MARCH
The Holy Father’s Intentions for the Month of MARCH 2024
For the New Martyrs: We pray that those who risk their lives for the Gospel in various parts of the world inflame the Church with their courage and missionary enthusiasm. (See also http://www.popesprayerusa.net/.)
Prayer to St. Joseph over 1900 years old
O St. Joseph whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the Throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires. O’ St. Joseph do assist me by your powerful intercession and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, Our Lord; so that having engaged here below your Heavenly power I may offer my Thanksgiving and Homage to the most Loving of Fathers. O’ St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press him in my name and kiss His fine Head for me, and ask Him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for us. Amen
Say for nine consecutive mornings for anything you may desire. It has seldom been known to fail if in accordance with God’s will.
This prayer was found in the fiftieth year of Our Lord Jesus Christ. In 1500’s, it was sent by the Pope to Emperor Charles when he was going into battle.
Whoever reads this prayer or hears it or carries it, will never die a sudden death, nor be drowned, nor will poison take effect on them. They will not fall into the hands of the enemy nor be burned in any fire, nor will they be defeated in battle.
Make this prayer known everywhere.
Imprimatur
Most Rev. George W. Ahr Bishop of Trenton
Lent: March 19th
Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary
St. Joseph
St. Joseph was an ordinary manual laborer although descended from the royal house of David. In the designs of Providence he was destined to become the spouse of the Mother of God. His high privilege is expressed in a single phrase, “Foster-father of Jesus.” About him Sacred Scripture has little more to say than that he was a just man-an expression which indicates how faithfully he fulfilled his high trust of protecting and guarding God’s greatest treasures upon earth, Jesus and Mary.
The darkest hours of his life may well have been those when he first learned of Mary’s pregnancy; but precisely in this time of trial Joseph showed himself great. His suffering, which likewise formed a part of the work of the redemption, was not without great providential import: Joseph was to be, for all times, the trustworthy witness of the Messiah’s virgin birth. After this, he modestly retires into the background of holy Scripture.
Of St. Joseph’s death the Bible tells us nothing. There are indications, however, that he died before the beginning of Christ’s public life. His was the most beautiful death that one could have, in the arms of Jesus and Mary. Humbly and unknown, he passed his years at Nazareth, silent and almost forgotten he remained in the background through centuries of Church history. Only in more recent times has he been accorded greater honor. Liturgical veneration of St. Joseph began in the fifteenth century, fostered by Sts. Brigid of Sweden and Bernadine of Siena. St. Teresa, too, did much to further his cult.
At present there are two major feasts in his honor. On March 19 our veneration is directed to him personally and to his part in the work of redemption, while on May 1 we honor him as the patron of workmen throughout the world and as our guide in the difficult matter of establishing equitable norms regarding obligations and rights in the social order.
—Excerpted from The Church’s Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
St. Joseph is invoked as patron for many causes. He is the patron of the Universal Church. He is the patron of the dying because Jesus and Mary were at his death-bed. He is also the patron of fathers, of carpenters, and of social justice. Many religious orders and communities are placed under his patronage.
Patronage: against doubt; against hesitation; accountants; attorneys; barristers; bursars; cabinetmakers; carpenters; cemetery workers; children; civil engineers; confectioners; craftsmen; dying; educators; emigrants; exiles; expectant mothers; families; fathers; furniture makers; grave diggers; happy death; holy death; house hunters; immigrants;
interior souls; joiners; laborers; lawyers; married people; orphans; people in doubt; people who fight Communism; pioneers; pregnant women; social justice; solicitors; teachers; travellers; unborn children; wheelwrights; workers; working people
Church declarations: Catholic Church (proclaimed on 8 December 1847 by Blessed Pope Pius IX);
Oblates of Saint Joseph; protection of the Church; Universal Church (proclaimed on 8 December 1847 by Blessed Pope Pius IX); Vatican II
Countries: Americas; Austria (given in 1675); Belgium; Bohemia (proclaimed in 1654 by Pope Innocent X; 14 May 1914 by Pope Pius X; 11 December 1935 by Pope Pius XI); Canada (given in 1624); China; Croatian people (in 1687 by decree of the Croatian parliment); Korea; Mexico (given in 1555); New France; New World; Papal States; Peru (given in 1828); Philippines (given in 1565); Vatican City (given in 2013); Viet Nam
See Catholic Saints Info for more listings of patronages.
Symbols and Representation: bible; branch; carpenter‘s square; carpenter‘s tools; chalice; cross; hand tools; infant Jesus; ladder; lamb; lily; monstrance; man holding a lily and a carpenter‘s tool such as a square; man holding the infant Jesus; plane; rod
Highlights and Things to Do:
- Read more about St. Joseph:
- CatholicSaints.info has an amazing list of prayers, articles, books, and other information on St. Joseph.
- Watch or listen to the Catholic Culture podcast with Elizabeth Lev on St. Joseph in Art History.
- For the Year of St. Joseph in 2021, there are several Catholic Culture audiobooks dedicated to St. Joseph:
- Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet—St. Joseph: A Man after God’s Own Heart
- Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet—St. Joseph: Guard What Has Been Entrusted to You
- Pope St. John Paul II—Redemptoris Custos: On the Person and Mission of St. Joseph in the Life of Christ and of the Church
- Pierre-Thomas Dehau, OP—Family and Holy Family: The Father
- A table overflowing with good Italian food honoring St. Joseph is a traditional Sicilian custom. The feast of San Giuseppe began in the Middle Ages when Sicily was suffering from a severe drought and the desperate people begged St. Joseph for rain. When they received rainy weather in response, they held a huge “feste” in Saint Joseph’s honor. Even today, Sicilians go to Mass before their St. Joseph’s day dinner and then process to their festive tables, decked out in flowers, breads, and all sorts of Italian foods. The priest blesses the food, and everyone shouts “Viva la tavola di San Giuse!” (which your children will readily do with great gusto). After the meal is done, everyone present is given something to take home, in the generous spirit of this day. Try some of our delicious recipes linked here.
We especially recommend the traditional Minestrone. Italian sausage is always a favorite, as well.
And there should be bread of all kinds — this recipe for Italian Decorative Breads can provide the traditional shape of your choice (St. Joseph’s staff, his beard, etc).
Also a traditional must with children is St. Joseph’s Sfinge, (Cream Puffs), for which we have several recipes on this site. - Plan a St. Joseph’s potluck for this day with other Catholic families — invite a parish priest and ask his blessing over the food before you begin the meal. If you do not have the time or resources to do this, plan a smaller affair with your own family, complete with prayers to St. Joseph, a little procession with candles for the older children and your favorite hymns, and then the father of the family ought to say a special blessing over the food before you begin.
- Check out this wonderful site for a Virtual St. Joseph Altar more in detail, includes recipes, history, and allows virtual offerings. They celebrated their 25th year in 2023!
- For further reading:
- Saint Joseph Altars by Kerri McCaffety (Photographer).
- A Table for Saint Joseph: Celebrating March 19th with Devotions, Authentic Italian Recipes, and Timeless Traditions by Mary Anne Scanlan Grasso.
- The Saint Joseph’s Day Table Cookbook by Mary Ann Giordano.
- Read the section of Directory on Popular Piety and Liturgy on St. Joseph.
- Read Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical on Devotion to St. Joseph.
- Interested in history? Read this article on the history of devotions to St. Joseph, Finding St. Joseph, by Sandra Miesel.
- Pray this prayer and litany in honor of St. Joseph with your family rosary tonight.
- Here is a link to several meditations on St. Joseph — choose the one that is perfect for you and your family!
- Here are some ideas for teaching children about St. Joseph.
- Young girls ought to pray to St. Joseph for their future spouse.
- See Catholic Cuisine for some food ideas for St. Joseph’s Solemnity.
Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Station with Santa Maria in via Lata al Corso (Our Lady at Via Lata):
The Station in Rome was formerly the church of the martyr St. Cyriacus, and as such it is still given in the Roman missal; but this holy sanctuary having been destroyed, and the relics of the holy deacon translated to the church of St. Mary in Via lata, it is here that the Station is now held.
For more on Santa Maria in via Lata al Corso, see:
For further information on the Station Churches, see The Stational Church.
MASS READINGS
March 19, 2024 (Readings on USCCB website)
PROPERS [show]
COLLECT PRAYER
DAILY MEDITATION: MATTHEW 1:16, 18-21, 24
Joseph . . . was a righteous man. (Matthew 1:19)
Did you know that only two Gospels provide accounts of Jesus’ miraculous conception and birth? Luke tells the story from Mary’s point of view—the annunciation, the visitation, and Mary’s prayerful heart. Matthew, on the other hand, focuses on Joseph’s role. Matthew highlights how important Joseph is, not only for supporting Mary and raising Jesus, but also for his connection to Abraham, David, and all of David’s heirs (1:1-16). In fact, by calling Joseph to be the foster father of Jesus, God fulfilled a prophecy that we hear in today’s first reading. Jesus is the heir through whom God will “make his kingdom firm” (2 Samuel 7:12).
It may seem that Joseph’s connection to his ancestors is minor in the grand scheme of things. But what it shows is that God keeps his promises. God had promised Abraham that he would be the “father of many nations” (Romans 4:17), and he remained committed to the promise throughout Israel’s long and turbulent history.
Still, God’s promises aren’t automatic guarantees. Because he gave us the great gift of free will, we need to cooperate with him to make sure those promises come to pass. And that’s where faith comes in—the faith of people like Abraham, David, and St. Joseph. These men didn’t always understand what God was asking of them, and they didn’t see his promises completely fulfilled in their lifetimes. But that didn’t keep them from trusting him and seeking to obey him. In Joseph’s case, that involved not just marrying Mary, but fleeing with his family to Egypt to escape Herod’s wrath, and then moving back to Nazareth when an angel told him to.
On this day when we honor St. Joseph, let’s thank him for being such a wonderful model of trust in God’s promises. Let’s also imitate his deep faith in God and willingness to take decisive action when the Lord calls us.
“Oh, St. Joseph, watchful Guardian of the Holy Family, pray for me and for all the Church! May we all follow your example of faith and trust in the Lord!”
2 Samuel 7:4-5, 12-14, 16
Psalm 89:2-5, 27, 29
Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22
Friends, today we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph.
Every episode of Joseph’s life is a crisis. He discovered that the woman to whom he was betrothed was pregnant. He resolved to divorce her quietly, but then the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream and explained the anomalous pregnancy. So Joseph understood what was happening in the context of God’s providence and took Mary as his wife.
Next, discovering that the child was in mortal danger, Joseph took mother and baby on a perilous journey to an unknown country. Anyone who has ever been forced to move to a new city knows something of the anxiety that Joseph must have felt. But Joseph went because God had commanded him.
Finally, we hear of Joseph desperately seeking his lost twelve-year-old son. Quietly taking the child home, Joseph once more put aside his human feelings and trusted in the purposes of God.
The little we know about Joseph is that he experienced heartbreak, fear unto death, and a parent’s deepest anxiety. But each time, he read what happened to him as a theo-drama, not an ego-drama. This shift in attitude is what made Joseph the patron of the universal Church.
In 1830, one of the apparitions sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church occurred in the chapel of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, Rue de Bac, Paris. There were three visions given to Saint Catherine Laboure who, at the time of the first one, was a novice in the order. She was awakened at 11:30 PM on the eve of the Feast of St. Vincent de Paul, by a “shining child” who led her to the chapel where she saw Our Lady, who spoke to her for two hours about the difficult task that lay ahead. Four months later, on November 27 Catherine had the second vision wherein she saw a three-dimensional scene of the Blessed Virgin standing on a white globe with dazzling rays of light streaming from her fingers and she heard a voice say:
“There now formed around the Blessed Virgin a frame rather oval in shape on which were written in letters of gold these words: ‘O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee’ Then the voice said: ‘ Have a medal struck upon this model. All those who wear it, when it is blessed, will receive great graces especially if they wear it round the neck. Those who repeat this prayer with devotion will be in a special manner under the protection of the Mother of God. Graces will be abundantly bestowed upon those who have confidence.’ “
This sacramental from Heaven was at first called simply the Medal of the Immaculate Conception, but began to be known as the Miraculous Medal due to the unprecedented number of miracles, conversions, cures, and acts of protection attributed to Our Lady’s intercession for those who wore it.
Sister Catherine became Saint Catherine in 1947. The church instituted recognition of the apparition in which the Miraculous Medal first appeared for November 27, 1830. Millions of the Miraculous Medal have been distributed, and many graces and miracles have been received through this devotion to Our Lady.
BROWN SCAPULAR OF MT. CARMEL
shall never suffer eternal fire.”
Virgin Mary’s promise to Saint Simon Stock
July 16, 1251″Wear it devoutly and perserveringly,” she says to each soul, “it is my garment. To be clothed in it means you are continually thinking of me, and I in turn, am always thinking of you and helping you to secure eternal life.”
The scapular is an external sign of the filial relationship established between the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Queen of Mount Carmel, and the faithful who entrust themselves totally to her protection, who have recourse to her maternal intercession, who are mindful of the primacy of the spiritual life and the need for prayer.
THE SABBATINE PRIVELEGE
The blessed Virgin of Mt. Carmel has promised to save those who wear the scapular fromthe fires of Hell; She will also shorten their stay in Purgatory if they should passfrom this world still owing some temporal debt of punishment.
The Blessed Virgin appeared to him and speaking of those who wear the Brown Scapular said: “I, the Mother of grace, shall descend on the Saturday after their death and whomsoever I shall find in Purgatory, I shall free, so that I may lead them to the holy mountain of life everlasting.”
Pope Benedict XV proceeded to grant an indulgence of 500 days for each time the cloth Scapular is kissed”. On July 16th, the Scapular feast, while addressing the seminarians of Rome, Benedict XV said: “Let all of you have a common language and a common armor: the language, the sentences of the Gospel; the common armor, the Scapular of the Virgin of Carmel, which you all ought to wear and which enjoys the singular privilege of protection even after death.”
Pope Benedict XV, addressing seminarians in Rome:“Let all of you have a common language and a common armor: The language, the sentences of the Gospel – the common armor, the Brown Scapular of the Virgin of Carmel which you ought to wear and which enjoys the singular privilege and protection after death.”The Brown Scapular | A Sacramental“One of the most remarkable effects of sacramentals is the virtue to drive away evil spirits whose mysterious and baleful operations affect sometimes the physical activity of man. To combat this occult power the Church has recourse to exorcism, and sacramentals” (The Catholic Encyclopedia., 1913, VXIII, p. 293).The Brown Scapular | A True StoryYou will understand why the Devil works against those who promote the brown scapular when you hear the true story of Venerable Francis Yepes. One day his Scapular fell off. As he replaced it, the Devil howled, “Take off that habit which snatches so many souls from us! All those clothed in it die piously and escape us!” Then and there Francis made the Devil admit that there are three things which the demons are most afraid of: the Holy Name of Jesus; theHoly Name of Mary and the Holy Scapular of Carmel.“Modern Heretics make a mockery of wearing the Scapular. They decry it as so much trifling nonsense.” – St. Alphonsus LigouriMary, Mother of God and Our Mother“When Mary became the Mother of Jesus, true God and true Man, She also became our Mother. In His great mercy, Jesus wished to call us His brothers and sisters, and by this name He constituted us adopted children of Mary.” – St. John BoscoOver the years there have also been many miracles associated with wearing the brown scapular.
*If you would like a brown scapular click here:
New Catholic Radio Station serving Chittenden County
Donna McSoley stands in St. Francis Xavier Church in Winooski. She is the driving force behind a new Catholic radio station. Photo by Gail Callahan
WINOOSKI – In a state identified in a national study two years ago as one of the least religious in the country, a new Catholic radio station is being hailed by the market and people of faith.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Radio, which can be found at 105.5 FM, transmits 24-hour daily programming of the Eternal Word Television Network from the St. Francis Xavier Church property in Winooski. The station can be heard in the greater Burlington area and started broadcasting earlier this fall.
Donna McSoley, the driving force behind WRXJ 105.5 FM, said she is eager to begin producing some local programming after she learns more about audio editing software. McSoley said one of her ambitions is to air homilies from priests who serve the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington.
“I wanted to bring Catholic radio to Vermont because many people here have rejected Christianity without even knowing much about church history, the early church fathers, or never having read the Bible in its entirety,” said McSoley. “Our state is in crisis over heroin and other drugs, and many people are lost and are desperately searching for freedom from addictions and a greater meaning in life.”
In 2015, the Pew Research Center conducted the Religious Landscape study, and Vermont tied as the 48th most religious state. The study found 34 percent of the Green Mountain State’s adults said they are “highly religious.”
A state’s spiritual devotion was measured by factors including “absolute belief in God and daily prayer.”
The Rev. Lance Harlow, rector of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and St. Joseph’s Co-Cathedral in Burlington, records in WRXJ radio’s Winooski station. Courtesy photo
McSoley, a parishioner at St. Francis Xavier Church, began the quest to secure a broadcast license more than five years ago when the Federal Communications Commission opened a small window to own a channel on the FM spectrum for a low-power station. It took about 18 months to secure the FCC’s approval.
McSoley accesses the station’s computers remotely from her Essex Junction home.
She said a radio station can reach people in ways other media outlets can’t. “Radio can be a great way to reach people in the privacy of their own car and where people are apt to ponder life’s great questions,” she said. “I think for that reason, radio can be a great way to explain the Catholic faith, which is largely misunderstood by the general public. … My hope is that the programs on the station can clear this up and we can foster greater unity within the Christian community here in Vermont.”
Ted Quigley, a practicing Catholic, embraces the organization. “105.5 FM is a wonderful change in my life,” he said. “I turn it on when I’m driving or when I’m home cleaning.”
The Most Rev. Christopher Coyne, bishop of Vermont’s Catholics, recorded some station identifications that play through the hour.
Coyne, who was named by Pope Francis to shepherd Vermont’s Catholics nearly two years ago, said he welcomes the station, praising McSoley’s efforts. “The Catholic community in Vermont has been very supportive of the launch of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Radio,” said Coyne. “Right now, this is the only Catholic radio station in Vermont. I hope to see many more begin to broadcast soon.”
Coyne’s remarks regarding the dearth of religious broadcasting in Vermont underscore what many perceive as an absence of God from the public dialogue. The FCC said it doesn’t keep track of content when license applications come in.
The program director for a Christian radio network serving Vermont said religious-oriented radio outlets are filling a much-needed niche. Bob Pierce, of The Light Radio Network, said his Christian station reaches about 15,000 listeners in Chittenden County.
In a competitive market, McSoley said she is anxious for WRXJ’s message to spread. “Although Vermont is one of the least religious states in the country, I have great faith that people will always be able to recognize truth when they hear it, so my hope is that many people will turn on the radio and start the journey toward discovering God,” she said.
https://vtdigger.org/2017/11/05/new-catholic-radio-station-serving-chittenden-county/#.WgItH9QrK6Y