Luke, Chapter 14, Verse 31-32
What king marching into battle would not
first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully
oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a
delegation to ask for PEACE terms.
Luke
focuses on the total dedication necessary for the disciple of Jesus. No
attachment to family or possessions can stand in the way of the total
commitment demanded of the disciple. Also, acceptance of the call to be a
disciple demands readiness to accept persecution and suffering and a realistic
assessment of the hardships and costs.[1]
Poor souls in Purgatory[2]
The
Dogma of Purgatory is too much forgotten by the majority of the faithful; the
Church Suffering, where they have so many brethren to succor, whither they
foresee that they themselves must one
day go, seems a strange land to them. This truly deplorable forgetfulness was a
great sorrow to St. Francis de Sales. “Alas!” said this pious doctor of the
Church, “we do not sufficiently remember our dear departed; their memory seems
to perish with the sound of the funeral bells.” The principal causes of this
are ignorance and lack of faith; our notions on the subject of Purgatory are
too vague, our faith is too feeble. In order, then, that our ideas may become
more distinct and our faith enlivened, we must
take a closer view of this life beyond the tomb, this intermediate state of the
just souls, not yet worthy to enter the Heavenly Jerusalem.
First
Wednesday-St. Joseph Devotion
In 1994,
while a student in Manaus, Brazil, 22-year-old Edson Glauber received an
apparition of the Blessed Mother with Jesus and St. Joseph. The apparitions
continued when he returned to his hometown of Itapiranga which is
about 650 miles southwest of Sao Paulo and about 880 miles from Rio de Janeiro.
Another 770-plus miles southwest happens to be the site of other approved apparitions in San Nicolas, Argentina. Edson’s
mother Maria do Carmo would also receive some apparitions. Bishop Gritti, who
died this past June, met with them several times. He celebrated Mass publicly at the site of the
apparitions and helped to build the sanctuary there. Mary appeared
under the title of “Queen of the Rosary and of Peace.” Much like Fatima, her
messages stressed the need for conversion, praying the Rosary, Mass, Confession
and Holy Communion and penance to save the world mired in unbelief and sin. She
and Jesus urged devotion to St. Joseph’s Most Chaste Heart.
Revelations
and Promises
St. Joseph’s major revelations began
Mar. 1, 1998. He spoke about devotion to his chaste heart and made the first of
several promises. He began, “My dear son, Our Lord God has sent me to tell you
about all the graces the faithful will receive from my Most Chaste Heart which
Jesus and my blessed spouse wish to be honored…Through devotion to my Chaste
Heart many souls will be saved from the hands of the Devil. God our Lord has
allowed for me to reveal to you the promises of my Heart.
“Just as
I am fair and righteous in the sight of God, all who have devotion to my Heart
will also be chaste, righteous and holy in His sight. I will fill you with
these graces and virtues, making you grow every day on the road of holiness.”
Next day,
St. Joseph came with the Child Jesus who reclined on his heart. Joseph revealed
that God wanted to give countless graces through devotion to his heart. “My son
and Lord Jesus, that I brought up here on earth, with a father's love, desires
that all men practice devotion to my Heart, for all those in need of graces
from heaven.”
In prior
apparitions, the Virgin Mary and Jesus affirmed to Edson that Joseph has been
given great power and glory and, in these times, God wants people and the world
consecrated to the Heart of St. Joseph.
Then came
a second promise.
“I
promise to all that honor this Most Chaste Heart of mine and who do here on
earth good deeds in favor of the most needy, especially of the sick and dying
for whom I am a consoler and protector, to receive in their last moment of
their lives the grace of a good death. I myself will be to these souls their
petitioner to my Son Jesus and, together with my spouse, Most Holy Mary, we
will console them in their last hours here on earth, with our holy presence and
they will rest in the peace of our hearts
“Just as
you saw my Son Jesus repose His head on my heart, this way myself and my spouse
Holy Mary will take these souls to the glory of paradise, in the presence of
their Savior, my Son Jesus Christ, so that they may repose, and incline
themselves to His Sacred Heart…”
Dire
Warnings
St.
Joseph did not shy away from the state of humanity’s hearts. He explained “how
sin spreads in a such a strong way! Men let themselves be led by the most
insidious wiles of the Devil. The enemy of salvation wants to destroy all men
so that, this way, all will be lost. He is envious and hates the entire human
race. So many go through trials and temptations that the enemy of God throws at
every moment, this way trying to destroy men’s mortal souls that were created
by God.”
St.
Joseph revealed a prime attack against us, something which has increased since
1998.
“The
means that he most utilizes are the sins against holy purity, because purity is
one of the virtues most beloved by God, and in this way Satan desires to
destroy the image of God present in each creature through this virtue. And it
is because of this, that God asks all humanity to have devotion to my Chaste
Heart. He wants to give men the grace to overcome the temptations and attacks
of the Devil in their day-to-day lives.”
St.
Joseph can protect us in these attacks. His litany calls him ‘most chaste” and “terror
of demons.” St. Joseph made this promise. “The invocation of my name is enough
to make demons flee! I promise to all the faithful that honor my most Chaste
Heart with faith and love, the grace to live with holy purity of soul and body
and the strength to resist all attacks and temptations by the Devil. I myself
will preciously protect you.”
He said
the grace would also be for their family members in need of divine help.
Hope
for Sinners
St.
Joseph desires all sinners to be converted and saved. “Many are those who are
distant from God because of their grave sins. Many of those, my children, are
in that state because they let themselves fall to the wiles of the Devil. The
enemy of salvation makes them think there is no solution, nor return, because
they have despaired and have not trusted in divine mercy. These will be easy
targets for the Devil.”
But he
says to “all sinners, even those who have committed the most terrible sins, to
trust in the love and in the forgiveness of God and to trust in me also, in my
intercession. All those who trustingly have recourse to me will have the
certainty of my help to recover the divine grace and mercy of God.”
Not
wanting sinners to despair, he promised those who trust in his most pure Heart
and devotedly honor it, “the grace to be consoled by me in their greatest
afflictions of the soul and in the danger of judgment, when by misfortune lose
divine grace because of their grave sins. To these sinners, who have recourse
to me, I promise the graces of my Heart for the purpose of amendment, of
repentance and of sincere contrition of their sins. Now, I say to all sinners:
Do not be afraid of the Devil and do not despair because of your crimes, but
come throw yourselves in my arms and take refuge in my Heart so that you may
receive all the graces for your eternal salvation.”
Help
with Today’s Problems
St.
Joseph focused on life’s difficulties and offered consolation. “My Son Jesus,
through my Heart, wishes to impart to all men his divine blessings. I know many
of you suffer many great difficulties because, in these last times, men no
longer love or help one another but live with their hearts full of pride,
falsehood, lies, intrigue, ambition, backbiting, pettiness, and many wrong
things that are the consequences of living far from God.”
St.
Joseph said to all who honor his Heart and trust in him and his intercession, “I
promise they will not be abandoned in their difficulties and in the trials of
life. I will ask Our Lord to help them with his Divine Providence in their
material and spiritual problems.”
To
mothers and fathers consecrating themselves and their families to his Heart,
St. Joseph assured help in afflictions and problems, and assistance with
raising up their children.
Sin: Consequences & His
Protection
The
spouse of Mary did not ignore the current world situation which in 1998 was
still 18 years from the multitude of today’s multiplying spiritual chaos.
He
emphasized, “[M]y Son Jesus is very indignant with the sins of humanity.
“He
desires to pour his divine justice upon all men that do not want to repent and
continue obstinately in their sins. Look, my son, I hold his right hand,
preventing Him from pouring out his justice upon all humanity. I ask Him,
through the graces of my Heart and for being worthy to live by his side, taking
care of him with the love of a father in this world, and for Him having loved
me with the love of a son, to not chastise the world for its crimes, but for
all my little ones who honor and will honor this Chaste Heart of mine, should
pour out his mercy upon the world.”
The world’s
many sins call humanity to repent and do penance, he said, “because God
receives continued offenses from ungrateful men. Today there are so many
outrages, the sacrilege and indifference by all men. It is because of this that
so many calamities like war, hunger and disease occur and so many other sad
things man has suffered because of man’s rebellion against God.”
St.
Joseph made clear rebellion’s consequences. “God lets men follow their own
paths to show them all, without him, they will never be happy. He lets men go
through so much suffering, to also show them the consequences sin brings to
their lives and so then the divine justice punishes humanity because of their
obstinance in not being obedient to God's Will.
He
pointed out humanity is “increasingly obstinate in their crimes” because of
concern for worldly pleasures “rather than the love of God and his
Commandments. But God's justice is close at hand in a way never seen before and
will come about suddenly upon the whole world.”
That
should shake us, yet this most powerful saint extends a hope-filled solution.
All those who honor his Chaste Heart “will receive the grace of my protection
from all evils and dangers. For those who surrender to me will not be
slaughtered by misfortunes, by wars, hunger, by diseases and other calamities,
they will have my Heart as a refuge for their protection. Here, in my Heart,
all will be protected against the divine justice in the days that will come.
All who consecrate themselves to my Heart, honoring it, they will be looked
upon by my Son Jesus with eyes of mercy, Jesus will pour out his love and will
take to the glory of his Kingdom all those I put in my Heart.”
First Wednesdays — Request &
Promise
When St. Joseph
appeared on the first Wednesday of March 1998, he had a special request. With
the First Friday and First Saturday devotions, he was giving us a companion
devotion. He said,
“On every
first Wednesday of the month, my Chaste Heart pours numerous graces on all who
rely on my intercession. On these Wednesdays, men will not receive a shower of
simple graces, but very strong torrents of extraordinary graces! I will share
them with those who honor me and rely on me, all the blessings, all the
virtues, and all the love I received from my Divine Son Jesus and my spouse the
Blessed Virgin Mary while still living in this world and all the graces that I
continue to receive in the glory of paradise.”
The
request came with his great “promise to intercede before him for those who come
to me, honoring this Heart of mine. I will give them the graces to be able to
resolve the most difficult problems and urgent necessities, that to the eyes of
man seem impossible, but that, through my intercession to God, will be
possible. I grant the graces of my Heart to all sinners so they may convert.”
(St.
Joseph had made this same request during Our Lady of America’s apparitions in
March 1958, asking us to recite the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary in memory of
his life with Jesus and Mary and the love he bore them and sorrow he suffered
with them, plus receive Holy Communion with the love which he received the
Savior and each time he held Jesus in his arms.)
Confirmed by Wife Mary
At the
end of her husband’s appearances, the Blessed Virgin Mary made a promise
herself. “All who honor the Most Chaste Heart of St. Joseph will benefit with
my maternal presence in their lives in a special way.”
“To those
who ask of his Heart with trust, I promise to intercede before the Eternal
Father, my Divine Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I will obtain for them, from
God, the grace to reach perfect sanctity in the virtues of St. Joseph, this way
reaching the perfect love in which he lived. Men will learn to love my Son
Jesus and myself with the same love as my Most Chaste Spouse Joseph, receiving
the most pure love from our Hearts.
“My Son
Jesus, my Chaste Spouse Joseph and I are at your side. Fear nothing, because
our hearts will protect you always.”
Reward
for Spreading Devotion to St. Joseph
There is
yet something else St. Joseph said that’s we shouldn’t disregard.
“[A]ll
those who propagate the devotion to my Heart, and practice it with love, have
the certainty of having their names engraved on it just as my Son Jesus' cross
and the "M" of Mary are engraved on it…”
After
all, “That all may spread devotion to my Heart, it is God Himself who asks it.”
Every Wednesday is
Dedicated to St. Joseph
The Italian culture has
always had a close association with St. Joseph perhaps you could make
Wednesdays centered around Jesus’s Papa. Plan an Italian dinner of pizza or
spaghetti after attending Mass as most parishes have a Wednesday evening Mass.
You could even do carry out to help restaurants. If you are adventurous you
could do the Universal Man Plan: St. Joseph style. Make the evening a family night
perhaps it could be a game night. Whatever you do make the day special.
·
Do the St.
Joseph Universal Man Plan.
·
Do Day 11 of the
Consecration to St. Joseph.
Daily
Devotions
·
Litany
of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
·
Rosary
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