MONTH OF ST. JOSEPH - St. Joseph, the Guardian and Protector of our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

The Rest on the Flight into Egypt by Giambattista Pittoni

THIRD MEDITATION

Invocation of the Holy Ghost

Come, O Holy Ghost, replenish the hearts of thy servants, and enkindle in them the fire of Thy divine love. V. Send forth Thy Spirit, and our hearts shall be regenerated. R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

Let us Pray

O God, who by the illumination of the Holy Ghost, didst instruct the hearts of the faithful; grant that by the same Divine Spirit we may have a right understanding in all things, and evermore rejoice in His holy consolations, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

St. Joseph, the Guardian and Protector of our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

"An Angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: Arise and take the child and his mother and fly into Egypt; and be there until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the child to destroy him. Who arose and took the child and his mother by night, and retired into Egypt. . . 

But when Herod was dead, behold an Angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph in Egypt, saying: Arise and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel. For they are dead who sought the life of the child. Who arose and took the child and his mother and came into the land of Israel" (Matt. 2: 13-21).

Oh, how sublime and heavenly was the mission of St. Joseph! Jesus was God, and therefore could protect Himself; but no, He prefers the services of St. Joseph. Jesus was the Omnipotent, and therefore his very breath could wither and annihilate His enemies; but no, He loves to shelter Himself in the loving arms of St. Joseph. God might have sent His Angel to extend his wings over the Infant Saviour and protect him; but no, God sends that Angel to St. Joseph, that St. Joseph may have the privilege and honour to be the Saviour of the world, One might expect God would send His Angel to the Blessed Virgin, as Mary was unspeakably higher and holier than St. Joseph; but no, God recognized the position of St. Joseph as head of the Holy Family. God might have transported by the hands of Angels the Holy Family, as He did the Holy House from Bethlehem to Egypt, and from Egypt to Israel, and thus spare them all the fatigues and privations of the long journey; but no, the arms of Mary and Joseph alone were privileged to carry the precious treasure, the Infant Jesus. Here a wide field for meditation expands before the pious soul.

Practical Resolution

Through love for man Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is as helpless as the Infant Jesus. Through love for man Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament has exposed Himself to the sacrileges, irreverence, and insults of His enemies, as the Infant Jesus at Bethlehem. By the grace of God, I resolve to treat, as far as in my power, Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, with the same reverential, loving care that St. Joseph showed to the Infant Saviour. O sweet Jesus, help me to keep my resolutions. Secondly, I resolve, by the grace of God, to practice myself, and by all the means in my power to extend among others, Devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

Prayer

O St. Joseph! who watched over Jesus, watch over me. St. Joseph, who protected Jesus from the cruel Herod, protect me from a more cruel enemy, the devil and sin. St. Joseph, who promptly obeyed the whisper of an Angel, pray that I may be ever obedient to the inspirations of grace. St. Joseph, who lovingly carried Jesus in thy arms through the desert into Egypt, protect me in my journey through life, till I arrive at "Horeb the mountain of God." St. Joseph, pray that I may treat Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament with the same reverence, love, and care that thou didst treat the Infant Jesus. I beseech thee, O glorious St. Joseph, by the paternal love with which thy heart was inflamed for Jesus, and by his filial love for thee, to take special care of the salvation of my soul. Be thyself my director, my guide, my father, and my model in spiritual life, and in the way of perfection, that imitating thy example, I may, like the Saints, possess God eternally, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Sancte Joseph, ora pro nobis!