Dear Philothea!
This week (Monday 19th March) we celebrate the solemnity of Saint
Joseph. Our father Francis de Sales loved Saint Joseph and asked his spiritual
sons and daughters to be devoted to him. This is one of his favourite
teachings:
“Thinking about the grandeur of Saint Joseph,
consider the words, ‘Lord look with favourable eyes on the good and upright of
heart’ (cf. Psalms 36:11). I would like to say a few words about this saint
whom we love so much because he has cultivated love in every heart. My God, how
good and upright this great saint must have been if the Lord God gave him the
lofty privilege of being entrusted with His Son and the Virgin-Mother Mary!
With these two responsibilities, he could have been envied by the angels. Could
anyone in all heaven possess any grater privilege than this? Who is there among
the angels who could be compared with the queen of angels? And who can compare
with the Son of God Himself? Yet Saint Joseph was closer to them than anyone
else” (Letters 671).
As we celebrate his feast with love and joy, let us remember that he is
always there to assist us in our needs. And we pray, “Saint Joseph Master of
interior life, teach me to pray, to suffer and to be silent.”
