Happy Feast of Joseph, Husband of Mary! 

In honor of this splendid day, I've shared some great quotes below on why devotion to the Holy Husband of our Blessed Mother is so important, and the benefits gained from such a devotion.

If you'd like more Josephy goodness, here are all my Joseph posts.

"Devotion to St. Joseph is inseparable from devotion to Mary: 'What God has joined together no one should separate' (Mt. 19:6) is what Christ himself said, alluding to the indissolubility of the marriage bond. And it is expressly on record in the Gospel that Joseph was 'the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, called Christ' (Mt. 1:16). It is impossible to have a deep and authentic devotion to Mary without also feeling a very special veneration for her virgin husband St. Joseph."
~ Fr. A. Royo Marín, OP; La Virgen María. Teología y espiritualidad marianas

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"The evolution of devotion to St. Joseph is in reality another facet of devotion to Mary. Probing more deeply into Joseph's mission leads us to know more deeply the greatness of Mary. St. Joseph's position in relation to Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, stems from his position with regard to Mary, Mother of the Redeemer. The parallel holds true also for Mary and Jesus. The better we know Mary, the better we will know her Son, from whom she derives all her dignity and whom she reflects so faithfully. Pope Benedict XV clearly expressed this idea: 'By St. Joseph we are led directly to Mary, and by Mary to the fountain of all holiness, Jesus Christ, who sanctified the domestic virtues by his obedience to St. Joseph and Mary.' "
~ by Br. John M. Samaha, SM; "Like Wife, Like Husband"

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"St. Joseph is necessarily a part of true devotion to Mary. She will not be honored as she should be until Joseph is honored. Consequently, neither will her Son be sufficiently worshipped and loved. ... By offering all to St. Joseph, it may not seem that we are offering any more service to God than when we simply offered all to Jesus through Mary. A thing cannot be more total than total but it can be more. For example, two glasses may be full but one is larger than the other. This devotion to St. Joseph makes the glass larger, in a sense. He does this because he makes what we offer to Jesus and Mary worth more by enhancing it with his merits.

"... Just as perfect devotion to Mary leads us securely to Jesus, so also this devotion to St. Joseph leads us securely to Mary and the practice of perfect devotion to her. He cannot hinder her in the least. Everything about him points to Mary and through her to the Child. In looking at him, we will always find ourselves at once before the feet of the Child and His Mother. At once the devil will flee, for as the Litany says, Joseph is the terror of demons. Also, with St. Joseph, there is an even greater safety from heresy. For a true knowledge of him causes us to have a great reverence for the Magisterium of the Church and the Holy Father, the successor of Peter."
~ Dominic De Domenico, OP; True Devotion to St. Joseph and the Church: The Doctrinal Basis and Practice of Total Consecration Through St. Joseph and the Church

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"In truth, the dignity of the Mother of God is so lofty that naught created can rank above it. But as Joseph has been united to the Blessed Virgin by the ties of marriage, it may not be doubted that he approached nearer than any to the eminent dignity by which the Mother of God surpasses so nobly all created natures. For marriage is the most intimate of all unions which from its essence imparts a community of gifts between those that by it are joined together.

"Thus in giving Joseph the Blessed Virgin as spouse, God appointed him to be not only her life's companion, the witness of her maidenhood, the protector of her honor, but also, by virtue of the conjugal tie, a participator in her sublime dignity. And Joseph shines among all mankind by the most august dignity, since by divine will, he was the guardian of the Son of God and reputed as His father among men."
~ Pope Leo XIII, Quamquam Pluries ("On Devotion to St. Joseph"), 1889

Labels: joseph, josephite, josephology

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