Consecration to St Joseph
Fr Donald Calloway, MIC, developed the Consecration to St Joseph. He followed the format of another great saint, St Louis de Montfort. Several hundred years ago he developed the Consecration to Mary over a thirty-three-day period also. I have tried to do that consecration to Mary. It is a very thick book and takes time. I have not been successful but hope to do so sometime in the future.
Why do a consecration to a saint? Consecration means to make something holy. At mass we ask God to consecrate the bread and the wine. Although the bread and wine may look like and taste like bread and wine, because they are consecrated their substance is now the Body and Blood of Jesus. Interestingly, our eyes see bread and wine, but the spiritual eyes of our heart know it is the Body and Blood of Christ. This Holy Thursday will be the day that Jesus institutes the priesthood and the Holy Eucharist.
Consecration means to make holy, and it also means that we participate in that holiness. A consecration to St Joseph or to Mary means we desire to become holy as they are holy. Could we not do that just by going to Jesus? Of course. And I am not here to talk you into it or out of it. Rather to say by studying the saints and how they consecrated themselves to Mary or Joseph allows us then to grow closer to Christ in the same way they did. The way they did it works. The way I might choose to do it, well, I am not too sure.
When I see someone do something that I desire I begin to talk to them, to learn what they know, to do what they do. Therefore, I am encouraging you to try this consecration. By the way, the book offers two ways to do this. One is to just start the thirty-three-day program. The other is to start in the second section of the book and do some exploring to get to know St Joseph.
The reason they ask us to start March 30 is that you will complete the program on May 1 which is the Feast of St Joseph the Worker. There are four other start dates with ending dates on a significant feast day. So, you can start any time. Just call Shannon at the Cluster office and ask for a copy. You can do this independently or with a group.
We recorded Our Lady of Lourdes Seder Meal. It is now up on the website and Facebook. Also on the website are the recipes. Perhaps this is the year to try lamb. If not, chicken is a good substitute. Here are the links:
https://stjosephricelake.org/
May your Holy Week be filled with many graces.
May the Lord bless you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen