Feb. 8, 2021: Divine Mercy Week 1 - St. Joseph, Mainstay of Families
Feb. 8, 2021: Divine Mercy Week 1 - St. Joseph, Mainstay of Families
* Pray the Chaplet virtually at the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow, Poland (Youtube)
When we are all able to travel again, I would love to lead a pilgrimage to Krakow, Poland, the homeland of St. Faustina and the Shrine of Divine Mercy. I would love for you to see the Chapel where the miraculous image of Merciful Jesus and the tomb of St. Faustina are enshrined. The chapel was consecrated in 1891 and dedicated to St. Joseph. It has two side altars. On the left side altar is a miraculous image of Merciful Jesus painted by Adolf Hyla and the reliquary of St. Faustina’s bones. On the right side altar is an image of St. Joseph holding Child Jesus.
When a young novice enters religious life with the Congregation of Our Lady of Mercy, she is instructed to entrust herself to the care of St. Joseph. St. Faustina received the same instruction. In one journal entry, St. Faustina wrote, “St. Joseph urged me to have a constant devotion to him. He himself told me to recite three prayers [the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be] and the Memorare [to St. Joseph] once every day. He looked at me with great kindness and helped me to know how much he is supporting this work [of mercy]. He has promised me this special help and protection. I recite the requested prayers every day and feel his special protection.” St. Faustina came to know that St. Joseph was the pillar of her religious congregation, her own vocation, as well as the pillar of her mission as the Apostle of Divine Mercy.
One of the titles given to St. Joseph is the mainstay or the pillar of families. If we look at the life of St. Joseph we can understand why. God the Father had entrusted to St. Joseph what was most precious to Him--His Son Jesus and Blessed Mother. St. Joseph faithfully embraced God’s will for him. He trusted that Mary was pregnant with the Messiah; he protected Mary and Baby Jesus after the birth; he provided for the family while exiled in Egypt and after their return to Nazareth.
When declaring the year of St. Joseph, Pope Francis said that St. Joseph was a beloved father, a tender and loving father, an obedient father, an accepting father; a father who is creatively courageous, a working father, a father in the shadows. We pray that St. Joseph will help teach the men in our families to have a heart like him. May all families implore St. Joseph this year to be the pillar of their families to provide, to protect and to guide them. Just as St. Joseph himself urged St. Faustina, let’s make the small prayer of Memorare to Saint Joseph part of our family prayer this year.
Memorare to Saint Joseph
Remember, O most chaste spouse of the Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who asked for your help and sought your intercession was left unaided.
Full of confidence in your power, I hasten to you and beg your protection. Listen, O foster father of the Redeemer, to my humble prayer, and in your goodness hear and answer me. Amen.
https://youtu.be/l53kpEbRUWo
