{"id":9584,"date":"2026-05-21T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/?p=9584"},"modified":"2026-05-19T14:17:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T18:17:47","slug":"part-3-the-heart-of-joseph","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/consecration-to-the-hearts-of-jesus-mary-and-joseph\/part-3-the-heart-of-joseph\/","title":{"rendered":"Part 3: The Heart of Joseph- Day 13"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Introduction to the Week of Consecration to the Heart of St. Joseph<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We make our way to consecrated our hearts to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus by first going through the path that Jesus Himself went through. The first step was actually creating the Immaculate Conception and still finding in her many years later the pure Heart and readiness to say Yes, but first God entrusted her to the Most Chaste Heart of St. Joseph. St. Joseph\u2019s marriage to the Virgin Mary was a necessary precursor to the Annunciation. God did not create the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in the womb of Mary until her Immaculate Heart had first been entrusted to St. Joseph. We can muse over the reasons for this, but one seems to be that God started the work of redemption not just with an individual dropped from the sky, but rather with a family. There was one cell of perfect love from which the grace of redemption could pour forth. And in that little Holy Family there was already a taste of heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this reason, by conforming and even consecrating our hearts to the heart of Joseph, we prepare our hearts for consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. What then are the qualities of his heart? We meditate first on its purity. Although there have been discussions about the sinlessness of Joseph, the great Josephologist, Fr. Francis Filas wrote in his monumental work The Man Closest to Jesus<\/em>: \u201cAll authorities agree that St. Joseph must have been confirmed in grace. This is a minimum opinion, generally accepted. It means that God\u2019s providence surrounded the Saint with such helps that he did not sin grievously nor, in general, did he commit fully deliberate sin. The reason usually given for holding this opinion rests on Joseph\u2019s vocation and on his intimacy with mary and with Jesus.\u201d1<\/a><\/sup> St. John Henry Newman makes the same claim in our first meditation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

St. Francis de Sales was a great lover and preacher about St. Joseph and he invites us to meditate on St. Joseph\u2019s great virtues such as courage, perseverance, constancy, and above all humility. He further emphasizes the connection between St. Joseph\u2019s humility and his chastity. As one of his great virtues, chastity is so beautiful and so little understood. To reflect on the most chaste heart of St. Joseph we consider some passages from the Catechism on Chastity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Popes have seen St. Joseph as a great lover of Jesus and Mary and their protector. By extension, he continues to love and protect the mystical Body of Jesus, the Church, which has Mary as its heart and perfection in heaven. For that reason he is our guardian and protector as well. By learning to place ourselves under his protection, we will conform our hearts more and more to his.<\/p>\n\n\n

  1. Francis Lad Filas, Joseph: The Man Closest to Jesus: The Complete Life, Theology and
    Devotional History of St. Joseph (St. Paul Editions, 1962), 413.     \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    Day 13: The Pure Heart of St. Joseph<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    READING 1<\/strong>
    Psalm 15<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Lord, who may abide in your tent, and dwell on your holy mountain? Whoever walks without fault; who does what is upright, and speaks the truth from his heart. Whoever does not slander with his tongue; who does no wrong to a neighbor, who casts no slur on a friend, who looks with scorn on the wicked, but honors those who fear the Lord. Who keeps an oath, whatever the cost, who lends no money at interest, and accepts no bribes against the innocent. Such a one shall never be shaken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    READING 2<\/strong>
    From a meditation on St. Joseph prepared by St. John Henry Newman<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (1) Joseph was pure and innocent in a way unlike any other man who ever lived, our Lord excepted. His soul was as white as snow. He had nothing whatever within his heart to make him ashamed, and he would have found it most difficult to find matter for confession. O Joseph, make me so blameless and irreproachable that I should not care though friends saw into my heart as perfectly as Jesus and Mary saw into thine. O gain me the grace of holy simplicity and affectionateness, so that I may love thee, Mary, and, above all, Jesus, as thou didst love Jesus and Mary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (2) Joseph was as humble as he was sinless. He never thought of himself, but always of the Infant Saviour, whom he carried in his arms. O holy Joseph, make me like thee in purity, simplicity, innocence and devotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (From Tuesday of his Meditations for Eight Days<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    REFLECTION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We begin our week of St. Joseph guided by St. John Henry Newman, reflecting on Joseph\u2019s purity of heart, his holy simplicity, his innocence and his devotion. Purity, simplicity and innocence include an integrity and transparency that means one is the same, consistent\u2014all the way through. Like pure spring water, it is not discolored and has no debris. It is pure and clear. Joseph\u2019s yes meant yes and his no meant no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Newman invites us into a meditation on our own hearts, in how it would feel to be totally seen, the way that Jesus and Mary could totally see Joseph. Do we have the taint of the world or the duplicity of sin? How integrated is my heart? Is there anything that would cause me to feel shame, standing totally exposed before Jesus and Mary? The Sacrament of Confession is the place where we can expose everything to Jesus and He heals it with His mercy so we never need to be ashamed before Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Newman also gives the true motive of this purity of heart\u2014so that I can love Jesus and Mary like St. Joseph did. That\u2019s the goal of this week. Throughout the week we have a choice of prayers. Feel free to pray all of them, or to choose a different one each day, as you feel led by the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    PRAYERS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Litany of St. Joseph or
    Ancient Prayer of St. Joseph or
    Ad te beate Ioseph<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Copyright \u00a9 2026 by St. Vincent Archabbey<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Introduction to the Week of Consecration to the Heart of St. Joseph We make our way to consecrated our hearts to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus by first going through the path that Jesus Himself went through. The first step was actually creating the Immaculate Conception and still finding in her many years later […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"[{\"content\":\"Francis Lad Filas, Joseph: The Man Closest to Jesus: The Complete Life, Theology and
    Devotional History of St. Joseph (St. Paul Editions, 1962), 413.\",\"id\":\"b1e4fc38-3de5-41cb-8f9e-d29b43ff063b\"}]","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[88],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-consecration-to-the-hearts-of-jesus-mary-and-joseph"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7bfMR-2uA","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9927,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/consecration-to-the-hearts-of-jesus-mary-and-joseph\/join-me-in-a-consecration-to-the-hearts-of-jesus-mary-and-joseph\/","url_meta":{"origin":9584,"position":0},"title":"Join Me in a Consecration to the Heart of Jesus Through the Hearts of Mary and Joseph","author":"Father Boniface Hicks, O.S.B.","date":"May 9, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The United States bishops are consecrating our country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 11, 2026. The choice of this year is in commemoration of the 250th\u00a0anniversary of the founding of our nation. There are resources available for the day of consecration on the USCCB website:\u00a0https:\/\/www.usccb.org\/weholdthesetruthsFor those who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Consecration to the Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph"","block_context":{"text":"Consecration to the Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/consecration-to-the-hearts-of-jesus-mary-and-joseph\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1000007892-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1000007892-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1000007892-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1000007892-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1000007892-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1000007892-1.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9535,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/consecration-to-the-hearts-of-jesus-mary-and-joseph\/day-1-emptying-our-hearts-of-the-noise-of-the-world-and-duplicity\/","url_meta":{"origin":9584,"position":1},"title":"Day 1: Emptying Our Hearts of the Noise of the World and Duplicity","author":"Father Boniface Hicks, O.S.B.","date":"May 9, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Consecration to the Heart of Jesus Through the Hearts of Mary and Joseph READING 1Genesis 3:7-10 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Consecration to the Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph"","block_context":{"text":"Consecration to the Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/consecration-to-the-hearts-of-jesus-mary-and-joseph\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9572,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/consecration-to-the-hearts-of-jesus-mary-and-joseph\/day-8-a-spirituality-of-the-heart\/","url_meta":{"origin":9584,"position":2},"title":"Day 8: A Spirituality of the Heart","author":"Father Boniface Hicks, O.S.B.","date":"May 16, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"READING 1Luke 12: 49-50 Jesus said: \u201cI came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am constrained until it is accomplished!\u201d READING 2From Behold the Pierced One by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger In the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Consecration to the Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph"","block_context":{"text":"Consecration to the Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/consecration-to-the-hearts-of-jesus-mary-and-joseph\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Jesus suffering with tears in his eyes","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DSC_0135-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DSC_0135-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DSC_0135-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DSC_0135-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DSC_0135-2.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9566,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/consecration-to-the-hearts-of-jesus-mary-and-joseph\/part-2-return-to-the-heart\/","url_meta":{"origin":9584,"position":3},"title":"Part 2: Return to the Heart- Day 6","author":"Father Boniface Hicks, O.S.B.","date":"May 14, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"INTRODUCTION Having emptied our hearts of some of the clutter of the world, we reflect in these days on the importance of the heart. The heart is where we find our real self. We make our ascent to union with God particularly with our heart. The centrality of our heart\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Consecration to the Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph"","block_context":{"text":"Consecration to the Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/consecration-to-the-hearts-of-jesus-mary-and-joseph\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Agustin_Esteve_y_Marques_1753-c.1820_-_The_Holy_Family_and_Saint_John_the_Baptist_after_Bartolome_Esteban_Murillo_-_872159_-_National_Trust.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Agustin_Esteve_y_Marques_1753-c.1820_-_The_Holy_Family_and_Saint_John_the_Baptist_after_Bartolome_Esteban_Murillo_-_872159_-_National_Trust.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Agustin_Esteve_y_Marques_1753-c.1820_-_The_Holy_Family_and_Saint_John_the_Baptist_after_Bartolome_Esteban_Murillo_-_872159_-_National_Trust.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Agustin_Esteve_y_Marques_1753-c.1820_-_The_Holy_Family_and_Saint_John_the_Baptist_after_Bartolome_Esteban_Murillo_-_872159_-_National_Trust.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9574,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/consecration-to-the-hearts-of-jesus-mary-and-joseph\/day-9-learn-to-pray-from-the-heart\/","url_meta":{"origin":9584,"position":4},"title":"Day 9: Learn to Pray from the Heart","author":"Father Boniface Hicks, O.S.B.","date":"May 17, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"READING 1Psalm 19:13-15 But who can detect their own errors? From hidden faults acquit me. From presumption restrain your servant; may it not rule me. Then shall I be blameless, clean from grave sin. May the spoken words of my mouth, the thoughts of my heart, win favor in your\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Consecration to the Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph"","block_context":{"text":"Consecration to the Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/consecration-to-the-hearts-of-jesus-mary-and-joseph\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/sacred-heart-and-holy-spirit.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/sacred-heart-and-holy-spirit.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/sacred-heart-and-holy-spirit.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9679,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/consecration-to-the-hearts-of-jesus-mary-and-joseph\/day-3-emptying-our-hearts-of-unquiet-becoming-focused-and-intentional\/","url_meta":{"origin":9584,"position":5},"title":"Day 3: Emptying Our Hearts of Unquiet; Becoming Focused and Intentional","author":"Father Boniface Hicks, O.S.B.","date":"May 11, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"READING 1James 5:11-13 Behold, we call those happy who were steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Consecration to the Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph"","block_context":{"text":"Consecration to the Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/consecration-to-the-hearts-of-jesus-mary-and-joseph\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9584"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10234,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9584\/revisions\/10234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}