Pope Gregory XVI, who was Pope from 1831 to 1846, instituted the custom of dedicating the seven Sundays preceding the feast of St Joseph on March 19 to that great saint, and of meditating especially on his seven sorrows and joys. In this meditation we use the Gospels of Matthew and Luke to consider these […]
St Teresa of Avila called St Joseph “a master who teaches [us] how to pray. In this meditation we consider how: St Joseph prayed in all moments and events of his life We can learn from him how to find God in our work, family life, travel, recreation, etc. We will benefit from having regular […]
St Josemaria Escriva calls St Joseph “our father and lord”. We can learn much from this great saint and entrust all our needs to him. In this meditation we consider how: St Joseph was chosen by God from all eternity to be the spiritual father of Jesus and the guardian of the Holy Family God […]
One of St Joseph’s remarkable qualities was his docility to the will of God. In this meditation we consider: How St Joseph responded to God’s will in various moments Comments of Pope Francis, St Josemaria Escriva and St John Chrysostom on St Joseph’s docility How we come to know the will of God in our […]
We all face difficulties in life: sickness and pain, the loss of loved ones, problems in work and in relationships, financial worries, temptations to sin, etc. Our tendency is to complain about them and thus lose their great value. In this meditation we consider how: St Joseph faced many difficulties St Josemaria Escriva dealt […]
St Joseph, husband of Mary and guardian of the Holy Family is a man of many virtues. In this meditation we consider some of them with the aim of striving to imitate St Joseph and to grow in devotion to him.
Now that we are in Advent, we want to prepare well for Christmas. A good way to do this is by the hand of Our Lady. After all, she too prepared for the birth of Christ. In this meditation we consider nine lessons Our Lady gives us about how to prepare for this great feast: […]
In this season of Advent we accompany Our Lady and St Joseph as they make their way from Nazareth to Bethlehem. In this meditation we learn from the many aspects of their journey and from their preparations for Jesus’ birth in the stable in Bethlehem how we can live Advent […]
Who is the Father Flader who hosts this blog? I was born in Kohler, Wisconsin, U.S.A., and studied chemistry at Harvard University, graduating with a B.A. in 1962. Then I went to Rome where I studied Theology at the Roman College of the Holy Cross from 1962 to 1964, and where I had the great […]
The Nativity of our Lord
The life of Mary and Joseph, from their betrothal to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, has much in common with our own. In this meditation, we use the Gospels of Matthew and Luke to consider the various moments in their journey, with the joys and sorrows, the good times and hardships, all of which can teach us so much about how to accept the will of God and reach the joy of Bethlehem, our eternal life with God in heaven
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