‘I thought we could use a strong father to restore order to all of this chaos’
CHARLOTTE — Parishioners across the Diocese of Charlotte are encouraged to make a consecration to St. Joseph during this special Year of St. Joseph.
One of the recommended resources for a consecration to St. Joseph is a new book: “Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father,” written by Marian Father Donald Calloway. Father Calloway serves as vocation director of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception and currently resides in Steubenville, Ohio.
“This year marks the 150th anniversary of when Blessed Pope Pius IX declared St. Joseph the Patron of the Universal Church, so this year is very significant,” Father Calloway said. “I said to myself, ‘We have a real crisis today in families where the family has been redefined. We have these so-called ‘modern families’ and there is gender confusion.’ I thought we could use a strong father to restore order to all of this chaos. I thought, ‘It has got to be St. Joseph.’”
After researching, writing and translating works into English over the course of three years, Father Calloway comprised the book drawing on the wealth of the Church’s tradition.
“All children resemble their parents. As our spiritual parents, Our Lady and St. Joseph, we are called to resemble them in virtue. I am hoping that people will walk away from this consecration with a great knowledge of St. Joseph and how much he loves them and how much he wants to protect them during these crazy times,” Father Calloway said.
The book focuses on the virtues of St. Joseph: his patience, prudence, faith and purity for example.
The Consecration to St. Joseph emulates the Marian consecration made popular by St. Louis de Montfort, highlighting many of St. Joseph’s titles, privileges and heroic virtues.
The program of preparation and consecration takes 33 days. Participants spend about 20-30 minutes a day on a short exposition on one of the invocations in the powerful Litany of St. Joseph, followed by a reading about St. Joseph, and concluding with the recitation of the Litany of St. Joseph.
The consecration to St. Joseph can be done anytime, but particular feast days such as March 19 or May 1 are special opportunities to focus this devotional effort. To conclude the consecration on March 19, plan to begin on Feb. 16.
Starting the 33-day series of prayers on Nov. 24, would conclude on Dec. 26, the feast of the Holy Family. Whichever act of consecration you prefer or compose your own act of consecration to St. Joseph. Find suggestions online at www.yearofstjoseph.org.
Some parishes are organizing special Masses or opportunities to participate in the consecration as a group. Check with your parish office for details.
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter; www.consecrationtostjoseph.org contributed.
More info
At www.consecrationtostjoseph.org: Learn more about what it means to consecrate yourself to St. Joseph, and order the book “Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father”
St. Joseph Prayer Books available
CHARLOTTE — To commemorate the diocese’s Year of St. Joseph, “The St. Joseph Prayer Book” has been compiled to assist the faithful in their prayers to St. Joseph, the Protector of the Church.
Produced by St. Benedict Press, “The St. Joseph Prayer Book” contains all the famous prayers: the Novena for a Special Favor, the Litany of St. Joseph, 30 Days’ Prayer to St. Joseph, the Memorare, as well as prayers for purity, conversion, a happy death, and more. In total, the book contains more than 50 prayers, litanies and novenas. A Spanish version is also available.
Included in this commemorative edition is a letter from Bishop Peter Jugis about his declaration of 2020 as the Year of St. Joseph, as well as passport-type pages in the back of the book for pilgrims to have stamped as they visit each St. Joseph parish in our diocese throughout the year.
Take advantage of this special, limited-time offer to gift this treasury of prayers and bring souls closer to Jesus through St. Joseph. Orders are being accepted online at www.saintbenedictpress.com. Search for “The St. Joseph Prayer Book.” Cost is $12.95. Some parishes have also purchased copies, so check with your parish to see if books are available for purchase in the parish office.
— Catholic News Herald; St. Benedict Press contributed.
More online
At www.yearofstjoseph.org: Find educational resources, prayers and devotions, and “Year of St. Joseph” event details from across the diocese, as dates for special events are finalized.
The First Sorrowful Mystery - The Agony in the Garden
After the Passover supper with His Apostles Jesus went out to Gethsemane and He became very sad and sorrowful. He said to Peter and James and John, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death. Wait here and watch with Me.’[i]
In that moment, the sins of the whole world from all time pressed upon Him, including sins that would be committed by the members of His Church.
We call to Him from the depths of our hearts: “Kyrie eleison. Have Mercy on your Church.”[ii]
The Second Sorrowful Mystery – The Scourging at the Pillar
Pilate said to the crowds, “What then shall I do with Jesus, who is called the Christ?” And they all said, “Let Him be crucified!” So Pilate released Barabbas and had Jesus scourged.[iii]
“He was stripped of His garments, tied to a pillar, and His flesh lacerated from head to foot with cruel scourges until His body could bear no more.”[iv] The body of Jesus, the Church, has again been scourged by the sins of some of its members.
We call to Him from the depths of our hearts: “Kyrie eleison. Have mercy on Your Church.”[v]
The Third Sorrowful Mystery – The Crowning with Thorns
The soldiers fashioned a crown of thorns and fastened it on His head, driving the thorns deeply into His head. They mocked His kingship, kneeling before Him crying, “Hail, King of the Jews.”[vi]
“Jesus, our true king, does not reign through violence, but through a love which suffers for us and with us.”[vii] Jesus, You are now suffering with us, Your Body the Church, because of the sins of abuse, misconduct and abuse of power and position. O King, by Your passion, cleanse and purify the Church.
We call to you from the depths of our hearts: “Kyrie eleison. Have mercy on Your Church.”[viii]
The Fourth Sorrowful Mystery – Jesus Carries the Cross
“We cannot conceive the sufferings, the insults, the indignities Jesus experienced”[ix] “as He was dragged, weak and suffering through the streets.”[x] “The weight of all of our sins presses upon Him.”[xi]
Jesus, Your Body the Church experiences the sufferings, the insults, the indignities of the way of the cross. Only Your grace and power can lift us up when we have fallen – once, twice, three times and many times. O suffering Savior, by your passion cleanse and purify your Church.
We call to you from the depths of our hearts: “Kyrie eleison. Have mercy on Your Church.”[xii]
The Fifth Sorrowful Mystery – The Crucifixion of Our Lord
When they came to the place called Golgotha, that is the Place of the Skull, they crucified Him.[xiii]
“The unbelievable cruelty of this procedure of being nailed to a cross cannot even be imagined.”[xiv] Through Your passion, crucifixion, death and resurrection, Jesus, you have brought us the gift of forgiveness of sins. Cleanse and purify the Church You love of the sins of abuse and misconduct which have seriously wounded the Church. Bring healing and love to victims.
Help us all to rededicate ourselves to the pursuit of true holiness.
— Catholic News Herald
[i] Matthew 26: 36-38.
[ii] Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Way of the Cross at the Colosseum (Ninth Station), March 24, 2005.
[iii] Matthew 27: 22, 26.
[iv] Charles V. Lacey, Rosary Novenas to Our Lady (U.S.A.: Benziger Brothers, 1954), p. 25 (The Scourging).
[v] Ratzinger, Way of the Cross (Ninth Station).
[vi] Lacey, Rosary Novenas, p. 27 (The Crowning with Thorns).
[vii] Ratzinger, Way of the Cross (Second Station).
[viii] Ratzinger, Way of the Cross (Ninth Station).
[ix] Holy Hour of Reparation (Oak Lawn, Ill: CMJ Marian Publishers, 2001), p. 19.
[x] Lacey, Rosary Novenas, p. 29 (The Carrying of the Cross).
[xi] Holy Hour of Reparation, p. 3.
[xii] Ratzinger, Way of the Cross (Ninth Station).
[xiii] Matthew 27: 33, 35.
[xiv] Ratzinger, Way of the Cross (Eleventh Station).