She loved St Joseph

One cannot draw close to St Teresa without becoming aware of her devotion to St Joseph (Feast Day today).  St. Teresa reminds us why St. Joseph is such a great intercessor. “To other saints, Our Lord seems to have given power to succour us in some special necessity,” she wrote, “but to this glorious saint (I know by my experience), he has given the power to help us in all things. Our Lord would have us understand that, as he was subject to Joseph on earth — St. Joseph, bearing the title of his father and being his guardian, could command him — so now Our Lord in heaven grants all his petitions.”  St. Joseph has this power because of the unique relationship with the hearts of Jesus and Mary as a member of the ‘Earthly Trinity.  “Because of that union of hearts, St. Joseph has that intercessory power,” Father Smolenski (Rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of South Carolina) explains. “He’s so united with the hearts of Jesus and Mary because they lived in the harmony of love and reflected the harmony of love in the Trinity and the harmony of love in creation. …  In the development of the appreciation of St. Joseph in the Church, she was, in those Renaissance times, the major promoter of St. Joseph.” [Courtesy of the National Catholic Register website]

Intercessions

Cancer: Brian Davis, Bernard (and wife Angela caring for him), Jacqui, Theresa K, Fr Jon Bielowski (Plymouth Diocese), Catherine, Alex (43 with five children), Sister Daranee Teapthong

Illness:  Hilary Solomon, Katy Keeling

Siena, Elara – sick children

David OCDS – housebound

Sophia – blind infant

Grace – troubling ailments, job difficulties, family (deceased mother and health of father)

Mark – brain infection

Michael – youngster with occult influences

Defence of the unborn and the elderly

RIP Connor Calleja (20 yrs old)

We are asked to pray for the Diocese of Chiang Mai and Northern Thailand, as the Northern Mission celebrates its centenary. The process of selecting a new bishop continues.