Day 1 - Consecration to St. Joseph
Consecration to St. Joseph - Day 1 of Preparation
Welcome to Day 1 of our 33-Day Preparation for Consecration to St. Joseph. I imagine that each of you has a unique reason why you’re embarking on this journey. For me, I made the consecration last year when Fr. Donald Calloway’s book, “Consecration to St. Joseph” first came available in December 2019. My interest in St. Joseph grew gradually.
My earliest memory of St. Joseph is when I was in grade school in Dallas. My family attended a Korean Catholic Church in downtown Dallas consecrated as St. Andrew Kim Catholic Church, named after the first Korean born Catholic priest and martyr in 1977. The church was an old formerly German Catholic Church whose congregation had moved on. The church was originally consecrated as St. Joseph Catholic Church. The Bishop of Dallas allowed the Korean community to establish itself there. In the church was a side altar dedicated to St. Joseph; I do remember kneeling there to pray as a kid. Looking back, St. Joseph had a hand in my formation as a priest even as early as my grade school days. I was the second native Korean vocation to come forth from that parish.
How has your own faith journey crossed paths with St. Joseph? I imagine that there are many hidden ways that St. Joseph has been involved in your life. Can you share your own story?
Fr. Calloway believes that now is the time for St. Joseph to be at the forefront of the life of the church. He says that we need the spiritual fatherhood of St. Joseph to help protect marriage and family, and we need St. Joseph’s assistance to re-evangelize the vast majority of baptized Christians.
In his book, Fr. Calloway explains what consecration means. To consecrate ourselves to St. Joseph means that we acknowledge that he is our spiritual father. No doubt God is the ultimate Father, but dads, granddads, godfathers, and other father figures share in the Fatherhood of God. To consecrate ourselves to St. Joseph does not diminish God’s role as the Father; rather, we are honoring the gift of fatherhood God entrusted to St. Joseph. In a sense, we are entrusting ourselves to St. Joseph’s paternal care so that he can lovingly help us acquire his virtues and become holy.
St. Peter Julian Eymard wrote, “When God wishes to raise a soul to greater heights, he unites it to St. Joseph by giving it a strong love for the good saint.” Imagine, you’re embarking on this preparation because God desires for you to be at a greater spiritual height.
This consecration is for all who want to grow in holiness, especially in the virtues St. Joseph possessed and modeled to those he encountered.
Below is an outline of instructions I will be sending out each day. There is a short video that Fr. Calloway prepared for us to watch. To get the most out of the preparation process, I encourage you to obtain his consecration book (available both print and eBook). You can order his book here: www.consecrationtostjoseph.org. His books are also available on Amazon and Amazon Kindle (and Barnes and Noble, Nook) eBook. The link to purchase an ebook is here: www.tinyurl.com/1lfccu9m
1. Watch: the video below.
2. READ: the Introduction to "Consecration to St. Joseph:the Wonders of Our Spiritual Father.
3. READ: Day 1
4. PRAY: the Veni Sancte Spiritus and the Litany of St. Joseph below.
5. READ: WONDER 1 - Delight of Saints
6. REFLECT: On the Question:
What has drawn you to participate in this 33-day preparation and consecration to St. Joseph? How did you hear about it?
*Video of Fr. Calloway: https://youtu.be/PyjQDhIWpp4
Pray “Veni, Sancte Spiritus” (Come, Holy Spirit)
Come Holy Spirit, send down those beams,
Which gently flow, in silent streams,
From thy bright Throne above:
Come Thou enricher of the poor,
And bounteous source of all our store;
Come, fill us with thy love.
Come Thou our souls delicious Guest;
The wearied Pilgrim’s sweetest rest;
The Sufferer’s best relief:
Come Thou our passions cool Allay;
Whose comfort wipes all tears away,
And turns to joy all grief.
Come thou bright Sun, shoot home thy darts
Pierce to the center of our hearts,
And make our faith love thee:
Without thy grace, without thy light,
Our strength is weakness, our day night,
We can nor move, nor see.
Lord wash our sinful stains away;
Water from Heav’n our barren clay;
Our many bruises heal:
To thy sweet yoke our stiff necks bow;
Warm with thy fire our hearts of snow,
Our wand’ring feet repeal.
O grant thy Faithful, dearest Lord,
Whose only hope is thy sure word,
The seven gifts of thy Spirit:
Grant us in life to obey thy grace;
Grant us at death to see thy face;
And endless joys inherit. Amen.
Pray the Litany of St. Joseph
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
Saint Joseph, pray for us.
Noble Offspring of David, pray for us.
Light of Patriarchs, pray for us.
Spouse of the Mother of God, pray for us.
Chaste Guardian of the Virgin, pray for us.
Foster-Father of the Son of God, pray for us.
Zealous Defender of Christ, pray for us.
Head of the Holy Family, pray for us.
Joseph Most Just, pray for us.
Joseph Most Chaste, pray for us.
Joseph Most Prudent, pray for us.
Joseph Most Courageous, pray for us.
Joseph Most Obedient, pray for us.
Joseph Most Faithful, pray for us.
Mirror of Patience, pray for us.
Lover of Poverty, pray for us.
Model of Workmen, pray for us.
Glory of Domestic Life, pray for us.
Guardian of Virgins, pray for us.
Pillar of Families, pray for us.
Comfort of the Afflicted, pray for us.
Hope of the Sick, pray for us.
Patron of the Dying, pray for us.
Terror of Demons, pray for us.
Protector of the Holy Church, pray for us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.
V. He has made him lord of his household,
R. And prince over all his possessions.
Let us pray.
O God, who, in your loving providence, chose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of your most Holy Mother, grant us the favor of having him for our intercessor in heaven whom on earth we venerate as our protector. You, who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
