through the joy which thou didst afterwards feel in finding Him in the temple, obtain for me the grace that I may also find Him again in my heart, by His grace, and that I may never more lose Him.
- St. Joseph, increase our faith, and render it more lively, especially in the presence of Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament.
XII.
When God, says St. Thomas, destines any one for a particular charge, He gives him the graces which fit him for it. God having, then, chosen St. Joseph to fill the charge of a father over the person of the Incarnate Word, we must certainly believe that He conferred upon him all the wisdom of sanctity which became such an office. Gerson says that amongst other privileges Joseph had three which were special to him: i. That he was sanctified in his mother's womb, as were Jeremias and St. John the Baptist; 2. That he was at the same time confirmed in grace; 3. That he was always exempt from the inclinations of concupiscence — a privilege with which St. Joseph, by the merit of his purity, favors his devout clients, delivering them from carnal appetites.
- St. Joseph, shining light of chastity, preserve the angelic virtue in me.
XIII.
IN the Gospel St. Joseph is called JUST. What is meant by a just man? St. Peter Chrysologus says that " it means a perfect man, one who possesses all virtues." Joseph was already holy before his marriage; but how much must his sanctity have increased after his union with the divine Mother? The example of his holy spouse sufficed to sanctify him. But since Mary, as St.
