The book, The Month of St. Joseph, presents daily considerations for the month of March in the form of meditations and practical examples. The example for today is as follows.

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EXAMPLE

A saintly Religious was inspired by the Blessed Virgin to beg through the intercession of her holy Spouse, Saint Joseph, grace to perform her spiritual exercises with fervor. This Religious was much troubled with violent temptations every time she began to meditate on the truths of eternity, and the violence of these temptations was such, that she gave way to fear and discouragement.

In her anguish she had recourse to the Blessed Virgin. whom she besought to obtain peace of mind for her, so that she might pray with tranquility and devotion. “O Mary,” she exclaimed, “if thou wilt not obtain the favor I ask for, at least inspire me to have recourse to the saint most dear to thee, and from whom I may implore this grace with confidence.”

Scarcely had she uttered this prayer when she felt her heart overflow with peace and spiritual sweetness; at the same time it was intimated to her that St. Joseph, the beloved Spouse of Mary, was dear to her above all the other saints, and on account of his transcendent virtues, worthy of being the Father and Master of all who wish to lead an interior and spiritual life. From that moment the Religious placed herself under his protection, and soon experienced the efficacy of his powerful intercession by being freed from all the temptations which had till then molested her; and whenever she felt the least return of them, she had only to invoke her good Father who immediately obtained for her peace of mind and interior recollection.

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This anecdote comes from the Month of St. Joseph by Abbé Berlioux, originally published in English in the year 1887. This book contains meditations and an example story for each day of the month. In an effort to preserve short inspiring stories from our Catholic past, every day for the month of March you can find the example story for the day published on the website under people/stories.

The same author also published similar books for the months of, May (Our Lady), June (Sacred Heart), and November (Holy Souls). We are planning to post the stories for these months in the future and are working with Mediatrix Press to re-publish these as a four book collection, so be sure to check back. The Month of St. Joseph is available now.