Dear Men of St. Catherine's Parish,
I want to invite you all to join me on March 19, 2020, the feast of St. Joseph, in making a special consecration to St. Joseph. You may be more familiar with the tradition in the Church of making a consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary (really we are consecrating ourselves to Jesus through the intercession of Mary); however, there is also a tradition, especially for men, to consecrate themselves and their families to Jesus through the intercession of St. Joseph. In making this consecration we are invoking the special protection of St. Joseph to live out our call to be strong fathers and protectors of our families and to truly be men after the heart of Christ.
Often times, leading up to a consecration, there is a 33-day preparation, which includes readings and prayers. We will be using a brand new book by Fr. Donald Calloway that includes an excellent 33-day preparation. The daily readings and prayers take 6 or 7 minutes to complete and provide wonderful reflections on the life and mysteries of St. Joseph, and will help the consecration to be more fruitful.
The book is currently not available on Amazon or other major retailers; however, I have purchased several copies of the book, and individual copies may be purchased online here and picked up from our parish gift shop the weekend of February 8-9 or February 15-16. Please purchase your copy soon, as there are only a limited number available. (Copies will not be available for purchase at the gift shop. They must be purchased here in advance.)
The 33-day preparation begins on February 16, and the consecration occurs on March 19, the feast day of St. Joseph. You may make the consecration in private, or you may participate in a special evening of reflection and consecration ceremony at St. Catherine's on Thursday, March 19 from 7:00-7:30pm (families are welcome to attend as well). We will pray the consecration prayer together, consecrating ourselves and our families to St. Joseph.
As we approach the feast of St. Joseph, let’s ask his intercession to renew our families and to renew the Church and to allow all men to be strong fathers after heart of Christ.
