When God wishes to raise the soul to greater heights, he unites it to St. Joseph by giving it to a strong love for the good saint.
St. Peter Julian Eymard
Do you want to ascend to greater heights in the spiritual life? Consecration to St. Joseph will take you there.
Many Christians have consecrated themselves to the Virgin Mary so as to be more closely united to Jesus that. Without a doubt, consecration to Mary is one of the best things you can do for your spiritual life.
The essence of Marian consecration is to help you become “another Mary” for Jesus, a faithful, loving and trusting companion of the Savior. Consecration to St. Joseph does something similar.
Consecration to St. Joseph will help you become “another Joseph” for Jesus and Mary. That is, entrusting yourself entirely to St. Joseph helps you become a faithful, loving and trusting companion of Jesus and Mary!
In the New Testament, we read that Jesus “increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man (Lk 2:52) under the watchful care of his parents. Such an “increase” can happen to you, too, if you entrust yourself to the paternal care of St. Joseph.
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux explains how it works. He writes:
Who and what manner of man this blessed Joseph was, you make conjecture from the name by which, a dispensation being allowed, he deserved to be so honored as to be believed and to be called the father of God. You may conjecture it from his very name, which, being interpreted, means “Increase.”
St. Joseph is “The Increaser”. He has paternal love for you and the power to increase the presence of God in your life and take you to greater heights in the spiritual life. For centuries, this “secret” of St. Joseph lay hidden. Saints, mystics, and a handful of popes knew of it. Now it is your turn to discover it.
Now is the time of St. Joseph! The Church and the world greatly need St. Joseph. We need him to help us return to the love of Jesus and to living lives of virtue. We desperately need St Joseph’s protection as well.
The family -the foundation of society- is under attack. The family of God -The Catholic Church- is also undergoing vicious assaults from the world, the flesh, the devil and some of her own children.
We need St. Joseph to protect us. He is our loving and merciful spiritual father, holly, strong and ready to help. He is forever linked to Jesus, Mary and the Church. He protected the Holy Family; he will protect us, too, if we entrust ourselves to his paternal heart and his spiritual care.
St. Joseph is your spiritual father. All children resemble their parents. You are a child of St. Joseph. You need to resemble him, especially by imitating his virtues and faithfulness to Jesus and Mar. Saint Joseph plays a vital (life-giving) role in your spiritual growth and well-being. This is the heart of consecration to St. Joseph.
Blessed William Joseph Chaminade explains it well. He states:
He (St. Joseph) was not a passive instrument in the great work of our Salvation; he played a very active role, and that is why he was included in the merciful counsels of the Incarnate Wisdom.
The merciful love of God has given St. Joseph to you as a spiritual father. Are you ready to ascend to greater heights in the spiritual life? Are you ready to draw nearer to Jesus and Mary and experience an increase in virtue? Let's go to Joseph!
We are going to consecrate ourselves to St. Joseph. We shall place at his feet all that we are and all that we have.
St. Peter Julian Eymard