paradise, and in thy company praise and love thy God to all eternity. Amen.
- St. Joseph, Patron of the universal Church, protect us; protect our Holy Father the Pope, and our Mother, Holy Church.
I.
GOD, in the great love He bears us, and in His great desire to see us saved, amongst the many means of salvation with which He has provided us, has given us in particular that of devotion towards the saints. He wills that they, as His friends, should intercede for us, and by their merits and prayers obtain graces for us which we do not of ourselves deserve. But who is not aware that, after the divine Mother, St. Joseph is, of all the saints, the one who is the dearest to God; and that he has in consequence great power with Him, and can therefore obtain graces for his devout clients? Let us then frequently say:
- St. Joseph, give me the greatest confidence in thy powerful intercession.
II.
WE should indeed honor St. Joseph, since the Son of God Himself was graciously pleased to honor Him, by calling him his father. "Christ," says Origen, "gave to Joseph the honor due to a parent." He is also thus spoken of in the Gospel: " And His father and mother were wondering at those things which were spoken concerning Him" (Luke ii. 33). The divine mother also spoke of him under this name. "Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing" (Luke ii. 48). If, then, the King of kings was pleased to raise Joseph to so high a dignity, it is right, and a duty on our part, to endeavor to honor him as much as we can.
