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 girl nineteen years of age called Philomena, who had been suffering some time from a nervous illness, was obliged on September the 5th, 1867, to keep her bed, as the slightest movement caused agonies of pain, and her digestive organs were so impaired that she could not retain even a spoonful of broth. The remedies prescribed by physicians being of no avail, her only hope of relief was from God, and those who visited her prayed that He would have pity on her, and reward the patience with which she suffered, by taking her to Heaven.
No change occurred and she was still in this suffering state when, on the 28th of February, she received a letter from the Superior of the convent in which she had been educated, who urged her not to despair, but to begin a novena to St. Joseph on the 10th of March, which would end on the Feast of the great Patriarch. The confidence of the Superior was so great that she ended her letter with these words: “I feel so confident, that I will only add goodbye till we meet again. I look forward to a visit from you on the 19th; our Convent as you know is under the patronage of St. Joseph.”
The confidence with which the Superior was inspired was shared by the invalid, who told all who came to see her that she would be cured on the 19th. During the Novena the sufferings of the poor girl increased and on the 17th she was in great agony. The next day a slight amelioration was perceptible, and on the 19th she was able to receive Holy Communion. A few minutes after she rose from her bed and prostrated herself before the statue of St. Joseph, which stood on a table near. Her cure was not only instantaneous but complete, and all bad symptoms without a single exception disappeared. Philomena, who ever after enjoyed good health, used to say that all things could be obtained from St, Joseph on the day of his feast.
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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.