Posted on 03/20/2006 8:06:43 PM PST by Pyro7480
Nothing Will Be Denied Him
Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer,
President Human Life International
When the Lord Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father accompanied by the mightiest angels in all their glory, a simple, humble man emerged from the multitude of redeemed souls to greet his Lord with deepest joy. As he approached the throne of grace all the angels and souls reverently formed a passage for the man to come into the Lords presence.
My son, said the man, how is your mother?
My dear father! replied the Lord of heaven and earth, How long I have waited in the valley of tears to see you again! My labors are now over, the kingdom of darkness is vanquished, and we are reunited. You who fed, bathed and clothed my body on earth in your authority as father must now come up higher and take your place as master of my mystical body, the Church. When Mother arrives in due time, we will reign as a family once again! I promise that nothing will be withheld from you who held nothing back from me in your earthly life. Welcome into the joy of our Fathers kingdom!
And Joseph bowed and kissed his Son with the same fatherly tenderness as on the day he first laid eyes on his newborn Child in Bethlehem.
I dont believe that there is any way to calculate Our Lords love for his earthly fatherthe word infinite does not quite capture its breadth. Nor can we begin to estimate the reverence that the Queen of Angels has for her earthly spouse. Both Jesus and Mary spent the prime years of their earthly lives at his sidebeing served by himand will open our eyes to the virtue of this man if we seek to know him better.
It is Josephs discerning strength that we need after all, isnt it? We beg for an adequate mentor to overcome lifes innumerable challenges and temptations. We need a spiritual Rock of Gibraltar to shore up our flagging spirits. We are striving to make it to the very end of this journey through the valley of tears and we need a strong companion, one who is familiar with the role of protective guide on a long journey.
Who of us could deny any request of a father who sacrificed his livelihood, his career ambitions and the best years of his life to form us and make us who we are today? Jesus witnessed the mature obedience of Joseph to the will of His heavenly Father and therefore knows that Josephs intercession for us will always be in perfect conformity with Gods plan of salvation. He knows that Joseph will teach us, guide us and strengthen our vocations just as he did for the Divine Son of God. This is another way of saying that anything Joseph asks from Jesus on our behalf will not be denied.
When it comes to our devotion to St. Joseph, we only lack one thing: we dont ask enough!
Catholic ping!
No disrespect, but why not ask God Himself? Why do we need middlemen, even saintly middlemen?
BTTT!
The Heart of a Father [St. Joseph]
Quemadmodum Deus - Decree Under Blessed Pius IX, Making St. Joseph Patron of the Church
St. Joseph [Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary], Solemnity, March 19
MORE THAN PATRON OF HOMES, IT'S TIME FOR ST. JOSEPH TO GAIN HIGHEST OF RECOGNITION [Fatherhood]
(Saint) Joseph the Patriarch: A Reflection on the Solemnity of St. Joseph
How I Rediscovered a "Neglected" Saint: Work of Art Inspires Young Man to Rediscover St. Joseph
The Importance of Devotion to St. Joseph
St. Francis de Sales on St. Joseph (Some Excerpts for St. Joseph's Day 2004)
St. Joseph: REDEMPTORIS CUSTOS (Guardian Of The Redeemer)
St. Joseph's Humility (By St. Francis de Sales)
March 19 - Feast of St. Joseph - Husband of Mary - Intercessor of civil leaders
St. Joseph's Spirit of Silence
Father & Child (An Evangelical Minister preaches on St. Joseph)
We all ask someone to pray for us at one time or another. Why, I bet even you have done that!!
"Go to Joseph." He never fails, particularly for work.
When you are in crisis, do you not invite the most powerful prayer warriors that you know to pray for you?
That reading made me choke up.
Jesus Christ, son of God and son of Mary, who gave all that we might have life, have mercy on us!
O Mary, conceived without sin, Mother whose gentle yes has shown us the way to respond to the Father's call, pray for us now and at the hour of our deaths, Amen!
St. Joseph, guardian of the family and guardian of the church, gentle friend and companion in our troubles, pray for us, now and at the hour of our deaths, Amen!
Holy Family, watch over us all, and may we who love the Lord come in the end to the joys of Heaven.
Amen.
Perhaps, but I do not pray to them.
Neither do we.
So why would you pray to St. Joseph? He was just a man. He is not the father of God; he is not Zeus.
St. Joseph bump. Thanks for posting the link on the Catholic Caucus thread, Salvation.
Pope John Paul II, in his Angelus Message on March 17, 2002, stressed that Saint Joseph is a model of fatherhood in the following excerpts:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The day after tomorrow, March 19, we will celebrate the solemnity of Saint Joseph, spouse of the Virgin Mary and patron of the universal Church. The extreme discretion with which Joseph carried out the role entrusted to him by God highlights his faith even more, which consisted in always listening to the Lord, seeking to understand his will and to obey it with his whole heart and strength. This is why the Gospel describes him as a "just" man (Mt 1,19). In fact, the just man is the person who prays, lives by faith, and seeks to do good in every concrete circumstance of life.Saint Joseph and fathers
Faith nourished by prayer: this is the most precious treasure that Saint Joseph transmits to us. Generations of fathers have followed in his footsteps who, with the example of a simple and laborious life, imprinted on their children's souls the inestimable value of faith, without which every other good runs the risk of being in vain. So even now, I am happy to assure all fathers of a special prayer, on the day dedicated to them: I ask God that they be men of a robust interior life, in order to fulfil their mission in the family and society in an exemplary way.
Saint Joseph
What we know about the life of Saint Joseph is contained in the gospels of Saint Matthew and Saint Luke. He has become known as the "Just man".
The name foster-father of Our Lord appears in local martyrologies of the ninth and tenth centuries. The first church dedicated in his honor was in 1129 in Bologna. Pope Sixtus IV(1471-84) added the feast of Saint Joseph to the Roman Calendar. Pope Pius IX placed the whole Church under the Patronage of Saint Joseph in 1870.
In 1989, Pope John Paul II reflected deeply on the life and witness of Saint Joseph in Redemptoris Custos "Guardian of the Redeemer" (q.v).
Among the saints known to have had particular devotions to Saint Joseph are Saint Bernard, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Gertrude, Saint Bridget of Sweden, Saint Alphonsus and Saint Teresa of Avila.
As the Bible tells us, Saint Joseph was descended from the royal house of David. A village carpenter of Nazareth, he was chosen among all men to be the husband and protector of the Virgin Mother of Jesus Christ. To his loving care was entrusted the childhood and youth of the Redeemer of the world. He reveals to us the perfect model of Christianity through his purity of heart, patience, and fortitude.
Poor in worldly possessions, he was rich in grace. Devotion to Saint Joseph, was fervent in the East from the early ages, and has spread and increased. Today, Catholics of all nations honor him.
There are many stories about the miraculous intervention of Saint Joseph. One is a medieval account of how a famine in Sicily was ended after a Novena to Saint Joseph. A more recent story is of the mysterious "itinerant carpenter" who volunteered to build an architecturally unique spiral staircase in a convent chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which is as sound today as when it was first built, and has never needed repair.
According to ancient tradition, Saint Joseph watches over and protects the Church. He is considered the model of perfect Christian life and the patron of a happy death. His patronage extends over the Mystical Body of Christ, over the Christian family and schools, carpenters, fathers, laborers, and all individuals who appeal to his charity and intercession, especially in the hour of death. Joseph, when dying, received the loving ministry of his foster Son, Jesus, and his spouse, the Blessed Virgin Mary, so it is believed that his intercession may well obtain the mercy of God and the grace of a peaceful and holy death.
His feast is celebrated on March 19, and a special memorial to Saint Joseph the Worker is observed on May 1.
That is one of the most beautiful things I have ever read. Now I’m all choked up! Praise God for such a wonderful teaching!
What is the source of this teaching?
Which teaching?
The one in the original post, about The Lord meeting Saint Joseph in Heaven.
I think it was just the author’s meditation on the event.
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