True devotion to St. Joseph: 7 reasons that push us to do it

Da Paolo Tessione - October 29th, 2019

The devil has always feared true devotion to Mary because it is a "sign of predestination", according to the words of Saint Alfonso. In the same way, he fears true devotion to St. Joseph […] because it is the safest way to go to Mary. Thus the devil [... makes] believers who are obtuse in spirit or inattentive believe that praying to Saint Joseph is at the expense of devotion to Mary.

Let's not forget that the devil is a liar. The two devotions are, however, inseparable ».

Saint Teresa of Avila in her "Autobiography" wrote: "I don't know how one can think of the Queen of the Angels and the much she suffered with the Child Jesus, without thanking St. Joseph who was so much help to them".

And yet:

«I don't remember so far having ever prayed to him for a grace without having immediately obtained it. And it is a marvelous thing to remember the great favors that the Lord has done to me and the dangers of soul and body from which he has freed me through the intercession of this blessed saint.

To others it seems that God has granted us to help us in this or that other need, while I have experienced that the glorious Saint Joseph extends his patronage to all. By this the Lord wants us to understand that, in the way he was subject to him on earth, where he as a putative father could command him, just as he is now in heaven in doing

everything he asks for. [...]

For the great experience I have of the favors of St. Joseph, I would like everyone to persuade themselves to be devoted to him. I have not known a person who is truly devoted to him and does some particular service to him without making progress in virtue. He greatly helps those who recommend themselves to him. For several years now, on the day of his feast, I have been asking him for some grace and I have always been answered. If my question is not so straight, he straightens it for my greater good. [...]

Whoever does not believe me will prove it, and will see from experience how advantageous it is to commend oneself to this glorious Patriarch and be devoted to him ».

The reasons that must push us to be devotees of St. Joseph are summarized in the following:

1) His dignity as a putative Father of Jesus, as a true Bridegroom of Mary Most Holy. and universal patron of the Church;

2) His greatness and holiness superior to that of any other saint;

3) His power of intercession on the heart of Jesus and Mary;

4) The example of Jesus, Mary and the saints;

5) The desire of the Church which instituted two feasts in her honor: March 19 and May XNUMX (as Protector and Model of the workers) and indulged many practices in her honor;

6) Our advantage. Saint Teresa declares: "I do not remember asking him for any grace without having received it ... Knowing from a long experience the wonderful power that he has with God I would like to persuade everyone to honor him with particular worship";

7) Topicality of his cult. «In the age of noise and noise, it is the model of silence; in the age of unbridled agitation, he is the man of motionless prayer; in the era of life on the surface, he is the man of life in depth; in the age of freedom and revolts, he is the man of obedience; in the age of the disorganization of families it is the model of paternal dedication, of delicacy and conjugal fidelity; at a time when only temporal values seem to count, he is the man of eternal values, the true ones "».

But we cannot go further without first remembering what he declares, decrees in perpetuity (!) And recommends the great Leo XIII, very devoted to St. Joseph, in his encyclical "Quamquam pluries":

«All Christians, of whatever condition and state, have good reason to entrust themselves and abandon themselves to the loving protection of St. Joseph. In him the fathers of the family have the highest model of paternal vigilance and providence; the spouses a perfect example of love, harmony and conjugal fidelity; the virgins the type and, at the same time, the defender of virginal integrity. The nobles, placing the image of St. Joseph before their eyes, learn to preserve their dignity even in adverse fortune; the rich understand what goods are to be desired with ardent desire and to gather together with commitment.

The proletarians, the workers and those with little luck, appeal to San Giuseppe for a very special title or right and learn from him what they must imitate. In fact Joseph, although of royal lineage, united in marriage with the holiest and most exalted among women, putative father of the Son of God, spent his life in work and provided the necessary for the sustenance of his with the work and the art of his hands. If therefore it is observed well, the condition of those who are below is not at all abject; and the work of the worker, far from being dishonorable, can instead be highly ennobled [and ennobling] if it is combined with the practice of virtues. Giuseppe, content with the little and his, endured with a strong and elevated spirit the privations and strains inseparable from his modest living; for example of his Son, who, being Lord of all things, assumed the form of the servant, willingly embraced the greatest poverty and the lack of everything. [...] We declare that throughout the month of October, to the recitation of the Rosary, which we have already prescribed on other occasions, the prayer to Saint Joseph must be added, of which you will receive the formula together with this encyclical; and that this is done every year, in perpetuity.

To those who devoutly recite the above prayer, we grant the indulgence of seven years and seven quarantines each time.

It is very advantageous and highly recommendable to consecrate, as is already done in various places, the month of March in honor of Saint Joseph, sanctifying it with daily exercises of piety. [...]

We also recommend to all the faithful […] on March 19th […] to sanctify it at least in private, in honor of the patriarch saint, as if it were a public holiday ».

And Pope Benedict XV urges: "Since this Holy See has approved various ways in which to honor the Holy Patriarch, let them be celebrated with the greatest possible solemnity on Wednesday and the month dedicated to it".

So the Holy Mother Church, through her pastors, recommends two things in particular: devotion to the Saint and taking him as our model.

«We imitate Joseph's purity, humanity, the spirit of prayer and recollection in Nazareth, where he lived with God, like Moses in the cloud (Ep.).

Let us also imitate him in his devotion to Mary: «No one, after Jesus, knew Mary's greatness more than he, loved him more tenderly and wished to make her all his and to give himself entirely to her. In fact, he consecrated himself to her in the most perfect way , with the bond of marriage. He consecrated his goods to her by making them available to him, his body by putting him at his service. He loved nothing and no one, after Jesus, more than she and outside of her. He made her his bride to love her, he made her his queen to have the honor of serving her, he recognized her teacher to follow her, docile as a child, his teachings; he took it as his model to copy all its virtues within itself. Nobody more than he knew and acknowledged that he owed everything to Mary ».

But, as we know, the culminating moment of our life is that of death: in fact all our eternity depends on it, either of Heaven with its inexpressible enjoyments or of hell with its unspeakable pains.

It is therefore important to have then the assistance and patronage of a Saint who in those moments helps us and defends us from the terrible last attacks of Satan. The Church, divinely inspired, with Mother's care and diligence, thought well of constituting Saint Joseph, the Saint who had the well-deserved prize of being assisted at the time of his passing as Saint Protector of his children. , from Jesus and Mary. With this choice, the Holy Mother Church wants to assure us of the hope of having St. Joseph at our bedside, who will help us in the company of Jesus and Mary, who has experienced its infinite power and effectiveness. It was not for nothing that he gave him the title of "Hope of the Sick" and of "Patron of the Dying".

«St. Joseph [...], after having had the distinguished privilege of dying in the arms of Jesus and Mary, in turn, assists on their deathbed, effectively and sweetly, those who invoke him for a holy death ».

«What peace, what sweetness to know that there is a patron, a friend of good death ... who asks only to be close to you! he is full of heart and is omnipotent, both in this life and in the other! Don't you understand the immense grace of assuring yourself of its special, sweet and powerful protection for the moment of your passing away? ».

«Do we want to ensure a peaceful and graceful death? We honor St. Joseph! He, when we are on his deathbed, will come to assist us and will make us overcome the pitfalls of the devil, who will do everything to have the final victory ».

"It is of the utmost interest for everyone to live this devotion to the" patron of the good death! "».

Saint Teresa of Avila never tired of recommending being very devoted to St. Joseph and demonstrating the efficacy of her patronage, she narrated: «I observed that when taking the last breath, my daughters enjoyed peace and quiet; their death was similar to the sweet rest of the prayer. Nothing indicated that their interior was agitated by temptations. Those divine lights freed my heart from the fear of death. To die, now seems to me the easiest thing for a faithful soul ».

«Even more: we can get St. Joseph to go to help even distant relatives or the impious poor, unbelievers, scandalous sinners ... Let us ask him to go and suggest what awaits them. It will bring them effective help to appear forgiven in front of the High Judge, which is not made fun of! If you knew this! ... »

«Recommend to Saint Joseph those to whom you want to assure what Saint Augustine defines the grace of graces, a good death, and you can be sure that he will go to their aid.

How many people will make a good death because Saint Joseph, the great patron of the good death, will have been invoked for them! ... »

Saint Pius X, aware of the importance of the moment of his passing, ordered to put in sight an invitation that urged the celebrants to recommend in the Holy Mass all the dying of the day. Not only that, but he favored by all means all those institutions that aimed to assist the dying as special care, he even went so far as to give an example by enrolling himself in the brotherhood of the "Priests of the transit of St. Joseph", which had its headquarters on Monte Mario: his wish was that an uninterrupted chain of Masses be formed that at any time of day or night were celebrated for the benefit of the dying.

It is certainly due to the goodness of God, to have inspired the holy initiative to establish the Pious Union of the "Transit of San Giuseppe" to Blessed Luigi Guanella. St. Pius X approved it, blessed it and gave it a great increase. The Pious Union proposes to honor Saint Joseph and to pray him in particular for all the dying, placing them under the protection of Saint Joseph, in the certainty that the Patriarch will save their souls.

To this Pious Union we can enroll not only our loved ones, but also other people, atheists, cohabitants, scandalous, public sinners ..., even without their knowledge.

Benedict XV, for his part, insists: "Since he is a singular protector of the dying, the pious associations should be raised, which were founded for the purpose of praying for the dying."

Those who care about the salvation of souls, offer to God sacrifices and prayers, through Saint Joseph, so that Divine Mercy may have mercy on obstinate sinners who are in agony.

All devotees are recommended to recite the following ejaculation morning and evening:

O Saint Joseph, putative Father of Jesus and true Spouse of the Virgin Mary, pray for us and for all the dying on this day (or this night).

Devotional practices, with which to honor Saint Joseph, and prayers for obtaining his most powerful assistance are many; we suggest some:

1) Devotion to the NAME of San Giuseppe;

2) NOVENA;

3) MONTH (it originated in Modena; March was chosen because the feast of the Saint occurs there, although you can choose another month or start it on February 17 with the indulgences of the month of May);

4) PARTIES: March 19th and May 1st;

5) WEDNESDAY: a) First Wednesday, doing some pious exercise; b) Every Wednesday some prayers in honor of the Saint;

6) THE SEVEN SUNDAYS preceding the party;

7) LITANIES (they are recent; approved for the whole Church in 1909).

St. Joseph was poor. Anyone wishing to honor him in his state could do so by benefiting the poor. Some do it by offering lunch to a certain number of needy or to some poor family, on Wednesday or on a public holiday dedicated to the Saint; others inviting a poor fellow into their own home, where they have him eat lunch treating him in every respect, as if he were a member of the family.

Another practice is to offer lunch in honor of the Holy Family: a poor man representing Saint Joseph, a needy woman representing the Madonna and a poor boy representing Jesus are chosen. At the table the three poor men are served by family members and treated with the utmost respect, as if they were truly the Virgin, Saint Joseph and Jesus in person.

In Sicily this practice goes by the name of "Verginelli", when the chosen poor are children, who, because of their innocence, in honor of the Virginity of San Giuseppe, are called just virgin, that is, small virgins.

In some countries of Sicily the virgin and the three characters of the Holy Family are made dressed in the Jewish way, that is, with typical clothes of the iconographic representation of the Holy Family and the Jews of the time of Jesus.

To embellish the act of charity with an act of humility (undergoing so many possible refusals, mortifications and humiliations) some use to beg for whatever is necessary for the lunch of the poor guests; it is however desirable that the expenses are the result of sacrifices.

The poor chosen (virgin or Holy Family) are usually asked to attend Holy Mass and to pray according to the intentions of the offerer; It is also common practice for the whole family of the offerer to join the acts of piety requested from the poor (with Confession, Holy Mass, Communion, various prayers ...).

For St. Joseph the Church has formulated special prayers, enriching them with indulgences. Here are the main ones to be recited often and possibly in the family:

1. The "Litanies of St. Joseph": they are a web of praise and entreaties. May they be recited especially on the 19th of each month.

2. "To you, Blessed Joseph, gripped by tribulation we resort ...". This prayer is said especially in March and October, at the end of the Holy Rosary. The Church urges that she be recited publicly before the Blessed Sacrament on display.

3. "The seven sorrows and the seven joys" of Saint Joseph. This recitation is very useful, because it recalls the most important moments of the life of our Saint.

4. The "Act of Consecration". This prayer can be recited when the family is consecrated to Saint Joseph and at the end of the month consecrated to him.

5. The "Prayer for a good death". Since St. Joseph is the patron of the dying, we often recite this prayer, for us and for our loved ones.

6. The following prayer is also recommended:

«Saint Joseph, sweet name, loving name, powerful name, delight of the Angels, terror of hell, honor of the just! Purify me, fortify me, sanctify me! Saint Joseph, sweet name, be my war cry, my cry of hope, my cry of victory! I entrust myself to you in life and in death. St. Joseph, pray for me! "

«Display your image in the house. Consecrate the family and each of the children to him. Pray and sing in his honor. St. Joseph will not delay in pouring his graces on all your loved ones. Try as Santa Teresa d'Avila says and you will see! "

«In these« last times »in which demons are unleashed [...] devotion to Saint Joseph take it seriously. He who saved the nascent Church from the hands of the cruel Herod, will know how to snatch it today from the claws of the demons and from all their artifices ».