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 student belonging to the College of Fano was in the year 1855 taken dangerously ill. Several doctors were called in, but their remedies gave no relief, and he seemed gradually sinking. After a further consultation the physicians declared that nothing could save him, and moreover, that as death might occur at any moment it would be advisable to administer the last Sacraments.

His confessor knowing that nothing more could be hoped for from man, advised him to put his trust in St. Joseph, and to pray to him with great confidence. He also recommended him to have seven Masses offered in honor of the seven joys and the seven sorrows of the great patriarch, and to receive Communion on the Feast of the Patronage which was near at hand. Furthermore, he suggested that a statue of the saint should be placed in his room, and that on the eve of the feast he should burn two wax candles before it. All this the student promised to do, and St. Joseph was not unmindful of these testimonies of confidence and love.

The very day the promises were made a change was perceived in the invalid; the dangerous symptoms disappeared, and before many days had elapsed he was entirely restored to health. The case was the more remarkable as many members of his family had died from the same complaint.

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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.