Thursday 21 October 2021

Nine Days with Saint Joseph - Andrew Offer, O.P. and Jonah Teller O.P.

Nine Days with Saint Joseph
Andrew Offer, O.P.
Jonah Teller O.P.
Sebastian White O.P. (Editor)
ISBN 9781949239621
eISBN 9781949239645
ASIN B08YFDYZF6


During the year of Saint Joseph I have read several new volumes on the saint. But I had a devotion to this saint prior to the announcement of the year and I will after it ends. This volume I read towards the ends of the year. And it was well worth the read. The description of this book is:

“No one knew our Lord and his Blessed Mother better than Saint Joseph, the man to whom God entrusted their care!

During the Year of Saint Joseph and beyond, we can use this book frequently to meditate on nine of Saint Joseph's attributes, call on him to help us incorporate those attributes into our own lives, and ask him to answer our prayers for personal intentions.

Each day helps us focus on one of Saint Joseph's outstanding attributes to help us draw closer to him and features:
- An original Saint Joseph hymn
- A Scripture passage
- A powerful meditation from a saint, pope, or other spiritual writer
- Pope Francis' prayer to Saint Joseph and other prayers
- Beautiful artwork

Saint Joseph did not fail our Lord and our Blessed Mother. He will not fail us.”

It is available in print, as an eBook on several platforms, and in bulk from the publisher. It would be excellent to work through with a group or even as a parish. Working through it as a group you could do one day a week for 9 weeks. The sections in this volume are:

Introduction
Day One: Husband
Day Two: Father
Day Three: Persecution
Day Four: Trust
Day Five: Purity
Day Six: Work
Day Seven: Silence
Day Eight: Death
Day Nine: Church
Appendix
     The Litany of Saint Joseph
     To You, O Blessed Joseph
    The Year of Saint Joseph
Meditation Credits
Image Credits
Acknowledgments

This book is very accessible. It is extremely beneficial. It is a book that was hard to put down. At the end of most days I wanted to push on and keep reading. We are informed that:

“Each day follows the same structure: an original hymn, a reading from Scripture, a meditation from a particular saint or spiritual writer, followed by a set of intercessions.”

And we are encouraged:

“…Each day follows the same structure: an original hymn, a reading from Scripture, a meditation from a particular saint or spiritual writer, followed by a set of intercessions.”

Some of the passages I highlighted while reading this volume are:

“The reason to have a devotion to Saint Joseph is simple: no one was closer to Jesus and Mary.”

“Saint Teresa of Ávila says of Saint Joseph, “I do not remember even now that I have ever asked anything of him which he has failed to grant.””

“Sanctity lies in the loving acceptance of God’s will however our life unfolds. Joseph’s path to sanctity lay in serving Jesus and Mary within the Holy Family. This path led him through times of persecution and exile, and years of simple labor in Nazareth, all the while in silence and trust.”

“God created man to work in the Garden of Eden, thus allowing man to imitate God’s own creation. Known as the carpenter’s son, Jesus came to restore what was lost by sin and make us resemble our heavenly Father. Saint Joseph shows us this way of holiness through work.”

“Like his beloved virginal spouse, Saint Joseph can help us now and at the hour of our death. We recall that our life is fleeting upon this earth, and eternity awaits us.”

If you read this during the year of Saint Joseph you will be blessed. But if you do not come across it until after the year of Saint Joseph is passed, I strongly encourage you to still pick it up and read it. It is an excellent novena to Saint Joseph. We are told:

“The booklet offers nine days of prayer. Each day focuses on a particular aspect of Saint Joseph’s person, contemplating him as a husband, as a father, as one persecuted, as a man of trust, of purity, work, and silence, as one who died a holy death, and as the Universal Patron of the Church.”

I strongly encourage you to give this book a read. I am certain it will benefit your spiritual life. A great little read. While researching this review I discovered a companion volume Nine Days with Saint Michael I hope that the Magnificat comes out with more Nine Days With books. 

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2021 Catholic Reading Plan!

Books by Andrew Offer, O.P. and Jonah Teller O.P.:

Other reviews and articles about Saint Joseph:
Consecration to St. Joseph - Fr. Donald Calloway
Favorite Prayers to St. Joseph Compiled from Traditional Sources- TAN Books
Prayer to Saint Joseph Prayer of the Day
Joseph of Nazareth - Federico Suarez
Devotion to St. Joseph - F. Declaux
Go to St. Joseph: Do Whatever He Tells You - Brian Kiczek
Saint Joseph: Help for Life's Emergencies - Kathryn J. Hermes
Feast of Saint Joseph 2018 Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary Principal Patron of Canada
Companion to Saint Joseph - J.B. Midgley - CTS Companions Series
Saints of the Roman Canon - Julien Chilcott-Monk - CTS Living the Liturgy Series
Seven Saints for Seven Virtues - Jean M. Heimann



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