Consecration to St. Joseph begins February 15th

 

As you may have heard, this liturgical year was named "The Year of St. Joseph" by Pope Francis. He is clearly calling us to pay more attention to the Foster-Father of Jesus and the lessons that we can learn from St. Joseph's example. 

I was thinking about purchasing a copy of Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of our Spiritual Father by Father Donald Calloway, MIC when I was pleasantly surprised by a table full of free copies (a gift from our pastor - Thank you, Fr. Dave!) when I walked into Mass a couple weeks ago. 

Consecration to St. Joseph is a 33 day period of prayer and readings culminating in turning oneself over to St. Joseph. You can do this at any point during the year, but if you start on February 15th (as I am planning to), you can finish on St. Joseph's feast day which is March 19th. Plus, I figure it is a good Lenten activity, seeing as Lent begins on February 17th.

Why do this? In the Introduction to the book, Fr. Calloway states:

"It basically means that you acknowledge that  he is your spiritual father, and you want to be like him. To show it, you entrust yourself entirely to his paternal care so that he can lovingly help you acquire his virtues and become holy."

You can do this even if you have already consecrated yourself to Our Blessed Mother. 

"God desires that all children be committed to the love and care of a mother and a father. You are not a member of a single-parent spiritual family. Mary is your spiritual mother, and St. Joseph is your spiritual father. . . . Everything you have given to Jesus and Mary can also be given to St. Joseph. Be at peace. The Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and St. Joseph are one."

I admit as a woman that I don't often model my life after that of St. Joseph. I do ask for his assistance with the various work that members of my family do and think of him as the patron saint of a happy death. I'm taking this as an opportunity to think more about him and the example that he has to offer, especially in light of this being "The Year of St. Joseph."

I invite you to join with me. I may (depending on how busy I am) post about various things I read as I make my way through the book. The paperback book is currently available through the Marian Helpers website. Amazon is apparently currently out of the actual book, but a Kindle version is available if you want instant access. 

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