a “just and reverent man.”

He says on p. 141, “To exercise the virtue of justice, as St. Francis de Sales rightly notes, a person needs to live in perfect accord with the Divine Will and, in the face of all sorts of events, whether advantageous or adverse, give God and others their due.” (p. 141) This means that in all St. Joseph encountered, he acted in accord with God’s divine will, truly living out the greatest commandment: love of God and others. In particular, Fr. Calloway expands our understanding of Matthew 1:19, where scripture says, “and her husband Joseph, being a just and reverent man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to send her away quietly.” In many bible translations the translator has chosen to interpret the original text as “divorce her,” but Fr. Calloway expands our understanding of this attempt at separation. It was not necessarily that Joseph questioned Mary’s fidelity, or that he was confused and dumbfounded, but rather that Joseph doubts his worthiness, in light of Mary’s purity, to take care of her and her child. He does not want to reveal her mystery out of love for Mary and reverence to God.

Upon reading this, my understanding of Joseph’s actions prior to the angel coming to him in the dream totally shifted. I had previously subscribed to one of the first two theories – Joseph either was ashamed or confused about Mary’s pregnancy. It makes far more sense, given that St. Joseph is a “just and reverent man,” totally devoted to Mary and to God, that he would consider himself unworthy of such direct participation in this great mystery of salvation. He is reassured in several dreams that God does in fact desire that he assume this role, and just and reverent man that he is, Joseph obediently responds to God’s invitation.

When Pope Francis declared this the “Year of St. Joseph,” he released an apostolic letter called Patris Corde, or With a Father’s Heart, that fits in with this theme of the humble and lowly participating in this great story of salvation. Pope Francis says: “Each of us can discover in Joseph – the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence – an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble. St. Joseph reminds us that those who appear hidden or in the shadows can play an incomparable role in the history of salvation.” (introduction) Later, Pope Francis says, “The history of salvation is worked out in ‘hope against hope,’ through our weaknesses. All too often we think that God works only through our better parts, yet most of his plans are realized in and despite our frailty…Since this is part of the entire economy of salvation, we must learn to look upon our weaknesses with tender mercy.” (Section 2)

God invites us to collaborate with him in this history of salvation, but for our weaknesses and dependence on him to be useful in this Divine Drama, we must respond to his invitation, to his call, with obedience, as Joseph did. Section 3 of Pope Francis’ letter talks about Joseph’s obedience. In each instance, in response to each invitation he received in his dreams, Joseph’s response was always immediate, prompt, without hesitation. As Pope Francis says, “In every situation, Joseph declared his own “fiat,” like those of Mary at the Annunciation and Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. What a model this prompt obedience to the Father’s will must have been for his divine Son!

Of course, we are all so familiar with how Joseph’s story turns out, so perhaps it’s easy to look past how radical this obedience must have been. But imagine…escorting your pregnant wife 90 miles for a census, unsure of when or where she might deliver her baby. Imagine taking your young child and wife to Egypt, knowing their lives were in danger, but with no knowledge of when you’d be able to return, no idea where you’d live or how you’d find work and care for their needs. And then returning, after who knows how long, to the land you’d left when your wife had still been pregnant, starting over, reestablishing a livelihood. Joseph never had the benefit of knowing what exactly would come next.

In Patris Corde, Pope Francis says “Often in life, things happen whose meaning we do not understand. Our first reaction is frequently one of disappointment and rebellion. Joseph set aside his own ideas in order to accept the course of events and, mysterious as they seemed, to embrace them, take responsibility for them and make them part of his own history. Unless we are reconciled with our own history, we will be unable to take a single step forward, for we will always remain hostage to our expectations and the disappointments that follow. The spiritual path that Joseph traces for us is not one that explains, but accepts. Only as a result of this acceptance, this reconciliation, can we begin to glimpse a broader history, a deeper meaning. We can almost hear an echo of the impassioned reply of Job to his wife, who had urged him to rebel against the evil he endured: ‘Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?’” (Job 2:10) Just as God told Joseph: ‘Son of David, do not be afraid!’ (Mt 1:20), so he seems to tell us: ‘Do not be afraid!’ We need to set aside all anger and disappointment, and to embrace the way things are, even when they do not turn out as we wish. Not with mere resignation but with hope and courage.” (Section 4)

In all his obedience and his acceptance of life’s circumstances, Joseph also demonstrated remarkable resolve and creativity. Sometimes we perhaps forget that, not only did Joseph not know exactly what would come next as he responded in obedience to God’s call, he actually figured out the details along the way. Yes, God provides, but God also relies on our creativity and collaboration, and Joseph was an incredible collaborator. Joseph found the stable for Jesus’ birth. Joseph prepared for and executed the flight to Egypt. Joseph found work, lodging, and necessary provisions once they were there, and when he was commanded to return to Galilee, Joseph found a way to continue to provide for his family. In Patris Corde Pope Francis says “A superficial reading of these stories can often give the impression that the world is at the mercy of the strong and mighty, but the ‘good news’ of the Gospel consists in showing that, for all the arrogance and violence of worldly powers, God always finds a way to carry out his saving plan…God always finds a way to save us, provided we show the same creative courage as the carpenter of Nazareth, who was able to turn a problem into a possibility by trusting always in divine providence.”

I hope this reflection on Fr. Calloway’s chapter as well as Patris Corde gives St. Joseph greater dimension and depth. I know I have an even deeper appreciation for St. Joseph as a dynamic participant in the history of salvation than I did before. But I also have a greater appreciation for his ordinariness, as well as the ways God used his ordinariness in this extraordinary story because St. Joseph chose obedience and fidelity. These virtues are born ultimately out of his great love for God and his love for Mary and Jesus. In closing, let us remember these words of Pope Francis: “Only when love is chaste is it truly love. A possessive love ultimately becomes dangerous: it imprisons, constricts and makes for misery. God himself loved humanity with a chaste love; he left us free even to go astray and set ourselves against him. The logic of love is always the logic of freedom, and Joseph knew how to love with extraordinary freedom. He never made himself the center of things. He did not think of himself, but focused instead on the lives of Mary and Jesus.”

Let us pray:

Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,

Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

To you God entrusted his only Son;

in you Mary placed her trust;

with you Christ became man.

Blessed Joseph, to us too,

show yourself a father

and guide us in the path of life.

Obtain for us grace, mercy and courage,

and defend us from every evil. Amen.

Patris Corde (With a Father's Heart) by Pope Francis

Consecration to St. Joseph by Fr. Donald Calloway, MC

The Silence of St. Joseph

A reflection by Jenny, Servant of the Holy Cross

“The Father uttered one Word: That Word is His son, and He utters Him Forever in everlasting silence: and in silence the soul has to hear it.” - St John of the Cross

St Joseph’s silence shows the depth of his relationship with God. It is in the depth of our soul that God speaks, and if we fill our soul with endless clutter the Lord can’t break through. Scripture says very little about Joseph, and he speaks even fewer words, but that sparsity reveals a great deal about the foster father of Jesus. Just as God chose Mary, He also chose Joseph. Mary is our mirror for St Joseph. And just as she “pondered these things in her heart” we can rest assured so did Joseph.

“There is not one recorded word of St. Joseph. We know so little about him, and yet his silence, his obedience, his tender care speaks volumes of his sanctity. “( The Liturgical Year, Miller, Jennifer Gregory)

“O that you would be completely silent, And that it would become your wisdom!” Job 13:5

If Joseph was not familiar with God’s interior voice, or not familiar with the path upon which he and the Lord walked, Joseph would not have been able to respond as he did when The Lord spoke to him. As Carmelites we understand the sacrifice and dying to oneself, of going into our (interior) room to commune with God.

“In Section V of his exhortation, “The Primacy of the Interior Life”, Pope John Paul II discusses Joseph’s mature spirituality that enabled him to consistently respond positively to the graces he received in his life as Mary’s husband and Jesus’ father. In regard to Joseph’s latter role, the Pope stresses that “Joseph experienced … that pure contemplative love of the divine Truth which radiated from the humanity of Christ and the demands of love … required for his [Joseph’s] vocation to safeguard and develop the humanity of Jesus, which was inseparably linked to his divinity.” (p. 14) Furthermore, the Pope reflects upon the fatherly love of Joseph and Jesus’ filial love as mutually beneficial in the ongoing deepening of their relationship.” (Pope John Paul II, Redemptoris Custos)

From Joseph’s actions we learn he is a man who is obedient to God. A man who is familiar with God moving in his interior life. How else would he recognize the dream and commands? How else could he exemplify devotion to his family?

“Through his complete self-sacrifice, Joseph expressed his generous love for the Mother of God and gave her a husband's "gift of self." Even though he decided to draw back so as not to interfere in the plan of God which was coming to pass in Mary, Joseph obeyed the explicit command of the angel and took Mary into his home, while respecting the fact that she belonged exclusively to God.

The same aura of silence that envelops everything else about Joseph also shrouds his work as a carpenter in the house of Nazareth. It is, however, a silence that reveals in a special way the inner portrait of the man. The Gospels speak exclusively of what Joseph "did." Still, they allow us to discover in his "actions" - shrouded in silence as they are - an aura of deep contemplation. Joseph was in daily contact with the mystery "hidden from ages past," and which "dwelt" under his roof. This explains, for example, why St. Teresa of Jesus, the great reformer of the Carmelites, promoted the renewal of veneration to St. Joseph in Western Christianity.” (Pope John Paul II, Redemptoris Custos)

“Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” Proverbs 29:20

“The total sacrifice, whereby Joseph surrendered his whole existence to the demands of the Messiah's coming into his home, becomes understandable only in the light of his profound interior life. It was from this interior life that "very singular commands and consolations came, bringing him also the logic and strength that belong to simple and clear souls, and giving him the power of making great decisions—such as the decision to put his liberty immediately at the disposition of the divine designs, to make over to them also his legitimate human calling, his conjugal happiness, to accept the conditions, the responsibility and the burden of a family, but, through an incomparable virginal love, to renounce that natural conjugal love that is the foundation and nourishment of the family. Why should the "fatherly" love of Joseph not have had an influence upon the "filial" love of Jesus? And vice versa why should the "filial" love of Jesus not have had an influence upon the "fatherly" love of Joseph, thus leading to a further deepening of their unique relationship? Those souls most sensitive to the impulses of divine love have rightly seen in Joseph a brilliant example of the interior life.

Furthermore, in Joseph, the apparent tension between the active and the contemplative life finds an ideal harmony that is only possible for those who possess the perfection of charity. Following St. Augustine's well-known distinction between the love of the truth (caritas veritatis) and the practical demands of love (necessitas caritatis), we can say that Joseph experienced both love of the truth—that pure contemplative love of the divine Truth which radiated from the humanity of Christ-and the demands of love— that equally pure and selfless love required for his vocation to safeguard and develop the humanity of Jesus, which was inseparably linked to his divinity.” (Redemptoris Custos)

“St. Joseph teaches us that, silence does not mean a person is unconcerned or uninterested; it is rather a tool for concentration. His is a silence permeated by contemplation of the mystery of God, in an attitude of total availability to His divine wishes. In other words, the silence of St Joseph was not the sign of an inner void, but on the contrary, of the fullness of faith he carried in his heart, and which guided each and every one of his thoughts and actions.” (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI)

“The silence of Joseph, therefore, is an invitation to be better about removing distractions and idle chatter to make provision for more room and space for contemplating where it is that God may be calling us to. We can understand the value and relevance of Joseph in today’s world by appreciating his silent contribution to the mystery of the Incarnation, by his dedication to the vocation he was called to. In a society all too often filled with noise, we can learn much from the silent Joseph by finding time for silence and making ourselves more available to God and to the vocation to which He has called us, regardless of any distractions.” (Br. John Badu Affum, C.S.C. Congregation of Holy Cross)

“ …this glorious saint in my experience is that he succors us in them all and that the Lord wishes to teach us that as He was Himself subject to him on earth (for, being His guardian and being called His father, he could command Him) just so in Heaven He still does all that he asks. This has also been the experience of other persons whom I have advised to commend themselves to him; and even today there are many who have great devotion to him through having newly experienced this truth. Those who practice prayer should have a special affection for him always. I do not know how anyone can think of the Queen of the Angels, during the time that she suffered so much with the Child Jesus, without giving thanks to Saint Joseph for the way he helped them. If anyone cannot find a master to teach him how to pray, let him take this glorious saint as his master and he will not go astray.” (St. Teresa of Avila, Autobiography Chapter 6).

“In silence, Joseph was a man for others. Though the Scriptures say so little about Joseph, his silence speaks volumes on his selflessness and readiness to take up any task for the benefit of the other. Why? He always put the interests of others before his own. He loved Mary above himself and his behavior was just a result of his love. He was prepared to do anything to save the life of the child Jesus. How refreshing this upright man, yet humble in all respects, would brave difficulties just for the sake of others?

In an age where people often shy away when difficulties arise, especially if that undertaking would not yield direct benefits to oneself, does the life of Joseph not invite us as Christians, and as religious men and women, to go on quietly yet effectively to execute our responsibilities, as demanded by our vocations, for the betterment of humanity and for the greater glory of God, without trumpeting them? Let us join our silence to the Silence of Joseph. It is only in silence that we can listen to the Lord’s instructions to do the extra work no one is doing. May St. Joseph continue to intercede for us!” (Br. John Badu Affum, C.S.C. Congregation of the Holy Cross)

Perhaps the silence of Saint Joseph is his most profound witness.

(Fr. Steve Grunow, CEO of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries)

Devotion to St. Joseph

The following article was published in the Jan-Mar 2014 edition of the Clarion. It explains the Carmelite devotion to St. Joseph. Written by Regis Jordan, OCD

St. Joseph: Principal Protector of the Carmelite Order

One of the themes of our 2020-2021 formation year will be to meditate more deeply on and with St. Joseph, Principal Protector of the Carmelite Order. Cindy Tochek offers this introduction and reflection on St. Joseph.

Why was St. Joseph chosen as the Principal Protector of our Carmelite Communities? We hope to answer this question during the course of the coming year through a series of reflections on this great saint. By learning more about the earthly foster father of Jesus and husband to Mary and studying his virtues, we wish that your devotion to this beloved saint will increase as it did with so many of our Carmelite Saints.

St. Theresa of Avila had a deep devotion to St. Joseph and attributed his intercession to the miraculous cure of her paralysis. In Chapter 6 of her Autobiography she writes:

“I do not remember even now that I have ever asked anything of him which he has not failed to grant. I am astonished at the great favors which God has bestowed on me through this blessed saint, and at the perils from which He has freed me, both in body and soul. To other saints, the Lord seems to have given grace to succor us in some of our necessities but of this glorious saint my experience is that he succors us in them all and that the Lord wishes to teach us that He was Himself subject to him on earth (for, being His guardian and being called His father, he could command Him) just so in Heaven He still does all that he asks.” .....”I wish that I could persuade everyone to be devoted to this glorious saint, for I have great experience of the blessings which he can obtain from God.”

St. Theresa was not alone in her deep devotion to St. Joseph. Many Popes have written about this Saint and his many virtues. In 1870 Pope Pius IX declared St. Joseph, “Patron of the Universal Church”. This is only one of his numerous titles, however. He is commonly known as “Patron of the Dying and a Happy Death” (since it is believed he died in the arms of Jesus and Mary), Patron Saint of Workers” (and also all Carpenters) “Terror of Demons”, Patron of the Unborn Child”, Patron for Buying and Selling a Home”, etc. One of my favorite titles of St Joseph is “Savior of the Savior of the World”. It was through his love and protection that the Infant Jesus was protected from the wrath of Herod. Is it no wonder then, that Our Lord bestows so many graces through the intercession of St. Joseph!

The Church recognizes St. Joseph with not one, but two Feast Days on our Catholic Calendar. March 19 is known as the Feast Day of St. Joseph and also May 1 is the Feast Day of St. Joseph, the Worker. His feast day of March 19 is especially celebrated in the Italian culture by commemorating his feast with a symbolic meal known as the “St. Joseph Table” A three-tiered table in honor of the Holy Trinity is decorated with a statue or picture of St. Joseph along with other religious statues and pictures. The table is laden with a meatless meal and various pastries and breads that are shaped in religious symbols. His feast day is also celebrated as Father's Day in Italy, Spain and Portugal.

St. Joseph is recognized in many places. He is the Patron of the New World and also the specific countries of Canada, Mexico, China, Korea, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Peru and Vietnam. Cities, churches, hospitals, schools and many various institutions are named after St. Joseph. If you look at most families, you will find someone in the family with the name of Joseph or one of his derivatives.

Rev. Donald Calloway, MIC, writes in the introduction to his recent book, Consecration to St. Joseph, “You are not a member of a single-parent spiritual family. Mary is your spiritual mother, and St. Joseph is your spiritual father. The spiritual fatherhood of St. Joseph is extremely important for your spiritual growth.” Reflections on St. Joseph's many virtues, his hidden silence, his obedience, his humility, his faithfulness are all beneficial to our growth as Carmelite Seculars. May this introduction and our forthcoming subsequent reflections serve to inspire us as Carmelites to model our lives after St. Joseph, Defender of the Faith. We need St. Joseph's help and intercession in our daily living, especially now in these most turbulent times.

By: Kateri Anne Benedicta of the Holy Innocents (Cindy Tochek)

For your reflection:

• Do you have a devotion to St. Joseph? What drew you to have a devotion to him? If you do not have a devotion to St. Joseph, in what ways do you relate to him?

• How has encountering St. Joseph through Carmlite spirituality (particularly through St. Teresa of Jesus' devotion to St. Joseph) informed your relationship with him?

• How do you understand St. Joseph's title, "Protector of Our Order?"