A daily practice to honor St. Joseph for the month.
Thanks be to God, thanks be to the Holy Father, Pope Francis, thanks be to the hard work of Fr. Donald Calloway, and the writings of St. Teresa of Avila and St. Bernardino of Siena, the greatest of all saints is becoming more prominent. This greatest of all saints is the Glorious Saint Joseph.
The theologians have created a theological term or expression to describe the role and value of the Great Saint Joseph. It is PROTODULIA. Latria is our relationship to God: that of praise. Hyperdulia, given to Mary: the highest veneration. Dulia, given to the saints: that of veneration. However, to Saint Joseph we attribute the terminology—PROTODULIA—meaning that of the highest veneration of all the saints.
Why then should this cult of PROTODULIA be attributed to Saint Joseph? In the writings of the Franciscan Doctor of the Church, St. Bernardino of Siena, this is explained with great clarity, and in the following way. God creates every person with a specific vocation. Now with that specific vocation, God always endows that individual with commensurate or proportional graces to carry out that vocation or mission.
A married man and woman blessed with the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony are imbued with the matrimonial graces to be faithful to each other until death, as well as to procreate and educate their children as future citizens of heaven. A priest upon receiving the Sacrament of Holy Orders, receives an abundance of graces to be faithful to his priestly ministry of preaching the Word of God, celebrating the Sacraments with fervor, and living out his calling as a true Shepherd to the flock and sheep entrusted to his care.
In a parallel sense, the Glorious Saint Joseph had a sublime and incomparable double mission or vocation. He was both the Spouse of Mary, the Mother of God, and also the foster-father of Jesus, the Son of the Living God. Given that this double vocation of Saint Joseph was so sublime, God generously endowed him with the commensurate or corresponding graces to carry out such a sublime mission.
Therefore, in this year dedicated to the Glorious Saint Joseph—Dec. 8, 2020 to Dec 8, 2021—let us strive to do something special for Saint Joseph every day of the month. If done, beyond a shadow of a doubt, Saint Joseph will obtain for you, as well as your loved ones, very special graces in this life, but even more important, in the life to come.
Therefore, we would like to offer, suggest, and even exhort all to do something special for the Glorious Saint Joseph every day of the month. Many of the suggestions are very simple and can be done in a matter of seconds. What is important is not so much the greatness of the action, but the love that accompanies the action. St. Joseph lived a very humble and hidden life, but a life very pleasing to Jesus and Mary, and God the Father. If you can carry out some small gestures to St. Joseph, he will repay you with miracles in your life.
DAILY PRACTICES TO CARRY OUT IN HONOR OF GLORIOUS SAINT JOSEPH; ONE FOR EVERY DAY OF THE MONTH IN THE YEAR OF ST. JOSEPH.
1. Short invocation: “Saint Joseph, pray for me.”
2. Statue of St. Joseph. Purchase a statue of St. Joseph and place it in your room. Upon entering, greet St. Joseph.
3. The Litany of St. Joseph. Pray the Litany of St. Joseph, these beautiful invocations that highlight the holiness and greatness of this saint.
4. Painting/picture of St. Joseph. Purchase either a picture or a painting and place it in a prominent place in your home for all to see, thereby honoring St. Joseph.
5. Painting/picture of the Holy Family. Of course, needless to say, upon honoring a portrait of the Holy Family, we are also honoring St. Joseph as Spouse of Mary and Foster Father of Jesus.
6. Wednesdays: honor St. Joseph in a particular way. Traditionally, throughout the year, Our Lady is honored on Saturdays; St. Joseph is honored on Wednesdays.
7. Temptations: Call upon St. Joseph known in the Litany as “Terror of demons.” He will conquer the enemy!
8. Naming a child. If you know a couple expecting a child, why not suggest the name of Joseph or Josephine. What a great blessing to carry the name of St. Joseph; many more blessings that person will indeed receive!
9. Read Matthew 1 & 2. To get to know St. Joseph biblically, two of the key Biblical passages are from the Gospel of St. Matthew—Chapters 1 and 2. Contemplate the Infancy narratives through the eyes of St. Joseph.
10. Read Genesis, Chapters 37-50. In these few chapters from the first Book of the Bible, Genesis, we encounter Joseph of the Old Testament who is a type of St. Joseph of the New Testament.
11. “Go to Joseph!” Words addressed to Old Testament Joseph during the famine in Egypt. Let us go to St. Joseph often with our own problems. He will not fail us!
12. Talk to everybody about St. Joseph. Make it a point to talk to somebody every day—even if for a minute—about the greatness and holiness and power of St. Joseph. This conversation is very pleasing to God.
13. Wear a shirt in honor of St. Joseph. A picture is worth more than a thousand words; a shirt, more than 10,000 words.
14. Read up on St. Joseph—five minutes a day! Suggestion? Fr. Calloway’s book of Consecration to St. Joseph.
15. Read Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter, Patris Corde on St. Joseph—five minutes a day.
16. Read Pope St. John Paul II’s Guardian of the Redeemer—Redemptoris Custos—five minutes a day!
17. Say a short prayer to St. Joseph for fathers, so that they can imitate the great St. Joseph as the model of fathers.
18. Say a short prayer to St. Joseph for husbands, so that they can imitate the holiness and example of St. Joseph as the perfect husband of Mary.
19. Say a short prayer to St. Joseph for the families of the world—so much in crisis, now more than ever. May the prayers of St. Joseph fortify families!
20. Say a short prayer to St. Joseph for the Church. He is the Universal Patron of the Church, proclaimed as such 150 years ago!
21. Receive Holy Communion in honor of St. Joseph. As St. Joseph so lovingly received Jesus as his child, he can help us to receive Jesus in Holy Communion with great tenderness and love.
22. Imitate a virtue of St Joseph that possibly you are struggling to incorporate into your life.
23. Pray to St. Joseph on this day, for purity of mind, heart, body, soul and intention.
24. On this day strive to imitate the silence of St. Joseph. Certainly, this will open your heart to deeper prayer.
25. Strive to work this day imagining St. Joseph is at your side encouraging you and helping you to carry out your work in a way pleasing to God.
26. St. Teresa of Avila gave to St. Joseph the following title: “Master of the Interior Life.” In concrete, this means, Master and Teacher of prayer. Beg St. Joseph to pray with you and pray for you!
27. Say a short prayer to St. Joseph today for those who are on their deathbed, close to breathing their last. Being the Patron of holy and happy deaths, St. Joseph will be of great assistance.
28. Write a Prayer. Formulate and write your own personal prayer to the Glorious Saint Joseph. How happy and pleased he will be for this effort on your part!
29. Novena to St. Joseph. Get in the habit of making novenas to St. Joseph. The Novena—which means nine—can be started at any time and any place. It simply means to do some prayer or gesture in honor of this great saint for nine consecutive days.
30. Beg Jesus and Mary to help you get to know and love St. Joseph better. They were the first two devotees of St. Joseph.
31. Pray and learn this prayer to the Holy Family:
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, make my heart like unto yours.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, assist me in my last agony.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I breathe forth my soul unto thee.
O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament Divine,
all praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine.”
In conclusion, friends in Jesus, Mary and St. Joseph, we offered a very simple way in which we can live out this Year of St. Joseph. Why not start today to offer some small but loving gesture in honor of the Glorious St. Joseph every day of the month. If this is done, the Glorious Saint Joseph, will pray for you, protect you, defend you, support you, love you, and bring you safe one day to the loving embrace of Jesus and Mary in heaven.
