Benefits of Turning to Joseph

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Why is this Year of St Joseph and devotion to him so important and what does it mean to consecrate oneself to Joseph?

God’s plan is to create a family in which all the members play their specific part and take care of one another. God gives us the immense dignity of being His adopted sons and daughters and the further dignity of sharing in and expressing his power and goodness by helping one another. In God’s plan Mary would be not only the Mother of Jesus, but also the Spiritual Mother of all those who have Jesus dwelling in them – all believers. Joseph was the father, protector and provider of Jesus. He continues to care for Jesus in us if we turn to him. Those who use their free will and turn to Mary and Joseph receive the benefit of their maternal and paternal care. We are free and neither God nor his saints or angels will force their help upon us. When we consecrate ourselves to Joseph, saying yes to and accepting God’s plan to take care of us through a spiritual family, then we open ourselves up to all of Josephs care. As a divine person, the Son of God made a conscious decision to place himself under the obedience, care and protection of Joseph. In imitation of Jesus, we make the same choice by consecration to Joseph and receive in return the care of this illustrious spiritual father.

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The Seven Privileges of St Joseph according to Mary of Agreda

I have been informed concerning certain privileges conferred upon St. Joseph by the Most High on account of his great holiness, which are especially important to those who ask his intercession in a proper manner. In virtue of these special privileges the intercession of St. Joseph is most powerful:

First, for attaining the virtue of purity and overcoming the disordered desires and vices;

Second, for procuring powerful help to escape sin and return to the friendship of God;

Third, for increasing the love and devotion to most holy Mary;

Fourth, for securing the grace of a happy death and protection against the demons in that hour;

Fifth, for filling the demons with terror at the mere mention of his name;

Sixth, for gaining health of body and assistance in all kinds of difficulties;

Seventh, for securing the blessing of many children in families.

From Teresa of Avila we can add an 8th, Joseph is the patron of the spiritual life and will help you become better at prayer and enjoy it more.

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Pope Benedict XVI explains the spiritual life of St Joseph

The Bible calls Joseph a “just” man (zaddik)…Psalm 1 presents the classic image of the “just” man. We might well think of it as a portrait of the spiritual figure of Saint Joseph. A just man, it tells us, is one who maintains living contact with the word of God, who “delights in the law of the Lord”. He is like a tree, planted beside the flowing waters, constantly bringing forth fruit. The flowing waters, from which he draws nourishment, naturally refer to the living word of God, into which he sinks the roots of his being. God’s will is not a law imposed on him from without, it is “joy”… This image of the man with roots in the living waters of God’s word, whose life is spent in dialogue with God and who therefore brings forth constant fruit—this image becomes concrete…in everything we are subsequently told about Joseph of Nazareth.

Once Jesus is born, Joseph imagine the amount of time Joseph spent with Jesus. Talking to Jesus, listening to Jesus, working with Jesus, eating, taking walks, working through problems, laughing, facing difficulties and just being with Jesus sitting silently by the fire.

Because Joseph spent so much time with Jesus and knows him so well Joseph is the patron of the spiritual life. In this decade entrust your spiritual life and all your difficulties in prayer to Joseph. 

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Pope Francis wrote:

Prayer is Resting in the Lord. Rest is so necessary for the health of our minds and bodies, and often so difficult to achieve due to the many demands placed on us. But rest is also essential for our spiritual health, so that we can hear God’s voice and understand what he asks of us. Joseph was chosen by God to be the foster father of Jesus and the husband of Mary. As Christians, you too are called, like Joseph, to make a home for Jesus…To hear and accept God’s call, to make a home for Jesus, you must be able to rest in the Lord. You must make time each day for prayer. But you may say to me: Holy Father, I want to pray, but there is so much work to do! I must care for my children; I have chores in the home; I am too tired even to sleep well. This may be true, but if we do not pray, we will not know the most important thing of all: God’s will for us. And for all our activity, our busy-ness, without prayer we will accomplish very little.

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Joy or delight means to rest in or take pleasure in the good thing you possess. We should not just gobble up a good meal, or slam a nice glass of wine or be anxious to move on from a good conversation with an old friend. We should rest in, relax in and savor the good things of life. Delight is to rest in the good. The greatest Good we should not rush through but delight in is friendship with God. Just as we don’t want to rush through these lesser goods we don’t want to rush through time with God.

Here we must learn from Joseph’s life and Joseph’s rest to learn to relax with Jesus and to spend time with Him in prayer. The Rosary is a great start. But allow yourself to spend more time with Jesus in a leisurely fashion – talking from the heart, listening and resting in stillness and silence.

Once you possess God in prayer – there is nothing greater to get or to do and nowhere more important to go. Once you are in prayer you have reached the pinnacle of human life – so stay on the mountaintop and rest a while and soak it in.