Today, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Foster-Father of the Son of God.
Also today, on the Feast of our great Patriarch, we celebrate the 35th Anniversary of our Institute Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara, founded on March 19, 1988 (Solemnity of St. Joseph).
This video shares the story, the spirit and the joy of our 35 years of foundation:
In anticipation of this day, our sisters all over the world have done the 33-day preparation for consecration and today we consecrate ourselves to St. Joseph, our Spiritual Father.
Consecration to St. Joseph in Dallas, TX
As a special token of honor to St. Joseph, we make available to you a musical tribute to St. Joseph: an album of hymns and songs dedicated to St. Joseph and prepared and sung by our sisters. It was first published in 2018 for our 30th anniversary, and is now accessible online for the first time. This album is offered to him especially in thanksgiving for his loving and paternal care for us from the beginning of our foundation. You can access the album here.
“Now is the time of St. Joseph!”
“Now is the time of St. Joseph!” These words of Fr. Donald Calloway ring often throughout his book Consecration to St. Joseph: the Wonders of Our Spiritual Father. This book is truly a modern-day treasure that delves deep into the richness of who St. Joseph is and his importance in the Church and the world today. It has not been until recent centuries that St. Joseph has been brought more to the forefront of knowledge and devotion in the Church; in His Divine Providence, God has kept this treasure until now, a time when he is very much needed.
Fr. Calloway quotes Pope St. John XXIII in 1961:
“In the Holy Church’s 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 Savior’s 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!”[1]
St. Joseph is needed in our world today especially for two reasons: first, in order to protect marriage and the family; and second, to assist us in the re-evangelization of the world, especially in countries and cultures that once received the Gospel and now have begun a process of rejection of the Gospel. St. Joseph is the protector of the Church and the family!
In a world marked by broken families, anti-Christian ideologies, a loss of the sense of fatherhood, and a secularization of society, St. Joseph is the trustworthy and strong pillar to whom we can turn. He who was the human image of God the Father in the home of Nazareth, will help us navigate these troubling times and will always unite us to Jesus and Mary.
We ask you to join us today as we celebrate the feast of our Spiritual Father and to pray for our sisters all over the world, daughters of St. Joseph!
St. Joseph, Guardian of Virgins and Pillar of Families, pray for us!
[1] St. Pope John XXIII, Le Voci (For the Protection of St. Joseph on the Second Vatican Council), March 19, 1961
