During these early weeks following the death of Pope Francis, the May 1st Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker provides a particularly fitting opportunity this year to turn to the Holy Father’s own teaching on the beloved, saintly foster father of Jesus.
Daily I receive emails from people around the globe crying out for help saying, "Help me! I can't find an exorcist." My heart goes out to these suffering people who cannot find an exorcist, whom they believe they must have to solve their problems.
Five years ago, I saw the burning of Notre Dame Cathedral as a symbol of what was to come. It meant destruction, but not a total one. It was an injury that created sorrow on the streets of Paris and around the world.
If the challenge of living a virtuous life appears an ever-mounting uphill climb, given the state of our world, we are not alone in the struggle. This overview suggests an intercessor who may appear unlikely at first but truly understands modern challenges to a good life.
“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world … for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.” (Gal 6:14 – 17)
March 24, 2024, marked the 80th anniversary of a tragic World War II event brought to the forefront of global attention only fairly recently: the execution of seventeen human beings, ranging in age from adult to barely born.
As we celebrate the Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker, we recall his stellar qualities, such as prudence, trustworthiness, and integrity. In commemorating this particular feast, such traits typically would be applied to decades of labor in the carpentry workshop at Nazareth, at the home he shared with Jesus and Mary.
The few references in Sacred Scripture concerning Joseph of Nazareth reveal him as far more a man of action than of words. In fact, nowhere do we find direct quotes which would help us to discern the character of this most unique of men – one tasked with the most unique of responsibilities.
“Now I am sending my messenger – he will prepare the way before me; And the Lord whom you seek will come suddenly to his temple; The messenger of the covenant whom you desire – see he is coming! Says the Lord of hosts” (Mal 3:1).