St Joseph: A support and a guide in times of trouble

Close to Christmas I was visiting the patients at Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre. Usually that day we plan to do a Mass by a patient’s bedside. This mass is meant to be of support to the patient as well as to his and her family.

I remember going to a patient to do the Mass by her bedside. However, this patient simply was not feeling well. Hence, there was a room for change of plans. I remember that on my way to this patient I saw another patient, who as at the four-bedded room, surrounded by his relatives. An hour and a half before I was called to administer to him the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. A voice in my heart of hearts convinced me to ask his family and relatives if they were happy that I do the Mass there. They were elated by this offer. Therefore, I went to the nurse, asked her to give me a sheet, put the sheet on the bed side-table, prepared the things for Mass and we started to celebrate the Eucharistic sacrifice.

From the brief exchanges I had before Mass I got to know that this patient was coming from a parish dedicated to St Joseph. As you know, St Joseph is the patron saint of the dying. During Mass we mentioned him and asked God for his powerful intercession. After communion, following some time of silence, we together invoked St Joseph by the powerful prayer written by Pope Leo XIII. Then, after the final blessing and the prayer of St Michael, we played on the JBL the titular hymn dedicated to St Joseph. The man started to sing it. Tears simply flowed from his eyes. His family and myself cried too. It was such a special moment in the life of that family and, most importantly, in the life of our brother who was preparing to meet Our Lord. We all felt that St Joseph was with us, helping and supporting us in his usual manner, excellent yet silent.

As soon as the Mass ended his family literally showered me with many thankyous and also showed their appreciation in other ways too. The told me: Father, we shall never forget this Mass. It was too special for all of us. Thanks be to the Holy Spirit who showed us how to care for this humble man of great faith as well as for his family who, I got to know, some of its members are well integrated in the parish’s ministry.

This experience made think of some parts of that famous apostolic letter which Pope Francis wrote on the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of St Joseph as patron of the Universal Church, Patris Corde. He wrote: That child would go on to say: “As you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40).  Consequently, every poor, needy, suffering or dying person, every stranger, every prisoner, every infirm person is “the child” whom Joseph continues to protect. For this reason, Saint Joseph is invoked as protector of the unfortunate, the needy, exiles, the afflicted, the poor and the dying.  Consequently, the Church cannot fail to show a special love for the least of our brothers and sisters, for Jesus showed a particular concern for them and personally identified with them. From Saint Joseph, we must learn that same care and responsibility. We must learn to love the child and his mother, to love the sacraments and charity, to love the Church and the poor. Each of these realities is always the child and his mother (no.5).

Of particular interest, this experience helped me to appreciate and treasure what Pope Francis wrote about St Joseph within the same apostolic letter: Each of us can discover in Joseph – the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence – an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble. Saint Joseph reminds us that those who appear hidden or in the shadows can play an incomparable role in the history of salvation. A word of recognition and of gratitude is due to them all.

 

Let us pray to St Joseph with Pope Francis this prayer daily:

Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To you God entrusted his only Son;
in you Mary placed her trust;
with you Christ became man.

Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father
and guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy and courage,
and defend us from every evil. Amen. (no.7).

 

Let us consecrate ourselves to St Joseph daily:

O Glorious Patriarch and Patron of the Church! O Virgin Spouse of the Virgin Mother of God! O Guardian and Virginal Father of the Word Incarnate! In the presence of Jesus and Mary, I choose you this day to be my father, my guardian, and my protector.

O great St. Joseph, whom God has made the Head of the Holy Family, accept me, I beseech you, though utterly unworthy, to be a member of your “Holy House.” Present me to your Immaculate Spouse; ask her also to adopt me as her child. With her, pray that I may constantly think of Jesus, and serve him faithfully to the end of my life. O Terror of Demons, increase in me virtue, protect me from the evil one, and help me not to offend God in any way.

O my Spiritual Father, I hereby consecrate myself to you. In faithful imitation of Jesus and Mary, I place myself and all my concerns under your care and protection. To you, after Jesus and Mary, I consecrate my body and soul, with all their faculties, my spiritual growth, my home, and all my affairs and undertakings.

Forsake me not, but adopt me as a servant and child of the Holy Family. Watch over me at all times, but especially at the hour of my death. Console and strengthen me with the presence of Jesus and Mary so that, with you, I may praise and adore the Holy Trinity for all eternity. Amen.

 

Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap