O glorious Saint Joseph,faithful follower of Jesus Christ,
to you we raise our hearts and hands
to implore your powerful intercession
in obtaining from the benign heart of Jesus
all the helps and graces necessary
for our spiritual and temporal welfare,
particularly for the grace of a happy death
and the special favor we now request…
(State your request here.)
O guardian of the Word Incarnate,
we feel animated with confidence that your prayers
in our behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.
O glorious St. Joseph,
through the love you bear to Jesus Christ
and for the glory of His name,
hear our prayers
and obtain our petitions.
Amen.
DAY FIVE
O holy St. Joseph,
what a lesson your life is for us,
ever so eager to appear
so anxious to display before the eyes of men
the graces that we owe entirely to the liberality of God.
In addition to the special favor for which we plead in this novena…
(State your request here…)
grant that we may attribute to God the glory of all things,
that we may love the humble and hidden life,
that we may not desire any other position
than the one given us by Providence
and that we may always be a docile instrument in the hands of God.
O glorious Saint Joseph,faithful follower of Jesus Christ,
to you we raise our hearts and hands
to implore your powerful intercession
in obtaining from the benign heart of Jesus
all the helps and graces necessary
for our spiritual and temporal welfare,
particularly for the grace of a happy death
and the special favor we now request…
(State your request here.)
O guardian of the Word Incarnate,
we feel animated with confidence that your prayers
in our behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.
O glorious St. Joseph,
through the love you bear to Jesus Christ
and for the glory of His name,
hear our prayers
and obtain our petitions.
Amen.
DAY FOUR
Saint Joseph, pride of Heaven,
unfailing hope for our lives,
and support of those on earth,
graciously accept our prayer of praise.
You were appointed spouse of the chaste Virgin
by the Creator of the world.
He willed that you be called “father” of the Word
and serve as agent of our salvation.
May the triune God who bestowed upon you heavenly honors,
be praised forever.
And may He grant us through your merits
the joy of a blessed life
and a favorable answer to our petition.
The Desert of Ordinary Life – Crossing the Desert: Lent and Conversion with Deacon James Keating
In this episode, Deacon James Keating and Kris McGregor discuss integrating faith into daily life, warning against separating religion from ordinary activities. They stress the need for vulnerability in worship to avoid routine and self-centeredness.
Lent offers opportunities for spiritual growth, including reconciliation and stations of the cross. They lament the decline of shame and public judgment in society, emphasizing the community’s role in upholding moral truth. The Eucharist brings peace and transforms individuals, impacting society through witness.
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions
Integration of Faith: How can we ensure that our faith is not compartmentalized but integrated into every aspect of our daily lives?
Vulnerability in Worship: Reflect on times when worship has felt routine or self-centered. How can we cultivate vulnerability and openness to God during worship?
Lenten Practices: In what ways can Lenten practices such as reconciliation and stations of the cross deepen our relationship with God?
Decline of Shame: What are the implications of the decline of shame and public judgment in contemporary society for moral behavior and community life?
Role of Community: How can communities uphold moral truth while respecting individual conscience and freedom?
Transformative Power of the Eucharist: Reflect on the transformative power of the Eucharist in bringing peace and impacting society through witness.
An excerpt from “Crossing the Desert: Lent and Conversion”:
“The only location for God to interact with us is deep within the ordinariness of our days. We are called to cherish the ordinary day, not because of its routine or common features, but because within this daily forum God reaches us through others, through worship, charity, and our relational commitments. Our daily lives carry an invitation from God to become morally good and holy; it is the only medium through which this invitation can come. Cherish the days.”
– Keating, James (2012-07-20). Liguori Publications. Kindle Edition.
Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a professor of Spiritual Theology and serves as a spiritual director at Kenrick Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO.
O glorious Saint Joseph,
faithful follower of Jesus Christ,
to you we raise our hearts and hands
to implore your powerful intercession
in obtaining from the benign heart of Jesus
all the helps and graces necessary
for our spiritual and temporal welfare,
particularly for the grace of a happy death
and the special favor we now request…
(State your request here.)
O guardian of the Word Incarnate,
we feel animated with confidence that your prayers
in our behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.
O glorious St. Joseph,
through the love you bear to Jesus Christ
and for the glory of His name,
hear our prayers
and obtain our petitions.
Amen.
DAY THREE
Blessed St. Joseph,
enkindle in our cold hearts a spark of your charity.
May God be always the first
and only object of our affections.
Keep our souls always in sanctifying grace and,
if we should be so unhappy as to lose it,
give us the strength to recover it immediately
by a sincere repentance.
Help us to such a love of our God
as will always keep us united to Him.
O glorious St. Joseph,
through the love you bear to Jesus Christ
and for the glory of His name,
hear our prayers
and obtain our petitions.
O glorious Saint Joseph,
faithful follower of Jesus Christ,
to you we raise our hearts and hands
to implore your powerful intercession
in obtaining from the benign heart of Jesus
all the helps and graces necessary
for our spiritual and temporal welfare,
particularly for the grace of a happy death
and the special favor we now request…
(State your request here.)
O guardian of the Word Incarnate,
we feel animated with confidence that your prayers
in our behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.
O glorious St. Joseph,
through the love you bear to Jesus Christ
and for the glory of His name,
hear our prayers
and obtain our petitions.
Amen.
DAY ONE
O great St. Joseph,
with feelings of unlimited confidence,
we beg you to bless this novena that we begin in your honor.
“You are never invoked in vain,” says the seraphic St. Theresa of Jesus.
Be you then to me
what you have been to that spouse of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
and graciously hear me as you did her.
St. Gregory of Narek – The Doctors of the Church: The Charism of Wisdom with Dr. Matthew Bunson
Born: 951 Rshtunik, Vaspurakan, Bagratid Armenia
Died: 1003 Narekavank, Vaspurakan, Armenia
Feast Day: 13 October (Holy Translators day); 27 February (Roman Catholic Church)
Dr. Matthew Bunson and Kris McGregor discuss the significance of St. Gregory of Narek being declared the 36th Doctor of the Church by Pope Francis in 2015. St. Gregory’s profound contributions to Christian spirituality, particularly his “Book of Lamentations,” is a collection of 95 poetic prayers that deeply resonate with themes of humility, suffering, and the longing for union with God. A mystic, theologian, and poet of the Armenian Church, is recognized for his ability to express the depths of human brokenness and the hope found in divine mercy. His writings are compared to those of St. Augustine and St. John of the Cross, emphasizing their ability to guide the faithful toward a personal encounter with God through lament and prayer.
St. Gregory’s life, shaped by early suffering and monastic formation, deeply influenced his spiritual insight. His work remains central to Armenian Christianity, with prayers from the “Book of Lamentations” integrated into the Armenian liturgy. The podcast considers how Gregory’s appointment as a Doctor of the Church invites the broader Catholic Church to engage more deeply with Eastern Christian traditions and spirituality.
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions
How does the Church’s recognition of St. Gregory of Narek as a Doctor deepen our understanding of the spiritual treasures within Eastern Christianity?
In what ways can Gregory’s “Book of Lamentations” teach us to transform our suffering into a path toward deeper union with God?
How does Gregory’s emphasis on humility challenge our approach to prayer and our relationship with God?
What does Gregory’s mystical theology reveal about the call to holiness and the pursuit of intimate communion with God for all believers?
How can the integration of Gregory’s prayers into the Armenian liturgy inspire a deeper appreciation for the role of sacred tradition in personal prayer?
How does Gregory’s work invite Latin Rite Catholics to explore the richness of Eastern Christian theology and worship?
What can the faithfulness of the Armenian Church, especially through suffering, teach us about perseverance in our own spiritual journey?
How can engaging with the writings of lesser-known Doctors, like Gregory, expand our understanding of Catholic spirituality and deepen our faith?
”An Armenian saint has been declared a Doctor of the Church. In last Saturday’s audience with the cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Pope Francis approved the proposal put forward by the Plenary Session of the Congregation, agreeing for the title of Doctor of the Universal Church to be conferred upon Gregory of Narek.
St. Gregory, a priest and monk, was born circa 950 AD in Andzevatsik (formerly Armenia, present-day Turkey) to a family of writers. He died circa 1005 in Narek (formerly Armenia, present-day Turkey). His father, Khosrov, was an archbishop. Having lost his mother at a young age, Gregory was brought up by his cousin, Anania of Narek, founder of the local school and village. The saint lived most of his life in the monasteries of Narek (in what was once called Great Armenia), where he taught at the monastic school. He is considered one of Armenian literature’s greatest poets.
The cult of St. Gregory of Narek will be marked on 27 February in the Roman Martyrology. He will be defined as “monk, doctor of the Armenians, distinguished for his writings and mystic science”.
The papal decision comes just weeks before Francis is due to commemorate the centenary of the Armenian massacre on 12 April in St. Peter’s Basilica. The Medz Yeghern as the Armenian massacre is called, took place in 1915.”
Dr. Matthew E. Bunson is a Register senior editor and a senior contributor to EWTN News. For the past 20 years, he has been active in the area of Catholic social communications and education, including writing, editing, and teaching on a variety of topics related to Church history, the papacy, the saints, and Catholic culture. He is faculty chair at Catholic Distance University, a senior fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, and the author or co-author of over 50 books including The Encyclopedia of Catholic History, The Pope Encyclopedia, We Have a Pope! Benedict XVI, The Saints Encyclopedia and best-selling biographies of St. Damien of Molokai and St. Kateri Tekakwitha.
From a letter from Saint Bernadette Soubirous, virgin
(Ep. ad Gondrand a 1861: cf. A. Ravier, Les escrits de sainte Bernadette, Paris, 1961, pp. 53-59)
The apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes
I had gone down one day with two other girls to the bank of the river Gave when suddenly I heard a kind of rustling sound. I turned my head toward the field by the side of the river but the trees seemed quite still and the noise was evidently not from them. Then I looked up and caught sight of the cave where I saw a lady wearing a lovely white dress with a bright belt. On top of each of her feet was a pale yellow rose, the same color as her rosary beads.
At this I rubbed my eyes, thinking I was seeing things, and I put my hands into the fold of my dress where my rosary was. I wanted to make the sign of the cross but for the life of me I couldn’t manage it and my hand just fell down. Then the lady made the sign of the cross herself and at the second attempt I managed to do the same, though my hands were trembling. Then I began to say the rosary while the lady let her beads slip through her fingers, without moving her lips. When I stopped saying the Hail Mary, she immediately vanished.
I asked my two companions if they had noticed anything, but they said no. Of course they wanted to know what I was doing and I told them that I had seen a lady wearing a nice white dress, though I didn’t know who she was. I told them not to say anything about it, and they said I was silly to have anything to do with it. I said they were wrong and I came back next Sunday, feeling myself drawn to the place….
The third time I went the lady spoke to me and asked me to come every day for fifteen days. I said I would and then she said that she wanted me to tell the priests to build a chapel there. She also told me to drink from the stream. I went to the Gave, the only stream I could see. Then she made me realise she was not speaking of the Gave and she indicated a little trickle of water close by. When I got to it I could only find a few drops, mostly mud. I cupped my hands to catch some liquid without success and then I started to scrape the ground. I managed to find a few drops of water but only at the fourth attempt was there a sufficient amount for any kind of drink. The lady then vanished and I went back home.
I went back each day for two weeks and each time, except one Monday and one Friday, the lady appeared and told me to look for a stream and wash in it and to see that the priests build a chapel there. I must also pray, she said, for the conversion of sinners. I asked her many times what she meant by that, but she only smiled. Finally with outstretched arms and eyes looking up to heaven she told me she was the Immaculate Conception.
During the two weeks she told me three secrets but I was not to speak about them to anyone and so far I have not.
COLLECT Grant us, O merciful God, protection in our weakness, that we, who keep the Memorial of the Immaculate Mother of God, may, with the help of her intercession, rise up from our iniquities. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
O glorious Mother of God, to you we raise our hearts and hands to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the benign Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for our spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly for the grace of a happy death. O Mother of our Divine Lord, as we conclude this novena for the special favor we seek at this time.
(make your request)
We feel animated with confidence that your prayers in our behalf will be graciously heard. O Mother of My Lord, through the love you bear to Jesus Christ and for the glory of His Name, hear our prayers and obtain our petitions.
O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious in your assumption, triumphant in your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother, be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.
Leaving the Desert – Crossing the Desert: Lent and Conversion with Deacon James Keating
In this episode, Deacon James Keating and Kris McGregor explore Lent’s significance, urging introspection and acknowledgment of sin. Deacon Keating highlights society’s loss of this sense, attributing it partly to psychology’s influence.
This reminds us of personal responsibility and freedom in recognizing sin; especially cultural desensitization to sin, emphasizing intentional conscience formation through spiritually grounded fellowship. They advocate for gentle yet firm engagement on moral issues to foster genuine community within parishes.
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions
Lenten Self-Reflection: How can you deepen your introspection during Lent to identify areas of sin in your life?
Responsibility and Freedom: Reflect on how you balance acknowledging external influences with taking personal responsibility for your actions.
Desensitization to Sin: How can you guard against societal desensitization to sin, especially in media and cultural norms?
Intentional Conscience Formation: In what ways can you intentionally cultivate a spiritually grounded fellowship to form your conscience?
Engaging on Moral Issues: How can you engage in conversations about moral issues with both gentleness and firmness, guided by love?
Fostering Community in Parishes: What steps can you take to foster genuine community within your parish, where faith is shared and nurtured collectively?
An excerpt from “Crossing the Desert: Lent and Conversion”:
“Celebrating the sacrament of reconciliation is, for many Catholics, a most daunting prospect. This sacrament has been the source of many jokes, composed perhaps by persons seeking to reduce the level of stress they feel regarding one of its main components: naming personal sin.
The naming of one’s own sin to oneself and to a priest is self-revelatory to the point of evoking anxiety. Initially, it can be true that some level of apprehension may accompany this sacrament, but over time with regular celebration of this form of worship, anxiety diminishes. Most positively the sacrament of reconciliation promotes truthful self-knowledge regarding sin in the context of Christ’s saving presence. Once someone experiences both the naming of sin and the reception of God’s mercy in this sacrament, he or she actually begins to celebrate this sacrament and see it as a great gift from Christ and his Church.”
Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a professor of Spiritual Theology and serves as a spiritual director at Kenrick Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO.
It was a delight to talk once again to Dr. Kevin Vost. In his new book Three Irish Saints: A Guide to Finding Your Spiritual Style, he brings forward of 3 incredible saints who can help us bring about a greater awareness of ourselves, as well as bringing us closer to our relationship with God. Dr. Vost is a psychologist, and physical fitness expert who examines the lives of these three great saints reveals their gifts and virtues. He then explores the question: Are you a thinker, a doer, or a lover? Included is a simple self-test to find out which spiritual master you are most like. I was well aware of St. Patrick, knew much about St. Brigid, but was knew nothing about St. Kevin, but the list doesn’t stop there, Dr. Vost brings the lives of other Irish saints as well. A fun and fascinating read.
O glorious Saint Joseph,faithful follower of Jesus Christ,
O glorious Saint Joseph,faithful follower of Jesus Christ,
O glorious Mother of God, to you we raise our hearts and hands to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the benign Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for our spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly for the grace of a happy death. O Mother of our Divine Lord, as we conclude this novena for the special favor we seek at this time.
