St. Joseph, Head of the Holy Family

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.

            Fourth Meditation

St. Joseph, Head of the Holy Family           

And coming he dwelt in a city called Nazareth. And his parents went every year to Jerusalem at the solemn day of the pasch. . . And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth and was subject to them.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph compose the Holy Family. Jesus was God, and Mary the Mother of God; and yet we see from the sacred text that St. Joseph was head of the Holy Family; for thirty years Jesus and Mary paid him homage and obedience. As a child obeys his parents Jesus obeyed Mary and Joseph. He was subject to them, says the Gospel. This is wonderful humility, says St. Bernard, a God obeying man; but to see a man commanding God is glory without equal. The Eternal Father treated. St. Joseph as the Head of the Holy Family. The very name of the Redeemer of the world was communicated from heaven to St. Joseph. And she shall bring forth a son and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for He shall save his people from their sins. When the life of Jesus was threatened the Eternal Father sent his commands to St. Joseph alone. Arise, said the angel, and take the child and his mother and fly into Egypt. . . Arise and take the child and his mother and go into the land of Israel. Mary obeyed St. Joseph; at his bidding she promptly set out for Egypt, and from Egypt to Nazareth; and frequently from Nazareth to Jerusalem. 0 great thy dignity, St. Joseph, whom the Immaculate Mother of God regards and looks up to as her master and superior; but unspeakably greater thy dignity, St. Joseph, whom Jesus, the Eternal Son Himself, obeys and pays homage.

     Joseph was no doubt pure and holy at the time of the Nativity of the Redeemer; but conceive and express if you can, his sanctity, when for thirty years the eyes of Eternal Justice, sanctity, and love shone and beamed upon him. One word from Jesus converted sinners into saints. St. Joseph heard and drank in divine wisdom from the lips of Jesus for some thirty years. The title Head of the Holy Family speaks volumes on the glory, sanctity, and power of St. Joseph.

Practical Resolution

The Eternal Father has honoured St. Joseph and recognized him as Head of the Holy Family; and to St. Joseph He sent His commands by His heavenly ambassadors. Jesus the Incarnate Son of God, and Mary His Immaculate Mother rendered homage and obedience to St. Joseph as Head of the household. Since Heaven has elevated St. Joseph to such a high pinnacle of glory, I resolve to regard St. Joseph all the days of my life as the greatest saint in heaven after Our Blessed Lady, next to her in dignity, sanctity, and power. St. Joseph, Head of the Holy Family, pray for me.

Prayer

Memorare to St. Joseph 

Remember, O most amiable, most benevolent, most kind, and most merciful father, St. Joseph, that the great St. Teresa assures us that she never had recourse to thy protection without obtaining relief. Animated with the same confidence, 0 dear St. Joseph, I come to thee, and groaning under the heavy burden of my many sins, I prostrate myself at thy feet. O most compassionate father, do not, I beseech thee, reject my poor and miserable prayers, but graciously hear and answer my petition. Amen. St Joseph, obtain for me the grace to love and serve my God faithfully all the days of my life.

Sancte Joseph ora pro nobis.