St. Joseph

13th Day. — St. Joseph’s Third Joy. Hearing the Name of Jesus. 1.  Before Our Lord was born, an angel had given instructions to St. Joseph that His name was to be called Jesus.  It was St. Joseph, not Our Lady, who was first to pronounce the name of the Son of God.  The jurisdiction…

12th Day.— St. Joseph’s Third Sorrow. The Shedding of Jesus’ Blood at His Circumcision. 1.  On the eighth day after the birth of a Jewish boy the ceremony of circumcision took place, according to God’s covenant with Abraham.  Was this cleansing rite to be performed in the case of the Son of God?  Yes; He…

11th Day. — St. Joseph’s Second Joy. The Birth of Jesus. 1.  Though St.Joseph knew that the time of Our Lady’s delivery was drawing near, yet the birth of Jesus came upon him as a joyful surprise.  He anticipated the lot of his Foster-Son. “He came to His own, and His own received Him not.” …

10th Day. — St. Joseph’s Second Sorrow. 1.  When St. Joseph started from his cottage at Nazareth, to repair to Bethlehem according to the emperor’s command, he had every reason to expect that he would be well received.  His early youth had been spent there, and he must have been known to many of the…

9th Day.— St. Joseph’s First Joy. 1.  Joseph had in his sad perplexity for some time prayed and thought, and thought and prayed again.  Externally his conduct gave no sign of the anguish of his soul.  But all the same Mary must have been conscious of the thoughts that were passing in her dear spouse’s…

8th day. — St. Joseph’s First Sorrow. 1.  St. Joseph’s life had been from the beginning one of many trials and much suffering, but all were mere trifles compared with the dark cloud of sorrow that fell upon him after Mary returned from the house of Elizabeth.  He could not help seeing that she was…

7th Day.— The Visitation. 1.  The visit of Mary to her cousin St. Elizabeth took place a short time after the Annunciation.  It had been suggested to her by the angel’s message, telling her that Elizabeth was to bear a son.  St. Joseph knew nothing of this, yet he raised no objection to the journey. …

6th Day. — The Annunciation. 1.  Our Lady’s peaceful life at Nazareth with her chaste and holy spouse had continued for some weeks or months when that wondrous message came to her that she was to be the Mother of God.  The Son of God became Incarnate in her holy womb!  How it must have…

5th Day.— St. Joseph’s Espousal. 1.  Never were husband and wife so eminently suited to each other as Joseph and Mary.  Never was there a union that so exactly symbolized the union between Christ and the Church.  Happy indeed are those who meet with a congenial spouse!  Happier still are those who are content to…

4th Day.— St. Joseph’s Betrothal. 1.  When our blessed Lady arrived at a marriageable age, the chief priest summoned all the unmarried men of the house of David, that from them a husband might be chosen for her.  There is a tradition that to each of them a rod was delivered, and the high-priest, speaking…