Month: <span>March 2021</span>

 

Introit
Ps 24:15-16
My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He will free my feet from the snare. Look toward me, and have pity on me, for I am alone and afflicted.

Ps 24:1-2
To You I lift up my soul, O Lord. In You, O my God, I trust; let me not be put to shame.

V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
R.As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He will free my feet from the snare. Look toward me, and have pity on me, for I am alone and afflicted.

This introit from today’s Holy Mass speaks to how many of us feel. At the same time, it provides a solution.

“Look towards me, and have pity on me, for I am alone and afflicted,” could be found on the lips of so many today. For so many, these are days of isolation. Whether the isolation of the Wuhan Devil, or the isolation of the elderly in locked down nursing homes, or the emotional isolation that comes from a seeming army of sources, so many of us know isolation and the very real affliction it brings. For myself there comes the isolation brought by my disease, which limits my speech, my movement, and my ability to go where and do what I want. I often feel like St. Peter, whom the Lord told, “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go.” This is, for all with a disease like mine, a reason to identify with St. Peter.

So, my spiritual children, what is the solution to this isolation that brings with it distress? The same introit provides the answer when the Psalmist says, “My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He will free my feet from the snare.” First, we see the virtue of hope at work in believing that the Lord will free us from the snare that holds us bound. This freedom may come in this life, but it will SURELY come in heaven. In heaven all that binds us will be loosed, all that afflicts us will be healed! No longer will there be lockdowns, unless we end in hell, where the lockdown will never end, and the isolation lasts forever.

So, that is what we hope awaits us, although we do not see it yet. Now, dear children, we turn not to what we hope for, but what can be in the here and now. “My eyes are ever toward the Lord…” This is a beautiful way of referring to prayer, where our eyes are fixed intently on the Lord. This is the solution to our isolation! When we pray we come to know that we are never alone. Jesus, with his comfort is always inviting us to lay our head upon his breast as did St. John the Beloved. We too, in prayer can hear the heartbeat of Jesus, as it beats for love of us. There, from the wounded side of Jesus we can draw strength to continue on in our affliction. Without a deep prayer life we will never survive great affliction, at least not with our faith intact. For without a deep prayer life, we will become bitter, angry, fearful, and eventually our faith will grow cold and die. What a sorry state of affairs that would be; to lose one’s soul because we did not pray.

People often ask me how it is that I am joyful and smiling during this time of affliction. The answer is simple. I pray. I spend time with the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament every day. Even when things are bad on a particular day, and I don’t get to the chapel, I draw near to Jesus who lives in my soul. No matter where we are, no matter what our affliction, we can lay our head upon the breast of the Lord and there draw deeply from the source of life and holiness, his Most Sacred Heart.

So, dear children, always pray. No matter what comes, pray. Whether disease, isolation, famine or war, pray. Whether there are troubles in the church, and divine chastisement comes upon us, even if antichrist himself appears, fix your eyes on Jesus, and pray.

Today begins the Month of St. Joseph in the Year of St. Joseph. Surely many graces will be poured into our hearts through the intercession of St. Joseph, if we but ask.

St. Joseph is much needed example and intercessor in our day. Never has the family, masculinity, and purity been so attacked. Homosexuality and transgenderism have become normal, even to the point of sex change operations being approved for children. We see the ravages of divorce on families. We see the scourge of pornography overtaking our young people, and sex trafficking at an all time high. Yes, more than ever, we need St. Joseph!

He is a model for men to emulate. He was a strong protector of the Child Jesus as well as the Virgin Mary. He was strong in his masculinity, rooted in the fatherhood of God. He was pure, having a most chaste heart. He was faithful to Mary, never leaving her and Jesus, but by the noble work of carpentry provided for them. He taught his son to pray, taught him the commandments of God, and the way to properly worship the Almighty in the temple.

How we need an army of men like St. Joseph! This month, let us beg St. Joseph to inspire the virtues of courage, purity, fidelity, noble work, leadership in faith and worship, and love of the Blessed Virgin.

Below are some of my favorite prayers to St. Joseph. Please join me this month in praying one or more of them for fathers, priests, and all men.

RESPONSORY TO ST. JOSEPH
Let us praise our God in veneration of Blessed Joseph, our protector (Alleluia).

V.  He made him master of His house (Alleluia).
R. And Lord over all His possessions (Alleluia).

Let us pray: O God, Who in Thine unspeakable providence didst deign to choose Blessed Joseph for Thy most holy Mother’s spouse, grant we beseech Thee, that we who revere him as our protector upon earth may become worthy to have him for our intercessor in heaven. Who livest and reignest for ever and ever. Amen.

PRAYER TO ST. JOSEPH, TERROR OF DEMONS
Saint Joseph, Terror of Demons, cast thy solemn gaze upon the devil and all his minions, and protect us with thy mighty staff. Thou didst flee through the night to avoid the devil’s wicked designs; now with the power of God, smite the demons as they flee from thee! Grant special protection, we pray, for children, fathers, families, priests, and the dying. By God’s grace, no demon dares approach while thou art near, so we beg of thee, always be near to us! Amen.

PRAYER OF THE HOLY CLOAK
O Glorious Patriarch St. Joseph, you who were chosen by God above all men to be the earthly head of the most holy of families, I beseech you to accept me within the folds of your holy cloak, that you may become the guardian and custodian of my soul. From this moment on, I choose you as my father, my protector, my counselor, my patron, and I beseech you to place in your custody my body, my soul, all that I am, all that I possess, my life, and my death. Look upon me as one of your children; defend me from the treachery of my enemies, invisible or otherwise, assist me at all times in all my necessities; console me in the bitterness of my life, and especially at the hour of my death. Say but one word for me to the Divine Redeemer whom you were deemed worthy to hold in your arms, and to the Blessed Virgin Mary, your most chaste spouse. Request for me those blessings which will lead me to salvation. Include me amongst those who are most dear to you and I shall set forth to prove myself worthy of your special patronage. Amen.

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