March 19
PRAYER TO ST. JOSEPH.
Ite ad Ioseph (Go to Joseph!)

As we approach the Solemnity of St. Joseph, which is transferred to March 20 this year, we could prepare ourselves by having recourse to him praying the “Memorare (Remember)” to St. Joseph.

After the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph is the greatest saint for with Our Lady, they were the persons who loved Our Lord Jesus Christ more and had a profound and inseparable bond with Him.

This is the reason why we Catholics must always take him into account in our personal dealings with Jesus for  St. Joseph has a lot to teach us and will help us how to talk, deal and love Our Lord Jesus Christ and Our Lady as well, in the same manner by which he did during his earthly life. As St. John Paul II said in his Encylical Redemptoris custos (Guardian of the Redeemer):

St. Joseph, the Guardian of the Redeemer, “took loving care of Mary and gladly dedicated himself to Jesus Christ’s upbringing; he likewise watches over and protects Christ’s Mystical Body (Redemptoris Custos, 1).”

“Joseph and Mary are the summit from which holiness spreads over the earth. The Saviour began the work of salvation out of this virginal and sacred union (Redemptoris Custos, 7).”

“St Joseph is the model of those humble ones that Christianity raises up to great destinies…he is the proof that in order to be a good and genuine follower of Christ, there is no need to do great things­ it is enough to have the common, simple and human virtues, but they need to be true and authentic” (Redemptoris Custos, 24).”

True enough, St. Josemaria call St. Joseph as the “Master of Interior life”, that is, the divine life of the soul in its dealings with God. Let us then go to St. Joseph –“Ite ad Ioseph!− Spouse of the Virgin Mary, Foster father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Patron of the Universal Church so that through his intercession, our interior life would reach the heights of love and self-giving to God in the daily ordinary duties of family, work and social life.

Let us also prepare ourselves for his forthcoming feast on March 19 praying for the fathers in the world (in some countries, Father’s day is celebrated today), for all the priests and seminarians and for the Universal Church.

St. Teresa of Avila wrote:
“It is now very many years since I began asking him for something on his feast, and I always received it. If the petition was in any way amiss, he rectified it for my greater good.” “I know by experiencethat the glorious St. Joseph assists us generally in all necessities. I never asked him for anything which he did not obtain for me.”

PRAYER

Remember, O most chaste spouse of the Virgin Mary, that never was it known that any who implored your help and sought your intercession were left unassisted. Full of confidence in your power, I fly unto you, and beg your protection. Despise not, O foster-father of the Redeemer, my humble supplication but in your bounty hear and answer me. Amen.

St. Joseph, pray for us!

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PHOTO CREDIT: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, “San José con el Niño Infante de Pie,” in http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lgJui5xlKEQ/TYGGd850HrI/AAAAAAAAAQo/BQB0biHEsg0/s1600/Murillo.JPG