How is St Joseph linked to August?

1. On the Solemn feast of the Assumption of the blessed Virgin Mary 1889, Pope Leo XIII released an encyclical on devotion to St Joseph (QuamQuam Pluries) urging the faithful to invoke his powerful intercession as protector of the Church, the offspring of Jesus Christ.

In the encyclical Pope Leo XIII urged

• The faithful recite the following Prayer to St Joseph after the rosary during the month of October:

To thee, O blessed Joseph, we have recourse in our affliction, and having implored the help of thy thrice holy Spouse, we now, with hearts filled with confidence, earnestly beg thee also to take us under thy protection. By that charity wherewith thou wert united to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God, and by that fatherly love with which thou didst cherish the Child Jesus, we beseech thee and we humbly pray that thou wilt look down with gracious eye upon that inheritance which Jesus Christ purchased by His blood, and wilt succor us in our need by thy power and strength.

Defend, O most watchful guardian of the Holy Family, the chosen off-spring of Jesus Christ. Keep from us, O most loving Father, all blight of error and corruption. Aid us from on high, most valiant defender, in this conflict with the powers of darkness. And even as of old thou didst rescue the Child Jesus from the peril of His life, so now defend God’s Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity. Shield us ever under thy patronage, that, following thine example and strengthened by thy help, we may live a holy life, die a happy death, and attain to everlasting bliss in Heaven. Amen.

• The Pope also points back to March encouraging the faithful to dedicate the month to St Joseph with daily pious practices, especially sanctifying his feast on 19 March.

2. On the centenary of Pope Loe XIII’s encyclical, Pope John Paul II released an Apostolic Exhortation on the Person and Mission of St Joseph in the Life of Christ and the Church (Redemptoris Custos). The document highlights that the “silence” around Joseph’s actions points to the primacy of the interior life, because in Nazareth he was in daily contact with God’s “hidden” mystery.  The document emphasises that St Joseph’s silent life and work reveal his deep inner contemplation, modelling a prayerful life.

In the exhortation Pope JPII calls for:

• Renewed devotion to St. Joseph so as to grow in love for Jesus and trust in St Joseph’s patronage.
• Highlights that God “entrusted his most precious treasures” to Joseph. Joseph is therefore commended to and invoked by us as the Patron of the Universal Church.

3. 33-day Consecration to St Joseph

• Last year the Camino of St Joseph captured international interest, inspiring men across Europe to host a pilgrimage in honour of St Joseph. Other diocese throughout our own country too hosted their own Caminos in devotion to this great saint. The cause can be none other than the intersession of St Joseph himself.
• Therefore, we are once again inviting men to pray the 33 day Consecration to St Joseph by Fr Donald Calloway as preparation for this year’s pilgrimage. We will renew last year’s intention asking St Joseph to strengthen the faith of men and restore authentic masculinity to the life of the Church.
• The 33-day consecration begins Monday 20 July with consecration day on Friday 21 August, the night of the Camino. We will consecrate together at St Patrick’s Church Hill 8.30pm before the opening Mass. This prayer is a great way of getting to know St Joseph as a friend, mentor and great intercessor.

The Camino of St Joseph and the Eucharist

1. St Patrick’s Church Hill is the first site in Australia to house the Blessed Sacrament, even in the absence of a priest. The faithful would visit the Blessed Sacrament to nourish their faith in absence of the Mass.
2. The upcoming IEC happening in Australia 2028 calls all Catholics to renew and deepen their love for the Eucharist. As leaders, providers, protectors, it’s important for men to ground their masculinity and duties in the source and summit of the Church’s life, drawing close to the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus, Our Lord. Eucharistic devotion is central to the Camino of St Joseph and this year’s program has allowed more time for prayer in front of Eucharist, looking forward to 2028.

How is St Joseph and the Eucharist linked?

1. 21 August is the feast of Our Lady of Knock, which recalls an apparition of Our Lady in Ireland, 1879. Reports of the apparition note that St Joseph and St John also appeared in front of an altar where a lamb stood surrounded by angels, emphasising the Eucharist. Knock Shrine in County Mayo was visited by Pope John Paul II in 1979 and recognised as an international Eucharistic and Marian Shrine.
2. Both Quamquam Pluries and Redemptoris Custos present Joseph as the guardian/patron whose protection extends beyond his household to the Church’s life. St Joseph is connected to the Eucharist because his guardianship and care of Jesus (his feeding, protecting, and raising of the Incarnate Word) belongs to the same redemptive plan of the Church, sacramentally celebrated and received in the Mass and in Communion as “the bread of eternal life.” 

As some of our great saints have said:

“Pharaoh, the mighty king of Egypt, exalted Joseph and made him his highest prince in the kingdom, because he stored up the grain and bread and saved the people of his entire kingdom. So Joseph saved and protected Christ, who is the living bread and gives eternal life to the world”

• St Lawernce of Brindisi

“As the patriarch Joseph stored up wheat not for himself, but for the people in their time of need, so Joseph has received a heavenly commission to watch over the living Bread not for himself alone, but for the entire world”

• St Bernard of Clairvaux

“He (St Joseph) most diligently reared him whom faithful were to receive as the bread that came down from heaven whereby they might obtain eternal life”

• Blessed Pope Pius IX

ITE AD IOSEPH – REGISTER NOW FOR THE CAMINO OF ST JOSEPH AND BRING A MATE