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 Father of the Society of Jesus came to Viré in France, in the beginning of the Lent of 1854, to preach a Mission there, but, owing to unforeseen circumstances, the three Fathers who were to have assisted him in this important work were prevented coming. Viré contained about 10,000 inhabitants, and there was every prospect of the mission being productive of great good; but now how was this possible; a single priest was not sufficient for such a harvest. The Father wrote to his superiors and implored help, but it was all in vain; no help could be given. The Feast of St. Joseph was at hand, and on the eve, when preparing for his meditation, the Father met with these words of St. Teresa: “I never remember to have asked St. Joseph for anything without having obtained it, and for many years I have asked some particular grace on his feast and have never failed to be heard.”

The next day, as soon as his meditation was finished, he wrote three letters, and giving them to the priest, said: “Our Mission will be given; here are three letters which I place under the protection of St. Joseph, I have asked him for Missioners and he will come to our assistance. St. Teresa says she never failed to obtain of this great Saint what she asked on his feast.” The clergy and people of Viré, though they had wished much for a Mission, had now given up all hopes, and laughingly said to the Father:

“You have moved heaven and earth in vain; do you still hope? All the saints in heaven have failed you, and do you think St. Joseph will grant your request, and that he has Missioners ready to set out at his pleasure?” The obstacles were certainly great, but divine Providence willed to glorify St. Joseph and show how powerful was his intercession. A few days passed, when, at the moment he was least expected, a Father arrived from Belgium; next day two other Fathers came, sent from the Jesuits’ house at Angers.  Each letter had brought a Father, and one of them had to leave a work of importance which he could not make up his mind to do until he had prayed to St. Joseph to direct him. The favor obtained so unexpectedly becoming known, the people flocked to the Mission which was given with the happiest results.

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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.