MARCH 3RD

THIRD MEDITATION.

St. Joseph, the Guardian and Protector of our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Invocation of the Holy Ghost, as at page 278, "Come, O Holy Ghost," &c.

"An Angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: Arise and take the child and his mother and fly into Egypt; and be there until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the child to destroy him. Who arose and took the child and his mother by night, and retired into Egypt. But when Herod was dead, behold an Angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph in Egypt, saying: Arise and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel. For they are dead who sought the life of the child. Who arose and took the child and his mother and came into the land of Israel" (Matt. ii. 13-21).

Oh, how sublime and heavenly was the mission of St. Joseph! Jesus was God, and therefore could protect Himself; but no, He prefers the services of St. Joseph. Jesus was the Omnipotent, and therefore his very breath could wither and annihilate His enemies;

but no, He loves to shelter Himself in the loving arms of St. Joseph. God might have sent His Angel to extend his wings over the Infant Saviour and protect Him; but no, God sends that Angel to St. Joseph, that St. Joseph may have the privilege and honour to be the saviour of the Saviour of the world, One might expect God would send His Angel to the Blessed Virgin, as Mary was unspeakably higher and holier than St. Joseph; but no, God recognized the position of St. Joseph as head of the Holy Family. God might have transported by the hands of Angels the Holy Family, as He did the "Holy House from Bethlehem to Egypt, and from Egypt to Israel, and thus spare them all the fatigues and privations of the long journey; but no, the arms of Mary and Joseph alone were privileged to carry the precious treasure, the Infant Jesus. Here a wide field for meditation expands before the pious soul.

PRACTICAL RESOLUTION.

Through love for man Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is as helpless as the Infant Jesus. Through love for man Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament has exposed Himself to the sacrileges, irreverence, and insults of His enemies, as the Infant Jesus at Bethlehem.

By the grace of God, I resolve to treat, as far as in my power, Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, with the same reverential, loving care that St. Joseph showed to the Infant Saviour. O sweet Jesus, help me to keep my resolutions.

Secondly, I resolve, by the grace of God, to practise myself, and by all the means in my power to extend among others, Devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

PRAYER.

O St. Joseph! who watched over Jesus, watch over me. St. Joseph, who protected Jesus from the cruel Herod, protect me from a more cruel enemy, the devil and sin. St. Joseph, who promptly obeyed the whisper of an Angel, pray that I may be ever obedient to the inspirations of grace. St. Joseph, who lovingly carried Jesus in thy arms through the desert into Egypt, protect me in my journey through life, till I arrive at "Horeb the mountain of God." St. Joseph, pray that I may treat Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament with the same reverence, love, and care that thou didst treat the Infant Jesus.

I beseech thee, O glorious St. Joseph, by the paternal love with which thy heart was

inflamed for Jesus, and by his filial love for thee, to take special care of the salvation of my soul. Be thyself my director, my guide, my father, and my model in spiritual life, and in the way of perfection, that imitating thy example, I may, like the Saints, possess God eternally, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

PRACTICE.

To-day pay a very fervent visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

ASPIRATION.

Praised and blessed at every moment be the most holy and Divine Sacrament.

MARCH 4TH.

FOURTH MEDITATION.

St. Joseph, Head of the Holy Family. Invocation of the Holy Ghost, as at page 278, "Come, O Holy Ghost," &c.

"And coming he dwelt in a city called Nazareth" (Matt. xi. 23). "And his parents went every year to Jerusalem at the solemn day of the pasch. And he went down

with them, and came to Nazareth and was subject to them" (Luke, iii. 41 . . . 51.)

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph compose the Holy Family. Jesus was God, and Mary the Mother of God; and yet we see from the sacred text that St. Joseph was head of the Holy Family; for thirty years Jesus and Mary paid him homage and obedience. As a child obeys his parents Jesus obeyed Mary and Joseph. "He was subject to them, says the Gospel. "This is wonderful humility," says St. Bernard, "a God obeying man; but to see a man commanding God is glory without equal." The Eternal Father treated St. Joseph as the Head of the Holy Family. The very name of the Redeemer of the world was communicated from heaven to St. Joseph. "And she shall bring forth a son and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for He shall save his people from their sins" (Matt. i. 21). When the life of Jesus was threatened the Eternal Father sent his commands to St. Joseph alone. "Arise," said the angel, "and take the child and his mother and fly into Egypt. Arise and take the child and his mother and go into the land of Israel." (Matt. ii.) Mary obeyed St. Joseph; at his bidding she promptly set out for Egypt, and from Egypt to Nazareth; and frequently