Donald H. Calloway - Consecration to St. Joseph

Devotion to St. Joseph is one of the choicest graces thatGod can give to a soul, for it is tantamount to revealing the entiretreasury of our Lords graces. When God wishes to raise a soul togreater heights, he unites it to St. Joseph by giving it a strong love forthe good saint.

~ St. Peter Julian Eymard

CONSECRATION

TO ST. JOSEPH

THE WONDERS OF

OUR SPIRITUAL FATHER

By Donald H. Cal oway, MIC

Copyright 2020 Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M. All rights reserved.

Available from:

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Websites: fathercalloway.com

consecrationtostjoseph.org

Publication Date:

January 1, 2020. Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

In Honor of the 150th Anniversary of the Proclamation of St. Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church (1870-2020)

IMPRIMATUR

Most Rev. Jeffrey Monforton, DD

Bishop of Steubenville, Ohio

October 22, 2019

Imprimi Potest

Very Rev. Kazimierz Chwalek, MIC

Provincial Superior

The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy Province

October 10, 2019

Nihil Obstat

Dr. Robert A. Stackpole, STD

Censor Deputatus

August 31, 2019

Note: The Nihil Obstat and corresponding Imprimatur and/or Imprimi Potest is not a certification that those granting it agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed in the work; instead, it merely confirms that it contains nothing contrary to faith or morals.

Library of Congress Catalog Number: 2019953316

ISBN: 978-1-59614-522-1

Cover Image: The artist of the cover image is unknown. All attempts have been made by Marian Press to locate and give credit to the artist. In the event that the identity of the artist becomes known, all due recognition will be given in future editions.

Acknowledgments: Mr. and Mrs. Donald & LaChita Calloway, Matthew T. Calloway, Ileana E. Salazar, Teresa de Jesus Macias, Milanka Lachman, Bethany Price, Fr. Richard Heilman, Colleen Faley

Dedication

To the many people who prayed that

this book would come to fruition.

Your prayers and sacrifices made it happen!

Thank you!

INTRODUCTION

I did not understand him [St. Joseph] well enough, but that will change.

St. John of the Cross

In the 16th century, St. John of the Cross, one of the greatest mystics of the Church, humbly acknowledged that he lacked a proper understanding of the greatness of St. Joseph. Inspired by the tremendous love that his friend, St. Teresa of Avila, had for St. Joseph, St. John of the Cross made a firm resolution to get to know and love St. Joseph better.

What about you? Do you know St. Joseph? Do you feel you understand his greatness and love for you? Well, my friends, get ready! Consecration toSt. Joseph is going to unveil the wonders of St. Joseph like never before!

Now is the time of St. Joseph!

Its a bold claim, I admit. Yet I truly believe that in our day the Lord wants to direct our hearts, families, parishes, dioceses, and Church to St.

Joseph in a major way. This action of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church has been gaining momentum for a very long time.

Dont get me wrong: Saint Joseph has always held a special place in Christians hearts. Across the centuries, saints, popes, mystics, scholars, and laity alike have praised and extolled the greatness of St. Joseph. In the 16th century, the Holy Spirit used St. Teresa of Avila to bring about a greater awareness of St. Joseph in the Church. Even before St. Teresa, saints such as St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Bernardine of Siena, and St. Lawrence of Brindisi strongly emphasized the greatness of St. Joseph.

In more recent times, Blessed William Joseph Chaminade, St. Peter Julian Eymard, Blessed Petra of St. Joseph, and St. Andr Bessette have kept devotion to St. Joseph prominent in the lives of Gods people. Indeed, St. Andr Bessette initiated construction on what has become the worlds largest church dedicated to St. Joseph St. Josephs Oratory in Montreal, Canada. Saint Jos Manyanet, a priest in 19th-century Spain, fervently promoted devotion to St. Joseph and the Holy Family. He prophesied that a

time of St. Joseph would soon arrive in the life of the Church. He wrote: I believe that the true time of Saint Joseph has not arrived yet: after two thousand years we started only now to glimpse something of the mystery in which he is

Well, my friends, guess what? Now is the time of St. Joseph! How can I state this with such conviction? Simple: God has given us clear indications that he wants his people to pay more attention to St. Joseph clearer indications than in any previous era in Church history. In 1961, St. Pope John XXIII put it very bluntly. He wrote:

In the Holy Churchs worship, right from the beginning, Jesus, the Word of God made man, has enjoyed the adoration that belongs to him, incommunicable as the splendor of the substance of his Father, a splendor reflected in the glory of his saints. From the earliest times, Mary, his mother, was close behind him, in the pictures in the catacombs and the basilicas, where she was devoutly venerated as

Holy Mother of God. But Joseph, except for some slight sprinkling of references to him here and there in the writings of the Fathers [of the Church], for long centuries remained in the background, in his characteristic concealment, almost as a decorative figure in the overall picture of the Saviors life. It took time for devotion to him to go beyond those passing glances and take root in the hearts of the faithful, and then surge forth in the form of special prayers and of a profound sense of trusting abandonment. The fervent joy of pouring forth these deepest feelings of the heart in so many impressive ways has been saved for modern times!

What the Vicar of Christ clearly stated is that now is the time of St.

Joseph. We are living in modern times, the time in which the Church is witnessing an unprecedented era of devotion to St. Joseph. According to St.

Pope John XXIII, God desires devotion to St. Joseph to surge forth in our day in the form of special prayers of trusting abandonment. This means one thing in particular: Its time for total consecration to St. Joseph!

Let me explain further about how God has been leading the Church to this moment.

In 2018, I published a daily devotional to St. Joseph entitled St. JosephGems: Daily Wisdom on Our Spiritual Father. In the introduction, I present a list of remarkable events divine indicators, if you will that have taken place over the past 150 years that show St. Josephs increasing importance in the life of the Church. They clearly indicate that we are living in an unprecedented time of St. Joseph. Heres the list:

1868 Blessed Jean-Joseph Lataste, OP, writes a letter to Blessed Pope Pius IX asking him to declare St. Joseph the Patron of the Universal Church.

1870 Blessed Pope Pius IX declares St. Joseph the Patron of the Universal Church.

1871 Founding of the Josephites by Cardinal Herbert A. Vaughan 1873 Founding of the Congregation of St. Joseph by St. Leonardo Murialdo