Dear Friends in Christ,
As every month is dedicated to a particular devotion, it is a joy to celebrate Saint Joseph for whom the month of March is given. St. Alphonsus Liguori gave us the following litany:
Go, then to Joseph, and do all that he shall say to you;
Go to Joseph, and obey him as Jesus and Mary obeyed him;
Go to Joseph, and speak to him as they spoke to him;
Go to Joseph, and consult him as they consulted him;
Go to Joseph, and honor him as they honored him;
Go to Joseph, and be grateful to him as they were grateful to him;
Go to Joseph, and love him, as they love him still.
There are no words from his lips in Sacred Scripture, yet his actions preached over and over. As we begin this month of Joseph and enter into our Lent, silence is something that is necessary to have a deep prayer life. Mother Teresa would say, “The fruit of silence is prayer.” There is certainly a lot of noise in our lives that can distract us from finding the Presence of God. Perhaps we can appreciate silence more, praying in the church and chapel in silence. We talk, talk and talk…too often, we do not listen. We may be surprised how much we advance in the spiritual life if we quiet our environment as much as possible. A bank of candles at the great shrine to Saint Joseph in Montreal reminds us, “Go to Joseph.” If we want to understand his secret, we will find it in holy silence. Have a blessed beginning of Lent. We hope to see you on Fridays at the Soup and Scripture and at the Stations of the Cross. Come out and hear Mark Forrest for an evening of prayer this Monday in the church and I will give a talk on fighting the diabolical on March 21st at 7:00 PM in the chapel.
God bless you,
Father Szolack