Catholic Info
Traditional Catholic Faith => Catholic Living in the Modern World => Topic started by: cassini on June 05, 2025, 06:11:18 AM
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Recently I started to include St Joseph in my daily rosary. I realised how neglected he is compared to other saints in my life at any rate. Today I got this below that I think should be of interest to others.
Dear All,
Today, June 4, is the First Wednesday of June. For those of you Catholics with a devotion to St. Joseph, the spouse of the Blessed Virgin, let me remind you that Sr Mary Ephrem, a mystic from Ohio, USA, in 1958, reported experiencing an inner locution, and an apparition from St. Joseph. According to Sr Mary Ephrem, St. Joseph asked her to spread devotion to himself, by urging people to recite, on the First Wednesday of every month, the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary, rather than the usual Mysteries for Wednesday, that is to say, the Glorious Mysteries. St. Joseph is a great saint to pray to, for a holy death; if one needs to sell one’s house; or if one is struggling to be chaste. It is a pious tradition that, though St. Joseph was conceived with Original Sin, he was released from Original Sin, shortly after his conception. He is the second most powerful saint, spiritually, in Heaven, while the Blessed Virgin is the first most powerful saint.
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So, my practice is during the Joyful Mysteries at least to also include in my meditation on the mystery St. Joseph's role in and perspective on the entire scenario.
Annunciation -- he was already betrothed to Our Lady
Visitation -- that's probably about when he started to learn that Our Lady had conceived
Nativity -- his obvious role in conducting them to Bethlehem, his perhaps being humbled by being unable to provide decent accommodations, welcoming the shepherds and the Magi, and then his dreams (these were more visions rather than dreams) regarding Herod, flight into Egypt
Presentation -- he was there also with Our Lady participating in the same event
Finding in the Temple -- again, he had a key role
So I tend to think of him during these meditations, and that's one way to not neglect him.
As I mentioend earlier, however, I believe this Sr Mary Ephrem was not a genuine mystic / visionary, i.e. her purported vision non constat de supernaturalitate.
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So, my practice is during the Joyful Mysteries at least to also include in my meditation on the mystery St. Joseph's role in and perspective on the entire scenario.
Annunciation -- he was already betrothed to Our Lady
Visitation -- that's probably about when he started to learn that Our Lady had conceived
Nativity -- his obvious role in conducting them to Bethlehem, his perhaps being humbled by being unable to provide decent accommodations, welcoming the shepherds and the Magi, and then his dreams (these were more visions rather than dreams) regarding Herod, flight into Egypt
Presentation -- he was there also with Our Lady participating in the same event
Finding in the Temple -- again, he had a key role
So I tend to think of him during these meditations, and that's one way to not neglect him.
As I mentioend earlier, however, I believe this Sr Mary Ephrem was not a genuine mystic / visionary, i.e. her purported vision non constat de supernaturalitate.
Further on your point, why would St. Joseph suggest a change such as this? After all, it IS Our Lady's Rosary after all and my thinking is it would be her prerogative only for suggesting such a change as that, correct?
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Funny- in the past 2 months I have added the Prayer to St Joseph in the final prayers at the end of the Rosary. (To Thee O Blessed Joseph...)
I have ignored him far too long.
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Further on your point, why would St. Joseph suggest a change such as this? After all, it IS Our Lady's Rosary after all and my thinking is it would be her prerogative only for suggesting such a change as that, correct?
The bolded was my immediate thought. As such, I will treat the locution and apparition as suspect.
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Funny- in the past 2 months I have added the Prayer to St Joseph in the final prayers at the end of the Rosary. (To Thee O Blessed Joseph...)
I have ignored him far too long.
We say this prayer in our evening prayers as a family.
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The bolded was my immediate thought. As such, I will treat the locution and apparition as suspect.
It is weird when people claim that well practiced devotions should be changed.
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The bolded was my immediate thought. As such, I will treat the locution and apparition as suspect.
Yeah, I don't think anyone would lose much of value by just ignoring these purported apparitions / visions. That's actually the default attitude of the Church ... where you should consider them suspect and for all intents and purposes ignore them until such a time as the Church declares otherwise (and by that I don't mean the Conciliar usurpers).
We can be reminded of devotion to St. Joseph in other ways, or just keep reminidng ourselves ... without requiring any belief in the vision.
Church has approved various prayers ot St. Joseph, from the prayer everyone knows, the St. Joseph Litany etc. We should just add those to our "routine", and also occasionally engaged in some heartfelt internal conversation with him ... no vision or apparition or alternation of the Rosary schedule required.
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It is weird when people claim that well practiced devotions should be changed.
Well, it's not the devotion itself AFAIK, but just the customary schedule. I'm a strong believer in praying all Fifteen Decades every day as much as possible, so if you're doing that, there's really no "change", and the breakdown of the rotation of Monday: Joyful, Tuesday: Sorrowful, Wednesday: Glorious ... was just a practical rotation people came up with for those who can'd recite all Fifteen Decades or if you're in a group so that everyone is "on the same page" in terms of which mysteries will be receited.
In other words, nowhere close to Wojtyla's adding of the Illuminous [LOL] mysteries, or Faustina trying to get people to replace the Rosary with the Divine Mercy chaplet (to be said on the Rosary).
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What Lad said about meditating on St. Joseph made me think of this amazing book which cites many Doctors of the Church and Gospel writings about the worthiness of Joseph to be the spouse of Mary and father of Jesus. Was written in 1880’s so the language and style is different from today’s.
Tan sometimes has this book for $5.
The Life and Glories of St. Joseph
by Edward Healy Thompson (https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=Edward+Healy+Thompson&text=Edward+Healy+Thompson&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books) (Author)
from Amazon
No words of St. Joseph are recorded In Scripture. In fact. little mention is made of him there. Yet. despite these seeming limitations. the Church nonetheless possesses an indescribably rich knowledge of St. Joseph and of his cultus. This book will astound most readers both with its scope and with its profundity. Based mainly on Scripture. but supported also by Tradition and the depositions of saints. it is a carefully reasoned analysis of the entirety of that great saint's role in the history of Salvation and the life of the Church. Includes details about his spiritual life and noble lineage; how he was prefigured in the Old Testament; his relationship to Mary and Jesus; why he has been named by Pope Pius IX "The Patron of the Universal Church;" and so forth. Many beautiful insights. 516 pgs. PB
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Well, it's not the devotion itself AFAIK, but just the customary schedule. I'm a strong believer in praying all Fifteen Decades every day as much as possible, so if you're doing that, there's really no "change", and the breakdown of the rotation of Monday: Joyful, Tuesday: Sorrowful, Wednesday: Glorious ... was just a practical rotation people came up with for those who can'd recite all Fifteen Decades or if you're in a group so that everyone is "on the same page" in terms of which mysteries will be receited.
In other words, nowhere close to Wojtyla's adding of the Illuminous [LOL] mysteries, or Faustina trying to get people to replace the Rosary with the Divine Mercy chaplet (to be said on the Rosary).
I just meant that it is weird when someone changes the custom. I understand your point.
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What Lad said about meditating on St. Joseph made me think of this amazing book which cites many Doctors of the Church and Gospel writings about the worthiness of Joseph to be the spouse of Mary and father of Jesus. Was written in 1880’s so the language and style is different from today’s.
Tan sometimes has this book for $5.
The Life and Glories of St. Joseph
by Edward Healy Thompson (https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=Edward+Healy+Thompson&text=Edward+Healy+Thompson&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books) (Author)
from Amazon
No words of St. Joseph are recorded In Scripture. In fact. little mention is made of him there. Yet. despite these seeming limitations. the Church nonetheless possesses an indescribably rich knowledge of St. Joseph and of his cultus. This book will astound most readers both with its scope and with its profundity. Based mainly on Scripture. but supported also by Tradition and the depositions of saints. it is a carefully reasoned analysis of the entirety of that great saint's role in the history of Salvation and the life of the Church. Includes details about his spiritual life and noble lineage; how he was prefigured in the Old Testament; his relationship to Mary and Jesus; why he has been named by Pope Pius IX "The Patron of the Universal Church;" and so forth. Many beautiful insights. 516 pgs. PB
I'm reading that very book now, recommend it to every Catholic, some wonderful insights to the life of a quiet Saint
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Was it Brother Andre of Canada that has shrine of St. Joseph?
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I add St. Joseph to the end of my personal short list of those in heaven I call upon for help. I think since adding him long ago has had a noticeable increase in the effectiveness of my short prayer.
Was it Brother Andre of Canada that has shrine of St. Joseph?
Yes
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I’m not guilty! I love St. Joseph and always include him in my Rosary. I was baptized on March 19, 1960.