It has long been the praiseworthy custom of pious Christians to dedicate the month of March to St. Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus Christ and the most pure spouse of the Blessed Virgin. Since the time that Pope Pius IX chose St Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church, and since Leo XIII and Pius X, by special encyclicals, have so urgently recommended this devotion, in particular for the month of March, the veneration of this great Saint has been more generally practiced.
Indeed, there is scarcely another saint to whom we feel more powerfully drawn than to St Joseph. To him we may go with the same confidence and trust as to a tender, loving father.
I cannot call to mind that I have ever asked him at any time for anything which he has not granted; and I am filled with amazement when I consider the great favours which God hath given me through this blessed Saint; the dangers from which he hath delivered me, both of body and of soul.
In this way St Teresa of Avila praises the intercession of St Joseph most highly.
Great Saints have assured us that St Joseph can assist us in needs of every kind. Nevertheless, he is particularly known for help in family problems, financial needs, protection of purity, defence against dangers, matters involving work or housing, and as Patron of a Happy Death.
I took for my patron and lord the glorious St Joseph, and recommended myself earnestly to him. I saw clearly that both out of this my present trouble, and out of others of greater importance, relating to my honour and the loss of my soul, this my father and lord delivered me, and rendered me greater services than I knew how to ask for.”
- St Teresa of Avila
Go to Joseph!
Frequently those who love us and would like to confer benefits on us are unable to do so. Not so with St Joseph! The omnipotent Son of God, who on earth called him “father”, and in His heavenly kingdom ranks him next to Mary, and after Mary, gave to St Joseph more power than to any of the other saints in heaven. The power of St Joseph, like that of the Mother of God, is, in a certain sense, an omnipotent power, but a pleading omnipotence, for our Lord refuses him nothing that he asks. He permits him to take from His divine treasury with full hands in order to pour out upon us the treasure of divine grace and mercy, as did Joseph, the son of Jacob, who took corn from the granaries of the king of Egypt to feed his brethren and all who had recourse to him. From the heights of heaven, the King of glory addresses to us the same words which King Pharaoh called out to the starving people of Egypt: “Go to Joseph!”
Therefore, never neglect devotion to St Joseph, and as Christian tradition puts it, in the words of the Old Testament, (Gen 41:55). Ite ad Ioseph: “Go to Joseph!”
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