Wonderful St. Joseph!

O Saint Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in thee all my interests and desires. O thou Saint Joseph, do assist me by thy powerful intercession, and obtain for me from thy divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord; so that, having engaged here below thy heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of fathers. O Saint Joseph, I never weary contemplating thee, and Jesus asleep in thy arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near thy heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me, and ask Him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. Saint Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for me. Amen!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy and blessed day to all of the fathers out there and all who are in a father role. Let's not forget about our priests!

Dear St. Joseph, please look down upon fathers and priests everywhere today and always! Amen.

God bless your day! May it be filled with family fun and togetherness. :)

God bless and hugs,

Donna-Marie

St. Joseph the Worker

Today is the feast of St. Joseph the Worker.

"Apparently in response to the “May Day” celebrations for workers sponsored by Communists, Pius XII instituted the feast of St. Joseph the Worker in 1955. But the relationship between Joseph and the cause of workers has a longer history.
In a constantly necessary effort to keep Jesus from being removed from ordinary human life, the Church has from the beginning proudly emphasized that Jesus was a carpenter, obviously trained by Joseph in both the satisfactions and the drudgery of that vocation. Humanity is like God not only in thinking and loving, but also in creating. Whether we make a table or a cathedral, we are called to bear fruit with our hands and mind, ultimately for the building up of the Body of Christ."

(From A Saint A Day)

Happy Feast of Saint Joseph!

Have a wonderful feast of St. Joseph! I love him, he's awesome! Of course, he's included in my book, "Catholic Saints Prayer Book" (OSV, 2008).

Here's a prayer from the Roman Missal:

Father, you entrusted our Savior to the care of St. Joseph. By the help of his prayers may your Church continue to serve its Lord, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen."

Here's an excerpt from my book:

Dear St. Joseph, you were an ordinary man, a humble carpenter. But you were a prayerful, holy soul, the foster father of Jesus, a model for us all. Please guide me in my own journey through life, and help me be aware of God's specific call to me. Help me to see that in my own life God is calling me to greater things for His glory. Please pray to the Blessed Trinity for me to be granted the graces that I need most. I pray that I can be faithful to my state of life, totally trusting in God's divine providence for me. St. Joseph, pray for all who invoke your aid. If it is in God's holy will, please grant me (here mention your request). Amen.

Have a very BLESSED feast day!

Donna-Marie

I love Saint Joseph!

I want to share a little story with you. My friend has been looking for a place to live for a while. She has been staying with friends temporarily. Certainly she was very appreciative for the place to stay with her friends. However, she wanted to give them some space so they could accomodate their visiting relatives for the holidays. I had recommended that she pray to St. Joseph, since he is the head of the Holy Family and always took care of Jesus and Mary, finding them places to live. My dear friend and spiritual director, Fr. Bill taught me about St. Joseph quite some time ago and I am so thankful that he introduced me to him! He has always been good to me!

My friend has been trying to find a home for herself and her two children. She told me the other day that stables are beginning to look good to her, referring of course, to St. Joseph and Mary ending up at the stable because there was no room at the inn. Each time I talk with this friend, I promise my prayers and try to encourage her and the other day told her that "Home is in your mother's eyes" and that wherever she ends up for Christmas, it will be home. She was planning to rent a hotel room while waiting for a home to come through and plans to get a small Christmas tree and put up her creche there and celebrate the coming of the Christ Child.

So, the other day we spoke and things still didn't look promising at all. After I got off the phone with her, I pleaded with St. Joseph, whom I love and who has helped me so much in the past. St. Joseph, can you PLEASE help ****? Please, St, Joseph, she needs a place to have Christmas with her children. Please help her according to God's holy will." I then thought about a place that could possibly work out. I called a friend whom I knew had a guest house to see if something could be arranged there. No room at that inn either, because they generously had taken in a family who was already staying there.

The phone rang last night and it was my friend calling to tell me her news. She had called a few more places looking into rentals. She told me that one of her inquiries was answered by a gentleman. He left her a phone message about the house that he had for rent, telling her that he was impressed with the manner in which she had inquired. He wanted to meet with her to discuss things. At the end of the message he said, "This is Joseph, the carpenter."

How do you like that?!