Feast of the Most Chaste Heart of St. Joseph[1]
The
Feast of the Most Chaste Heart of St. Joseph is to be celebrated on the first
Wednesday after the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. These apparitions were approved
by Bishop Dom Carillo Gritti on January 31, 2010. The messages of Itapiranga
contain 10 promises to those who are devoted to the Most Chaste Heart of St.
Joseph. Jesus, Mary and Joseph disclose these promises for the benefit of the
whole Church.
I - St Joseph: 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.
II - St. Joseph: 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.
III - St. Joseph: I promise to intercede before God 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.
IV - St. Joseph: I promise all who will trust in my Most
Chaste Heart, devoutly honoring 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.
V - St. Joseph: To all who honor this Heart of mine and trust
in me and in my 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.
VI – St. Joseph: Mothers and fathers – consecrate yourselves
to my Heart, likewise your families, and you will receive my help in your
afflictions and problems. Just as I brought up the Son of the Most Hight in his
holy laws, I will assist you with the upbringing and education of your
children. I will help all fathers and mothers that consecrate their children to
me, to bring them up with love in the holy laws of God, so they may find the
secure road to salvation.
VII – St. Joseph: So then, my son, tell all those that honor this Chaste Heart of mine they 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.
VIII – St. Joseph: All 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, as formed by wounds. This also applies for all priests whom I
love with predilection. The priests who have a devotion to my Heart and spread
it will have the grace of touching the most hardened hearts and convert
obstinate sinners.
IX – Our Lady: All who honor the Most Chaste Heart of St.
Joseph will benefit with my maternal presence in their lives in a special way.
I will be at the side of each son and daughter of mine, helping and comforting
them with a mothers' Heart, just as I helped and comforted my Most Chase Spouse
Joseph in this world. 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.
X – Our Lord Jesus Christ: All who will honor my Virginal Father Joseph's Most Chaste Heart, will receive at the hour of death the grace to resist the schemes of the enemy of salvation, receiving victory and the deserved recompense in the Kingdom of my Heavenly Father. Those who devoutly honor this Chaste Heart in this world have the certainty of receiving great glory in Heaven. The devoted souls of my Virginal Father Joseph will benefit from the beatific vision of the Holy Trinity and will have the profound knowledge of the One Triune God, the thrice Holy. They will enjoy the presence of my Heavenly Mother and my Virginal Father Joseph in the heavenly Kingdom. These souls will be loved by the Holy Trinity and by my Holy Mother Mary and will encircle the Most Chaste Heart of my Virginal Father Joseph like the most beautiful of lilies.
SMOKE IN THIS LIFE, NOT THE NEXT
June 17 — Don Félix and the Cold River
Choose a Don Félix tonight — a simple, working‑man’s smoke — the kind a man reaches for when he wants a little warmth against the truth. Hold it beside Drithelm in the freezing river. He broke the ice with his own hands, stood in the bitter water, and when men marveled he answered only: “I have seen greater cold.”
One man hides in the haze.
One man wakes in the cold.
Better to face the small burn now than the greater cold later.
Prayer
O my God, we beg of Thee in union with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, through the merits of the Precious Blood offered in every Mass throughout the world, to grant conversion to sinners and to all who will die this day the grace of repentance and a happy death.
If it be Your Will, accept this offering to console the Heart of Jesus in agony for souls who flee discomfort and delay repentance.
Have mercy on the holy souls in Purgatory, especially the forgotten. Do not delay their deliverance, but let the purifying flame consume their defects so they may stand in Your divine presence.
Amen.
Drithelm stepped into the river and was changed.
Offer your smoke tonight for the man who still says, “Not tonight.”
JUNE 17 Wednesday Third Week after
Pentecost
Psalm 31, Verse 20:
How great is your goodness, Lord,
stored up for those who FEAR you. You
display it for those who trust you, in the sight of the children of Adam.
Reviewing this verse one wonders, what exactly does “stored up mean”. A little research reveals that stored up means to gather or amass something. King David is professing here that just as in the natural world there are laws that if followed lead to exponential growth so it follows that if a believer but trust in the Lord and retain a Godly fear versus the fear of man; there will be a great abundance in spiritual growth.
This growth will be so great that it will be accompanied by physical abundance, so that all may see, as stated in the verse “in the sight of the children of Adam” that God has blessed those who love and trust him. Fear not, for God is with you! Trust in Him as you would a mighty fortress in harsh conditions.
Copilot’s Take
Psalm 31:20 tells us that God “stores up”
goodness for those who fear Him — a treasury of strength, clarity, and blessing
reserved for the man who stands in right order before the Holy. The Catechism
teaches that fear of the Lord is a gift of the Spirit that “fills us
with respect for God and makes us dread offending Him” (CCC 1831).
This posture is not weakness; it is the foundation of masculine stability. When
a man fears God, he becomes grounded. When he fears man, he becomes unstable.
The goodness God stores up is meant to make a man steady, courageous, and
fruitful “in the sight of the children of Adam.”
The Islamic New Year invites us to look beyond
our own borders and consider how different traditions understand manhood. In
Islam, masculinity is rooted in submission to the will of God — strength
expressed through discipline, duty, honor, and communal responsibility. A man
is expected to lead, protect, and uphold justice. In Christianity, masculinity
is rooted in sonship — strength expressed through sacrificial love,
humility, and the Cross. A man is strong because he belongs to the Father
through Christ, who reveals the fullness of manhood in His self‑gift (CCC 518,
564). Both traditions call men to courage and responsibility, but they
differ in the source and shape of that strength.
These contrasts matter because America is
experiencing a wholesale collapse of the masculine spirit. The confusion is so
deep that many no longer know what their bodies mean or what their identity is
for. The Catechism teaches that the human person is “involved in a dramatic
struggle between good and evil” (CCC 409) and that this struggle
touches every dimension of life — including identity itself. Islam reminds men
of duty, discipline, and honor. Christianity reminds men of identity,
sacrifice, and grace. Together, they expose the emptiness of a culture that
tries to erase manhood altogether.
The Catechism also teaches that man and woman
are created “for each other” (CCC 372), not in rivalry but in
complementarity. Masculinity is not domination; it is stewardship. It is the
willingness to carry weight so others can flourish. It is the courage to
confront evil rather than negotiate with it. It is the humility to receive wisdom
rather than pretend self‑sufficiency. A man who fears God becomes a fortress
for others — not a tyrant, not a ghost, but a presence. This is the kind of man
both Islam and Christianity honor, though they form him differently.
Satan has always hated the body because the
body reveals God’s design. The Catechism teaches that the body is not an
accessory but part of the divine image (CCC 364). Masculinity images the
Father’s strength; femininity images the Church’s fruitfulness. When the enemy
cannot destroy the body outright, he seeks to distort it. When he cannot
silence a man, he tries to confuse him. When he cannot stop a man from leading,
he tries to make him ashamed of leading. The confusion we see today — even down
to the level of bodily identity — is a sign that the spiritual battle has moved
from the periphery to the core.
To resist this destruction, men must recover the balance of action and reflection. Action without reflection becomes recklessness. Reflection without action becomes paralysis. A man of God must hold both — the forward-driving force of masculine initiative and the receptive wisdom that allows him to see his wounds, confront his patterns, and grow in holiness. This is the maturity the Catechism calls integral human formation (CCC 2339): strength governed by virtue, desire governed by reason, and identity governed by truth.
The masculine spirit is restored when a man
fears God more than he fears culture. When he trusts God more than he trusts
his own strength. When he stands firm in the identity God gave him rather than
the identity the world tries to impose. A man who lives this way becomes a sign
of contradiction — a living witness to the goodness God has stored up for those
who trust Him.
The Masculine Spirit[1]
In
America we are gradually seeing the wholesale destruction of the masculine
spirit. We are so confused many of us don’t know which bathroom to use.
Is
this just another attempt by Satan to kill the body as God created it?
Men and women need to value themselves and value the beneficial characteristics of masculinity and to reject the false images of being male. Men and women were created to be different. They were created to be in partnership, neither one dominating the other, each using their God-given gifts of gender for the benefit of the other and for the redemption of the world. The spirit of man is action oriented yet at times it is imperative that men to be fully men of God; must borrow from the female spirit the art of reflection. We must become aware of the wounds from our childhood that drive us toward destruction and trap us in unhealthy behavior as adults. We must reflect and learn from our mistakes, so we are not doomed to repeat them. As we reflect we can see most men fall into one of four Archetypes—King, Warrior, Magician, and Lover. Archetypes are blueprints, primordial images that affect how we think, feel, and react to life’s situations. A balanced man can be all four simultaneously directing his energy to the problem at hand but problems come when a man gets stuck and becomes trapped in one archetype. Each type has positive and negative characteristics of which a balanced man can tap to be a hero or a villain.
Bible
in a year Day 347 Witness to Unbelievers
Fr. Mike outlines Paul’s
trial before King Agrippa and his efforts to use his conversion story to
convert those hearing his case. He also leads us through the first half of
Ephesians, emphasizing Paul’s main theme of unity in the spirit. Today’s
readings are from Acts 26, Ephesians 1-3, and Proverbs 29:18-21.
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Daily
Devotions
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Individuals
with Mental Illness
Litany
of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
Rosary
THE JACKPOT (1950)
James Stewart • Barbara Hale
Directed by Walter Lang
A post‑war domestic comedy with a nervous pulse,
The Jackpot lives in the bright, cluttered world
of early American consumer dreams —
a world where “winning big” can unravel a man faster
than losing ever did.
It isn’t a riches‑to‑riches fantasy so much as a study
of what happens when an ordinary husband
is handed more than his life can hold —
and the tax man, the neighbors, and the newspapers
all come knocking at once.
A decent man overwhelmed by sudden fortune.
A wife steadier than the ground beneath him.
A home invaded by prizes he never asked for.
And the quiet truth that sometimes the greatest burden
is the blessing you didn’t choose.
There is no glamour here —
just pressure, pride, and the fragile dignity
of a man trying to stay upright
while the world mistakes him for lucky.
And then the reckoning comes —
not with wealth,
but with the realization
that the only treasure worth keeping
is the family that survives the storm with you.
1. Production & Historical Setting
Post‑War America and the Rise of Consumer Fantasy
Released in 1950, the film sits at the dawn of the sweepstakes era —
a moment when America believed happiness could be delivered
by mail, radio, or department‑store promotion.
The movie gently mocks that optimism
while revealing the anxiety beneath it.
James Stewart: The Overloaded Everyman
Stewart plays the role he was born for —
the decent, slightly bewildered man
trying to hold his life together
as the world piles expectations on his back.
Barbara Hale: The Quiet Center
Hale anchors the film with warmth and intelligence —
the kind of wife who steadies the ship
while her husband chases the horizon.
2. Story Summary
A Windfall with Strings Attached
Stewart’s character wins a mountain of prizes —
everything from appliances to absurd luxuries —
and discovers each one comes with a cost.
A Home Turned Upside Down
Reporters swarm, neighbors pry,
and the IRS circles like a hawk.
The “jackpot” becomes a slow‑motion collapse.
A Marriage Tested by Fortune
Hale stands firm as her husband unravels,
reminding him that sanity is worth more
than any prize on the list.
A Return to What Matters
In the end, the jackpot isn’t the goods —
it’s the clarity that comes
when the noise finally dies down.
3. Spiritual & Moral Resonances
A. The Burden of Sudden Blessings
Not every gift is grace; some are tests.
B. The Illusion of Prosperity
A full house can hide an empty heart.
C. The Strength of a Steady Woman
Hale’s character is the ballast —
the one who keeps the family from capsizing.
D. The Temptation of Applause
Public attention is a counterfeit crown.
E. The Home as Sanctuary
When the world intrudes,
the family must become the fortress.
4. Hospitality Pairing — A Mid‑Century Nightcap
Drink: A highball — simple whiskey and soda,
the classic American “take the edge off.”
Plate: Buttered toast and a late‑night slice of leftover pie —
the comfort food of a house that’s been too busy.
Atmosphere: A kitchen light left on,
newspapers scattered,
the hum of an overworked refrigerator.
Symbol: A stack of unopened boxes —
reminders that abundance without order
is just another kind of chaos.
5. Reflection Prompts
What “jackpots” in my life are actually burdens.
Where am I mistaking noise for blessing.
What possessions are possessing me.
Who is the steady soul God has placed beside me.
Where must I choose simplicity over spectacle today.
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