for us with that Virgin, thy most happy spouse, who was Mother of a Son who reigns with the Father and Holy Ghost for ever and for ever.

O my beloved St. Joseph! adopt me as thy child; take charge of my salvation; watch over me day and night; preserve me from the occasions of sin; obtain for me purity of body and soul; obtain for me the spirit of prayer, through thy intercession with Jesus; grant me. a spirit of sacrifice, of humility, and self-denial; obtain for me a burning love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and a sweet and tender love for Mary my Mother. St. Joseph! be with me living, be with me dying, and obtain for me a favourable judgment from Jesus my merciful Saviour.

CHAPTER VI.

Month of March in honour of St. Joseph.

The devout Client of Mary longs for the dawn of May-day, and dedicates that whole month of flowers and roses to our Blessed Lady. During May we love to meditate on

the Glories of Mary; and by the grace of God we try to enkindle in our hearts a tender, loving, and lasting devotion to Mary Immaculate. The month of June sets the world on fire with love and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Solemn and holy are the thoughts of the pious soul during the month of July, dedicated to the honour of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph comprise the Holy Family; as June is for Jesus, May for Mary, so is March for St. Joseph.

During the month of March we glorify God for the dignity, sanctity, and power of St. Joseph; and we invoke the aid of our Saint to lead a holy life, and die a happy death.

We cannot fail to obtain favour from the king, if we have at court influential and powerful friends; nor can we fail to secure from the King of kings the grace of a happy death, if during life we have won for ourselves, by practical devotion, the friendship of St. Joseph, the patron of a happy death. To the praise, glory, and honour of the one Eternal God in three Divine Persons, and to the most adorable Trinity, three Divine Persons in one God; in love, thanksgiving, reparation, and petition to Jesus, the Incarnate

Son of the living God; in honour of our peerless Queen, Mary Immaculate Mother of God; to make our sweet St. Joseph better known, and hence better loved among the simple faithful; and to secure at court his patronage for the grace of a happy death for ourselves, and for all who read this litttle book, is the object of these pages.

Omnipotent, Eternal God, have mercy on us. Most adorable Trinity, in one God, have pity on us. Jesus, Incarnate Son of God, have compassion on us. Mary, Mother of the Word made Flesh, watch over our salvation.

St. Joseph, reputed father of Jesus, and spouse of Mary, obtain for us the grace of a happy death. All ye Saints in heaven, ye nine Orders of Blessed Spirits in Paradise, especially ye Guardian Angels, pray that we may lead holy lives and die happy deaths in the peace and love of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Amen.

INVOCATION OF THE HOLY GHOST.

Come, O Holy Ghost, replenish the hearts of thy servants, and enkindle in them the fire of Thy divine love.

V. Send forth Thy Spirit, and our hearts shall be regenerated.

R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

LET US PRAY.

O God, who by the illumination of the Holy Ghost, didst instruct the hearts of the faithful; grant that by the same Divine Spirit we may have a right understanding in all things, and evermore rejoice in His holy consolations, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

St. Joseph, pray for us.

The above Invocation and prayers are to be devoutly recited, on bended knees, before each meditation.

MARCH 1ST.

FIRST MEDITATION.

St. Joseph, the reputed father of the Incarnate Word of God, our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

"And Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of

Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ" (Matt. i. 16.) "And his father and mother were wondering at those things which were spoken concerning him" (Luke, ii. 33). "And his parents went every year to Jerusalem at the solemn day of the pasch... behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing" (Luke, ii. 48).

"And Jesus himself was beginning about the age of thirty, being (as it was supposed) the son of Joseph" (Luke, iii. 23).

"Is this not Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know" (John, vi. 42).

Jesus is the Incarnate Son of God, the Word made flesh. Jesus is infinite sanctity, infinite purity, infinite love. Jesus is the Saviour and Redeemer of the world; and yet, as we see from the above texts, He passed among men as the son of Joseph! St. Joseph called Him son; and Jesus called St. Joseph father; and for thirty years Jesus and Joseph lived in the intimate relationship of father and son.

St. Bernard puts it thus:-"The nature and dignities of St. Joseph are summed up in the title where with God honoured him, in such a way that all styled him and believed him to be the father of Jesus.

In the title, reputed father of Jesus, we