On St. Joseph's Day 2014

These are a few excerpts from my favorite book on St. Joseph, written by the visionary Sr. Maria Cecilia Baij, O.S.B., Abbess of the Benedictine Convent of St. Peter in Montefiascone, Italy (1743-1766).  

Normally this book sells for $60 via Amazon.

101Foundation.com sells it for less than $10.  I highly, HIGHLY recommend this book.  It gave me such a new love for St. Joseph, and I have since developed quite the devotion to him, especially through his incredibly loving devotion to the Blessed Mother and little Jesus.

I hope you enjoy!

Joseph of Egypt and St. Joseph

[Joseph of Egypt] was the prototype of our Joseph.  As [Joseph of Egypt] had been loved more than all the other children by his father, so our Joseph was loved by God the Father more than any other male creature, since He had predestined him to be the father of His Incarnate Word and the spouse of the Mother of the Son of God.  Joseph of Egypt was invested by his father in a costly garment; our Joseph was adorned by the Heavenly Father with sanctifying grace...

Joseph of Egypt explained the meaning of dreams; our Joseph possessed an angel companion who instructed him in his dreams and advised him what he should do to please God and accomplish His will.  

The one was a representative of the king of Egypt; our Joseph was the representative of God in the Egypt of the world.  The one remained faithful to the Lord in that he left another's spouse untouched; our Joseph remained loyal to the Holy Spirit, in that he never violated the physical integrity of the Latter's spouse and his own - nay, more, he even became the guardian of her purity.

The one preserved the harvest of grain for the benefit of the Egyptian people; our Joseph was the protector of that Life which was destined to be the Wheat of the elect, the nourishment and strength of the faithful.  The one was a source of consolation for his parents and the whole of Egypt; our Joseph was a source of consolation to the Divine Word, Whom he nourished by means of his labours and sweat, and to the Mother of Jesus in all Her journeyings.  He was, and still is, a consolation for all faithful souls in their necessities, especially at the hour of death.

St. Joseph as Protector of the travelling Holy Family

Oh how sad and disconsolate Joseph would become, because of Jesus and Mary! He would attempt to arrange his cloak as a roof over their heads.  The Saint managed to do this with such love and skillfulness, that it seemed to Them, They were actually in a tiny hut.

Underneath this covering Jesus and Mary would spend the night quite happily, for they were supremely content in such a state of poverty.  Joseph was stricken with anguish over the things Jesus and Mary endured, and his own inability to help Them in their poverty and in Their other serious needs.  

Whenever Joseph found himself in such an extremity, he had recourse to the Heavenly Father and begged Him not to consider how unworthy he was to be His servant, but to consider the needs of His Divine Son and of Mary, and in view of this, to provide for Them.  

St. Joseph Called "Father" by Jesus for the 1st Time

Upon seeing Joseph, He called out to him: "Father!" and then flung Himself into his arms and caressed him with His tiny hands.

The joy of hearing himself called "father" for the first time moved Joseph to tears. He considered himself to be wholly unworthy of it, and he made it very evident how grateful he was for the honor that the child Jesus was giving him by doing so. He ardently thanked the holy Child, and besought his most holy spouse also to give thanks in his behalf to God and to His Son...

Being thus called, "father," by the Child Jesus, proved to be, for Joseph, a continuing source of comfort, because on every such occasion he felt his heart forcibly drawn to Jesus and increasingly filled with love for Him.  He often found diversion in speaking to Mary of the immense condescension that was being shown to him by Jesus, and he gave Her to understand what effects it produced in his soul... 

Joseph did not venture to address Jesus as his Son, though his paternal love made him feel most desirous of doing so.  He asked Mary if it would be proper for him to address Jesus in this manner.  Mary ascertained from Jesus that, inasmuch as He Himself deigned to call Joseph, "father," and also assigned him to his paternal position here upon earth, He thereby granted him the privilege of calling Him "Son."  He furthermore declared that it was the will of the Heavenly Father that He, Jesus, should make Himself subject in this manner to Joseph, just as if He were truly his own offspring, and that consequently, Joseph should freely address Him as "Son" and deal with Him as if he were His real father.

Joseph's heart was jubilant as Mary transmitted these things to him, and he shed copious tears as a result of the consolations that he experienced.  At the same time, he gave thanks to God, in union with Mary.  To himself he remarked: "I am indeed blessed in being the possessor of this delightful privilege which allows me to address the Divine Incarnate Word, the Son of the Eternal Father, as "my Son."

Finally, he exclaimed aloud: "Oh Jesus, my Son.  Oh my Son, my Jesus!" Whereupon, he went into an ecstasy."