St. Joseph's Corner: Stations of the Cross

The Virtues Jesus Teaches Us 

on the 

Way of Cross

My Lord, I greet You and look at You in wonder.  

I hope to learn Your virtues, how to value them, how to make them my own.

1st station -  Jesus is condemned to death

Your boundless submission to the will of Your Father - 

let me contemplate it in love; 

step by step, as Your child

My Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on me.

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2nd station - Jesus takes up His Cross

Your heroic love of the cross -

 let me follow Your path.

My Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on me.

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3rd station - Jesus falls the first time

Your uncomplaining patience - 

let me try to imitate it at every opportunity.

My Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on me.

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4th station - Jesus meets His afflicted Mother

Your complete renunciation of even Your holiest associates - 

I must do the same, in spirit.

My Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on me.

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5th station - Simon helps Jesus carry His Cross

Your divinely magnificent humility - 

let me be earnest in my attempt to grow like You.

My Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on me.

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6th station - Veronica wipes the Face of Jesus

The moving depths of Your gratitude - 

if only I could approach them.

My Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on me.

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7th station - Jesus falls the second time

Your unwavering determination in submitting to sacrifice - 

I shall form a like spirit.

My Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on me.

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8th station - Jesus speaks to the women of Jerusalem

Your tender understanding of others' needs - 

I must learn to sympathize in the same way.

My Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on me.

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9th station - Jesus falls the third time

Your faithfulness to a calling of sacrifice,

even when the storms heap up waves on every side - 

let me be just as loyal.

My Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on me.

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10th station - Jesus is stripped of His garments

Your complete detachment from every earthly thing, body and soul - 

let me be detached as well, from everything.

My Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on me.

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11th station - Jesus is nailed to the Cross

Your uncomplaining spirit of abandonment,

in the midst of deepest bodily pain and cruel treatment

and spiritual barrenness - 

let me be one with You.

My Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on me.

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12th station - Jesus dies on the Cross

Your generosity which knew no bounds - 

let my offer be equally boundless.

My Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on me.

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13th station - Jesus is taken down from the Cross

Your acceptance of the will of God in all its detail - 
let me accept all He sends.

My Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on me.

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14th station - Jesus is placed in the tomb

Your trust that all will not be in vain -
let despair never dampen my efforts toward sanctity.

My Lord Jesus Crucified, have mercy on me.


O Lord, I know that if I do not love You with all my heart,
 with all my mind, with all my soul, and with all my strength,
I shall love something else totally.
Grant that in putting You first in all my loving,
I may be free from all lesser loves and loyalties
and have You as my first love,
my chiefest good, and my final joy.
Amen.

St. Joseph's Corner: Devotion to St. Joseph

            Are you aware that each day of the week is dedicated to one of the Saints or a Mystery of our Catholic Faith?  For instance, Monday's are dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory.  What a wonderful practice to offer all our prayers and sufferings of the day to speed some 'Poor Soul' to the gates of Heaven!  Tuesday's are dedicated to the Holy Angels, those nine choirs of Angelic Beings who stand before the throne of God in Adoration or by God's chose are our Guardians here on earth. Wednesday's are dedicated to St. Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus and the husband of Mary! Thursday's are dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament, the Holy Eucharist, Jesus' Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.  Wanting to be with us until the end of time, Jesus hides under the Eucharistic species His majesty and beauty so that we might have courage to approach the throne of His Mercy!  What a meditation!!  Friday's are dedicated to the Passion of Christ.  Saturday's are dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and Sunday's are dedicated to the Blessed Trinity, One God in three Divine Persons.
How beautiful our Catholic Faith is!
            In this writing I want to encourage you to make a daily Act of Consecration to St. Joseph or at the very least every Wednesday. In our community, we elected to place devotion to St. Joseph in both our daily morning prayer and night prayer.  We willingly strive to follow the exemplar virtues of our Patron Saint as we venture through our day and beg his protection at its close.  St. Joseph is the great Saint who practiced interior silence, so much so, that he could hear God's Will for him and respond in trust without the slightest hesitation. He did not clutter himself with activities, events, and things that took time away from his obligations to his faith and his family.  He was the man of the house and he stepped up to the plate putting his God and family before himself.  Look to St. Joseph in your life, too!

Morning Prayer          

An Act of Consecration to St. Joseph

O dearest St. Joseph, I consecrate myself to your honor and give myself to you, that you may always be my father, my protector, and my guide in the way of salvation. Obtain for me a greater purity of heart and fervent love of the interior life.

After your example may I do all my actions for the greater glory of God, in union with the Divine Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. O Blessed St. Joseph, pray for me, that I may share in the peace and joy of your holy death. Amen.

Night Prayer

Prayer of St. Clement to St. Joseph

St. Joseph, my loving father, I place myself forever under your loving protection.  Look upon me as your child and keep me from all sin.  I take refuge in your arms so that you may lead me on the path of virtue and assist me at the hour of my death. Amen.