Editorial from the Prior - March 2025

Dear faithful,

Fr. Ludovic-Marie Barielle, spiritual director at the Seminary of Écône, had a great devotion to St Joseph. He told the story of his time as a young priest in the south of France, when many family fathers came to see him, asking for help. They needed work, they needed someone to help them get a job, they would come and see Fr. Barielle, who was their “curé”. It was just after the War, there was hunger and misery everywhere. The priest would reassure them, saying: “I know someone in a high position, I’ll arrange it for you”. It wasn’t that he knew any millionaires, or that he had the ear of the city council. Fr. Barielle put his absolute trust in St Joseph. He would bring the situation to Our Lord’s foster father and then move forward. And in every case, the men came back telling him how they had been offered a good position, how they had returned to work, how they were able to provide for their families again. The one in the high position was the “Master of God’s household”.

We’re going into Lent; we’re suffering in our souls. So many people complain of dryness in prayer, of not being able to meditate, of being so taken up with material concerns, of needing more faith. Isn’t that also a kind of hunger, a spiritual emptiness that quickly becomes unbearable. How to “reconnect” with God? How to re-find our taste for truth, for virtue, for interior life? If St Joseph was attentive to Fr. Barielle’s asking for jobs and money, won’t he also help us resolve our spiritual issues?

St Joseph stands out by three virtues that are like keys to life with God: purity, fidelity and humility. He can help us to obtain them through a good Lent, through his intercession.

Purity detaches us from the tyranny of the senses. Even in this world of smartphones this virtue is attainable. Dr Majeres, a Catholic psychologist, has a very good website called “purityispossible.com” which puts all the elements on the table, biological, psychological, social and spiritual aspects, which we can work on to gain control over our appetites. I strongly recommend following his short presentation to win this battle for purity. This should be a part of our Lenten resolution: mortification of our senses (fasting on Fridays, or abstaining from screens, for example) to obtain purity. St Joseph is a model and an intercessor for this battle.

‘Faithful’ is an adjective we can certainly attribute to St Joseph. At every step, we see him on queue, a worthy husband to the Blessed Virgin Mary, leading her to Bethlehem, ready to depart to Egypt at the signal of the angel, diligently searching when Our Lord is lost for three days, regular in his duties as a carpenter. It’s easy to be faithful when things are going well. St Joseph was faithful even on the bad days. A good resolution to obtain this quality is good reading. Choose a book for Lent to deepen your knowledge of the faith. Reading gives us the clarity to see where we are going and stay on track.

Humility is St Joseph’s other special characteristic. He is not concerned about his own glory but completely committed to God’s plan. Humility is not about hiding our talents, it’s really about orienting them to a worthy cause. Prayer should be our third Lenten resolution, to ensure that our eyes are focused on God, on His glory, on His goals, and not on earthly distractions.

Before closing I would like to invite you to join us in St Catharines on March 4^th to honour the Holy Face on the feastday of this devotion. It is our privilege to know and bring praise to Christ’s countenance, so majestic, so full of goodness.

If I can also request your generosity for OLMCA’s car raffle. It is a good occasion to practice Lenten charity!

May St Joseph make this Lent a profitable time!