In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
We have created this video with the purpose of making Saint Joseph known
so that there are many who can love him more by getting to know him better.
The greatness of Saint Joseph is above that of all the saints and angels.
After the Virgin Mary, he is the holiest saint, the one who has been closest to divinity.
He has touched with his own hands the God made flesh and has been able to truly tell Him: You are my son.
When the Holy Family fled to Egypt, they had to make a long and dangerous journey through the
desert for about 20 days. According to an ancient tradition, they settled in Matarieh also known as
Al Matariyah, on the outskirts of Cairo, near Heliopolis, which is about 310 miles
or 500 km from Bethlehem. Saint Joseph, taking the child Jesus to Egypt, thus becomes the first
missionary. Perhaps, for this reason, it was not by chance that Christianity flourished in Egypt
in the first centuries, giving rise to great theologians and holy monks such as Origen,
Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Saint Anthony the Abbot and so many thousands of monks who lived in the
desert of the Thebaid or Thebais, totally giving their lives to prayer and to the service of God.
Perhaps, for this reason, it is also no coincidence
that the veneration of Saint Joseph developed in Egypt much earlier than in other places.
There are some theologians and saints who are of the opinion that Saint John the Baptist and
Jeremiah were sanctified in their mother's wombs, and that this must be said with much more reason about Saint Joseph.
This is affirmed, among others, by the friar Isidoro de Isolano,
Saint Alphonsus Liguori and the venerable Mary of Jesus of Ágreda also known as the Abbess of
Ágreda, who says: "Saint Joseph was sanctified in his mother's womb seven months before his
conception. And she continues by saying
"I have understood some privileges
that due to his great holiness, the Most High granted him for those who invoke him as an intercessor.
The first is to attain the virtue of chastity and overcome the dangers of carnal sensuality.
The second, to reach powerful aids to get out of sin and return to the friendship of God.
The third,
to achieve through him the grace of devotion to Mary Most Holy.
The fourth, to achieve a good death and, at that time, defense against the devil.
The fifth, that the demons themselves were afraid to hear the name of Saint Joseph.
The sixth, to attain bodily health and remedy in other works.
The seventh privilege, to achieve succession of children in families.
These and many other favors God grants to those
who duly and appropriately ask Him through the intercession of Saint Joseph
and I ask all the faithful children of the holy Church to be very devoted to him,
and they will know these
favors by experience, if they dispose themselves as appropriate to receive and deserve them."
One of the special privileges granted by God to Saint Joseph, according to some saints,
is that of his Assumption into heaven, body and soul.
This is confirmed by Saint Peter Damian,
Saint Bernardino of Siena, Saint Francis de Sales, Saint Alphonsus Liguori,
the venerable Mary of Jesus of Ágreda and others.
For what reason?
Because Christ is, above all,
redeemer of His parents, whom He loved with a total love and whom He sanctified
with such fullness that He made them a prototype of the rest of the redeemed.
Furthermore, because Joseph had a very special universal mission and because it seems
reasonable that the Holy Family, predestined to begin a divine life of the human lineage
before all the others, also begin the glorious life of the resurrection before all the others.
Saint Peter Damian who lived from 1007 to 1072 speaks of the Assumption of Saint Joseph,
in the Sermon on Saint John the Baptist.
The venerable Bernardino de' Bustis reports that, while Saint
Bernardino of Siena was preaching in the city of Padua in 1444 on the Assumption of Joseph
body and soul into heaven, they saw on the head of the holy preacher, a cross like gold dazzling,
giving off enchanting rays of light.
He was saying the following
One must devoutly believe,
but not affirm as of faith, that the most benign Jesus, Son of the living God, with equal privilege
adorned His adoptive father as His most holy mother; and that just as, when the Most Holy
Virgin died, He took her body and soul to heaven, so on the day that Jesus was resurrected,
He took with Him the just patriarch Saint Joseph with the glory of the resurrection
so that just as that holy family, namely, Christ, Mary and Joseph, lived together on earth a laborious life
and in accordance with grace, so with loving glory they may reign in heaven in body and soul.
Saint Leonard of Port Maurice affirms
Saint Joseph, when he died,
was transported to the empyrean body and soul by a particular privilege noted in the Proverbs
"All those in his house are dressed in a double stole" (The Proverbs 31: 21)
that is to say those
of the family of the strong woman, or of the Virgin Mary, wear a double stole, the sacred
interpreters understanding by double stole, the glorification of the soul and the body.
The venerable Mary of Jesus of Ágreda who lived from 1602 to 1665 says
On the day of the resurrection, with all beauty and glory, our Savior rose from the tomb and, in the presence of
the saints and patriarchs, promised the human lineage the universal resurrection as effect
of His on the very flesh and body of each one of the mortals and that in His the righteous
would be glorified. As pledges of this promise and as hostages of the universal resurrection,
He commanded His Majesty to the souls of many saints who were there, to join their
bodies and resurrect them to immortal life.
Immediately, this divine empire was executed
and the bodies resurrected, anticipating the mystery Matthew refers to in chapter 27 verse 52.
And, among them, were Saint Anne, Saint Joseph and Saint Joachim, and others of the ancient Fathers
and Patriarchs, who were more distinguished in the faith and hope of the Incarnation
and with greater eagerness they desired it and asked the Lord.
And, in return for these works, the resurrection and glory of their bodies were brought before them.
Saint Francis de Sales says
We must not doubt in any way that this glorious saint
enjoys much credit in heaven before the One who favored him so much to the point of elevating
him there in body and soul
which is all the more probable since no relic remains of him
on earth; and it seems to me that no one can doubt this,
because how could He who
was obedient to him throughout His life deny Saint Joseph this grace?
And, if it is true,
which we must believe, that by virtue of the Most Holy Sacrament that we receive,
our bodies will resurrect on the day of judgment, how can we doubt that He
made the glorious Saint Joseph rise with Him to heaven body and soul, who had the honor and had
received the grace to carry Him so often in his arms, in which Our Lord took so much pleasure?
There is therefore no doubt that Saint Joseph is in heaven body and soul.
How happy we would be, if we deserved to have a part in his holy intercessions!
Because nothing is denied neither by Our Lady nor by her glorious husband.
It is interesting to note that Pope Saint John XXIII, in the homily delivered on the Feast of
the Ascension on May 26th, 1960 on the occasion of the canonization of Saint Gregorio Barbarigo,
he expressed his personal opinion that Saint Joseph is in heaven in body and soul
and he put it forth as acceptable opinion.
He literally said in Italian
così pimente noi possiamo credere
meaning in english "so we can piously believe".
Of course, the Assumption of Saint Joseph is not a dogma of faith,
but we hope that it will be in the not too distant future.
On June 7th, 1660, a shepherd took refuge with his animals in the shade of the trees on the
Bessillon hill, in the municipality of Cotignac in France.
He was thirsty, because it was very hot.
Suddenly, a man of imposing build appeared in front of him and pointing to a rock, said
I am Joseph. Pick up that rock and you'll drink.
I can't, it's too heavy. - the shepherd replied.
You will and can. - Saint Joseph said.
Then, the shepherd approaches and with great
surprise moves the rock on the first try. And a fountain of water begins to flow in the place.
The shepherd runs and drinks greedily.
When he gets up, the man had disappeared.
The shepherd
runs to announce the news to the town, where nobody believes him.
But some people decide
to follow him to see the supposed spring.
Upon arrival, everyone shouts with joy, because the
water has been flowing in abundance for three hours
and everyone notes that the rock that the
shepherd moved so easily, does not move, if it is not pushed by at least eight men together.
Then, the shepherd becomes aware of the strength that was given to him by heaven and exclaims
The one who was there was Saint Joseph, he gave me strength.
Everyone kneels and gives thanks to Saint Joseph. Subsequently, the cures obtained
by the application of miraculous water attract crowds to the Bessillon hill. The veneration
of Saint Joseph, until then non-existent in the region, gained extraordinary momentum and quickly
spread throughout the area.
And with the donations received and with the approval of the Bishop of
Fréjus, a chapel is built on the site.
The King of France Louis XIV decreed that, from that moment,
the feast of Saint Joseph would be a public holiday throughout the kingdom of France.
The following year, on March 19th, 1661, the king consecrated France to Saint Joseph.
On August 21st 1879, the Virgin Mary appears in the Irish village of Knock.
To her right was Saint Joseph and to her left Saint John the Evangelist.
These apparitions were approved by the Church and the Sanctuary
of Our Lady of Knock also known as Knock shrine is now Ireland's national Marian shrine.
In the apparitions of Fatima, the Virgin Mary told the three little shepherds on September 13th, 1917
Continue praying the rosary to reach the end of the war.
In October Our Lord,
Our Lady of Sorrows and Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and Saint Joseph with the Child Jesus
will also come to bless the world. And the expected date arrived and the last of the
apparitions happened on October 13th, 1917, which was the day of the great miracle of the sun,
seen up to 31 miles or 50 kilometers away from the place by more than 100,000 people.
The Servant of God Sister Lúcia of Fátima says in her Memoirs
Mary, opening her hands, made them reflect
in the sun. And as she rose, she continued to reflect her own light, projecting into the sun.
Our Lady disappeared in the immense distance of the firmament, we saw Saint Joseph with the Child,
and Our Lady, dressed in white with a blue mantle, next to the sun. Saint Joseph with the Child
seemed to bless the world with some gestures that they made with their hands in the form of a cross.
Shortly after, this apparition faded, we saw the Lord and Our Lady, who gave me the idea of being Our Lady of Sorrows.
Our Lord seemed to bless the world in the same way as Saint Joseph.
This apparition vanished and I seemed to still see Our Lady in a similar way to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
In Zeitoun, a suburb of Cairo in Egypt, where according to tradition the Holy Family was,
our Mother the Virgin Mary appeared from April 2nd, 1968 to September 1970 in the exterior dome
of a Coptic church. They were apparitions that everyone could see.
Sometimes as many as 100,000
people gathered, and the apparitions lasted from a quarter of an hour to two hours or more.
On June 8th, 1968, it lasted from nine at night until four in the morning.
She didn't speak, but she smiled at everyone. Muslims, Jews, Copts, atheists, Catholics and Christians of different
denominations met there.
On some occasions, the Virgin Mary appeared surrounded by angels,
but on two occasions she also came as the Holy Family with Saint Joseph and the infant Jesus.
Her message, without words, was clear to everyone
she was the Mother of all and
she wanted to save and bless everyone in union with Jesus and Saint Joseph.
On May 13th, 1944, the Virgin Mary appears with the Child Jesus and Saint Joseph in
Ghiaie di Bonate, province of Bergamo in Italy
She is called the Virgin of the Family.
The Virgin Mary appeared to the seven-year-old girl Adelaide Roncalli.
On six occasions,
between May 13th and July 13th of this year 1944, the miracle of the sun took place, which was seen
by thousands of people and was captured by the astronomical observatory of Venice more than 124
miles or 200 Kilometers from the place, and of which the newspapers spoke the next day.
The Virgin Mary asked for prayer and penance for the conversion of sinners.
Saint Joseph and the child Jesus did not speak, but they smiled sweetly.
It is important to note here about the supposed apparitions of the Virgin Mary
in Itapiranga, Brazil, in 1994. She appears to the seventeen-year-old Edson Glauber.
On some occasions, the Virgin Mary appeared to him with the baby Jesus in the arms of Saint Joseph.
She also spoke to him about the consecration to the Most Chaste Heart of Saint Joseph.
Saint Joseph appeared with a heart on his chest and, inside his heart,
there was an M with a cross, symbolizing Mary and Jesus, as if the three hearts were always united.
In these apparitions in Brazil, not yet approved by the Church, like those of Ghiaie di Bonate,
she spoke to the young man of the veracity of the apparitions of Ghiaie di Bonate,
of which the young man had not even heard of or knew the place,
but his spiritual director, an Italian priest, did know.
Young Edson has visited Ghiaie di Bonate and had some apparitions of the Virgin Mary over there,
who asks for the recitation of the Holy Rosary and much prayer and penance to save sinners.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.