Tag Archives: St Joseph

The sorrows and joys of St Joseph

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 themes.

St Joseph, Teacher of Prayer

Nativity scene iconSt 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 times for prayer each day
  • We can entrust to St Joseph our important intentions

St Joseph, great saint and powerful intercessor

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 gave St Joseph special graces and virtues for his mission
  • Like Our Lady, St Joseph is a model of all the virtues and we have much to learn from him
  • St Joseph was the greatest saint after Our Lady
  • St Joseph is a most powerful intercessor, as attested by St Teresa of Avila, Pope Pius XI and Pope Francis, and we can entrust all our needs to him, assured of being heard

 

St Joseph’s docility to the will of God

St Joseph's Dream

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 own life
  • How our docility, like that of St Joseph, should be prompt, complete, responsible, free and loving

St Joseph and the difficulties of life

 

St Joseph flight into Egypt icon

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 with his difficulties
  • God allows those he loves to endure tribulation
  • St Thomas More describes the great value of tribulations
  • We should face difficulties with trust in God and human resourcefulness
  • We can grow humanly and spiritually through our very difficulties

 

 

 

Holiness in ordinary life

Pope Francis has given the Church the Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate (“Rejoice and be glad”) on the call to holiness in today’s world. Today’s world is very much in need of holiness as it distances itself ever more from God, and the Pope proposes a way of holiness for everyone, for the “middle class”. In this meditation we use this document to consider how:

  • We are all called to holiness since God has loved each one of us and we should love him in return.
  • The Second Vatican Council stated clearly the universal call to holiness.
  • We do not need to withdraw from the world in order to be saints. We can find and love God right where we are in the world.
  • God has given us through the Church all the means we need to grow in holiness.
  • We can find and love God through the most ordinary activities of each day.

God in the family

 

We all want to have a happy, united family but it is not always easy to make our desires a reality. In this meditation we consider the importance of the family for society and some practical ways of strengthening family life, following words of advice from Pope Francis. We will consider:

  • the importance of the family for society
  • how husband and wife can strengthen their relationship
  • the importance of welcoming Christ into the home
  • generosity in bringing children into the world
  • how children are a gift from God
  • the importance of teaching children to honour and respect their parents and each other

The family in God’s plan

 

St John Paul II wrote that “The history of mankind, the history of salvation, passes by way of the family.”  In this meditation we reflect on the importance of the family in God’s plan and on how we can improve our family life so that we grow in holiness through it and help our children to do the same. We will consider:

  • Why family life is so important
  • How we can celebrate significant occasions together
  • How we can find God in the ordinary duties of family life
  • How husband and wife can grow in their relationship
  • How we can form our children humanly and spiritually
  • The importance of grandparents in the family

Meditation on St Joseph, model of virtues

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.

Chastity, a virtue for all

Chastity is not the most important virtue – charity is – but it is essential if we are to grow in holiness and draw ever closer to God. Here is a meditation on this virtue, a virtue for everyone.