Friday, March 9, 2012

Praying the Novena to St Joseph, a Man of "Unreserved Trust in Divine Providence"


Every year the SOLT community prays a novena to St Joseph to honor the foster father of our Redeemer and the spouse of the glorious Virgin Mother of God.

We invite you to join us in praying this novena, March 10-18 to prepare for his Solemnity we celebrate on March 19th, in which we remember the seven privileges given him by God.

CLICK HERE for a printable PDF copy.

Here are the words of our holy father, Pope Benedict XVI about Good St Joseph:

"The beloved Pope John Paul II, who was very devoted to St Joseph, left us an awesome meditation dedicated to him in the Apostolic Exhortation Redemptoris Custos, "Guardian of the Redeemer". Among the many aspects it highlights, particular emphasis is placed on the silence of St Joseph. His is a silence permeated by contemplation of the mystery of God, in an attitude of total availability to his divine wishes. In other words, the silence of St Joseph was not the sign of an inner void, but on the contrary, of the fullness of faith he carried in his heart, and which guided each and every one of his thoughts and actions. 
A silence thanks to which Joseph, in unison with Mary, could be the guardian of the Word of God, known through the Sacred Scriptures, coming face to face with it continuously in the events of the life of Jesus; a silence interwoven with constant prayer, prayer of the blessing of the Lord, of adoration of his holy will and of unreserved trust in his providence. It is no exaggeration to say that it was from his 'father' Joseph that Jesus acquired – on the human level – that robust interiority which presupposes authentic justice, the "superior justice" which He would one day teach to his disciples (cfr Mt 5:20).