ST. JOSEPH

Second Annual Lecture in Carmelite Studies: St. Joseph

October 14, 2021: The Catholic University of America Theology and Religious Studies

 

St. Joseph, Protector of Carmel

March 18, 2021: Brother John-Mary of Jesus Crucified, OCD (Brighton, MA Monastery)

 
St. Joseph, Protector of Carmel Stella Maris Monastery, Mount Carmel (Holy Land) (Photo by Loretta Gallagher, OCDS | used on website with permission)

St. Joseph, Protector of Carmel
Stella Maris Monastery, Mount Carmel (Holy Land)
(Photo by Loretta Gallagher, OCDS | used on website with permission)

 
Year of St. Joseph Bookmarks now available in OCDS Store

Year of St. Joseph Bookmarks now available in OCDS Store

APOSTOLIC LETTERS & EXHORTATIONS

FR. GENERAL & OCDS PROVINCIAL DELEGATE

ARTICLES

St. Joseph in the Teresian Carmel

In the Teresian Carmel love of Mary, Mother and Queen, is united with love of her spouse Saint Joseph. The Father also gave him, “a just man,” guardianship of his Son Jesus Christ in the mystery of the Incarnation.

Following the example of St. Teresa, members can find in St. Joseph a role model for a life of humble adoration and prayerful communion with Jesus, as well as a master of prayer and silence. Patron of the interior life, he is an example of faith and of being “constantly attentive to God, open to the signs of God’s presence and receptive to God’s plans.”

Being a chaste and faithful spouse, he is the model of a father solicitous in care of the family, and of a responsible laborer who considers his work as an “expression of love.” In communion with the Church and the Order, who venerate him as their “provident Protector,” members of the Secular Order find in Saint Joseph an incomparable protector to whom they can entrust the hopes, the struggles and the work of every day. (OCDS Constitutions 31a)

St. Joseph, Providential Protector

The last addition to the Constitutions, section 31a, is about St. Joseph. We pray to him in the Order as our Providential Protector. His intercession and his presence in the Reform of St. Teresa and in our Order’s history have been constant. This section seeks to remember St. Joseph’s importance in the life of an OCDS member. With the Virgin Mary, this “just man” (Mt. 1:19) is the protector of the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God. In St. Teresa’s writings, he is the model and master of prayer, and also of vigilance and availability to God’s plans. For all these reasons, St. Joseph is an incomparable protector to whom we can entrust our hopes, our labors, and our everyday troubles. Ven. Pope Paul VI said: “St. Joseph is the proof that, to be good and authentic in the following of Christ, we do not need great deeds, but only common, human – but true and authentic – virtues.” (Paul VI, Insegnamenti, 1969).

Excerpt from “New Sections in the OCDS Constitutions on Community Life and St. Joseph” by Fr. Alzinir Debastiani, OCD; Rome, June 27, 2014.

 Memorare to Saint Joseph

Remember, O most amiable, most benevolent,
most kind, and most merciful father, St. Joseph,
that the great St. Teresa assures us that she never had recourse
to thy protection without obtaining relief.
Animated with this same confidence,
O dear St. Joseph,
I come to thee and, burdened by my many sins,
I prostrate myself at your feet.
O most compassionate father,
do not, I beseech thee, reject my poor prayers,
but graciously hear and obtain my petitions.

Amen.

Joseph, Protector of Holy Church and Carmel, pray for us!

In Catholicism, there are different versions of the Memorare to St. Joseph. This one, popular in the 19th century, alludes to a quote from St. Teresa of Avila where she said, “It is now very many years since I began asking [St. Joseph] for something on his feast, and I always received it. If the petition was in any way amiss, he rectified it for my greater good.” (Life, Ch. 6, 8)