Saint Joseph!  What a giant of a saint!  Pope Leo XIII said that he is the most powerful saint in heaven.  Because of St. Joseph's unique role in the Holy Family, Pope Leo named him the Protector of the Universal Church. 
    In his epistles, St. Paul constantly refers to the Church as the Body of Christ.  The most accurate title for the Catholic Church is the Mystical Body of Christ.  Our Lord is the invisible Head of this Body.  The Pope, Christ's Vicar on earth, is its visible head.  Our Lady is the Mother of the Church and St. Joseph is its Protector.  We, as members of the Church, come under St. Joseph's special care and protection; he is with us throughout our lives and especially "at the hour of our death."  Reflecting on St. Joseph, our thoughts turn to the Holy Family and to the wonderful prayer that helps us to relive their earthly journey, the holy rosary. 
    Why is the rosary so important?  Why has Our Blessed Mother asked us to say it every day?  The answer is simple.  Through the rosary, Our Lady instructs us in all that we need to know to save our souls through the mystery of the Church.  She teaches us to have the "obedience of faith" (Cf.Romans 1:5; 16:26; 2Cor 10:5-6).
    In recent years, many have alleged that the rosary is out of style, a meaningless repetition.  This is contrary to the mind of the Church.  All the recent popes have encouraged praying the rosary.  Pope Pius XII called it a "compendium of the gospels." John XXIII in his encyclical letter, Of Grateful Memory, recalled the many wonderful writings of his predecessors on the rosary.  Paul VI called it a "gospel prayer."  John Paul I, in his charming way, said that the repetition of Aves "sweeten the soul like a song."  Pope John Paul II has great devotion for the rosary.  Several years ago, I was among a group of priests invited to concelebrate Mass with the Pope in his private chapel.  After Mass, the Holy Father pressed a rosary into the hand of each priest.  As he gave me mine he said, "Father, pray this rosary every day!"  And I do!
    The rosary is a Christological prayer, which simply means that it leads one to Jesus.  It is a thoroughly Catholic prayer.  The rosary commences with the Apostles Creed, affirming our unity in faith and morals with the Teaching Church.  Immediately, Our Lady reminds us that we must be obedient to the Holy Father and the bishops who teach in union with him.  There follows an Our Father, three Hail Marys and a Glory Be, offering praise to the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
    Next, we literally go to the school of Mary as she reveals to us the secrets of the gospels.  She invites her children to relive the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity, the Presentation, and the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple.  In the Sorrowful Mysteries, we recall the Agony in the Garden, the Scourging at the Pillar, the Crowning with Thorns, the Carrying of the Cross, and the Death of Our Lord.  Finally, Our Blessed Mother consoles us with the Glorious Mysteries: the Resurrection, the Ascension, the Descent of the Holy Spirit, the Assumption and the Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth. 
    All the along the path of the rosary we say to her, "Hail Mary!"
HAIL MARY!
    Thus the angel Gabriel addressed her!  St. Thomas tells us that the angels are far superior to us in the order of creation. Angels do not have to reason things out as we do; they know intuitively. 
    When Gabriel was sent to Mary, he saw in her the apple of the Father's eye.  He beheld her Immaculate Conception and her perfectly sinless life.  He knew that momentarily Mary would become the Mother of Jesus, and thus the Mother of God.  The Archangel, who stands by the throne of the Eternal God, prostrated himself before this young Jewish maiden and paid homage to his future queen: "Hail! Ave Maria!"
FULL OF GRACE
    The Blessed Virgin was totally pleasing to God.  St. Theresa of the Child Jesus, in her child-like way, compared Our Lady's measure of grace to a glass full to the brim.  If one more drop were added, it would spill over; it was perfectly full.  Our Lady could not have been more pleasing to God!  In his encyclical letter, The Mother Of The Redeemer # 9, Pope John Paul II says: "Because of this gift of sublime grace, she far surpasses all other creatures, both in heaven and on earth."  That is what we mean when we say "full of grace."
THE LORD IS WITH THEE
    Who was ever more intimately linked with Our Lord Jesus Christ than His mother?  Mary said yes to God's precise plan for her in the salvation of mankind and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, she conceived in her womb the Eternal Word of God.  From that moment on, the mutual love of mother and Child was fused into an eternal flame.     
    On the feast of the Annunciation, the liturgy proclaims that the Church had its beginnings when Our Lord became Man.  Mary's motherhood of the Church, and therefore of each one of its members, began to be a reality at the very moment of the Lord's conception. Since she is Our Blessed Mother, she wants to share her love for the Lord with each member of His Mystical Body.  What a profound mystery!  What love the Father has for us!  He gives us Jesus for our Brother and Mary for our Mother.  And it was to Joseph that He entrusted these Treasures.  Would anyone doubt that, aside from Our Lady, St. Joseph is the most powerful saint in heaven?  Truly, the Lord is with Joseph!
BLESSED ART THOU AMONG WOMEN
    Our Blessed Mother practiced perfect humility and obedience to the Will of God.  Her entire life was a fiat, "Be it done unto me according to thy word."  Every Catholic must imitate this "obedience of faith" of which Mary is the perfect model.     
    In his recent Apostolic Exhortation, The Guardian of the Redeemer # 20, the Holy Father stated: "From the beginning, Joseph accepted with the `obedience of faith' his human fatherhood over Jesus."  This "obedience of faith" is a fundamental characteristic of both Mary and Joseph.  They always obeyed God by doing His Will!  Each member of Christ's Mystical Body must imitate this "obedience of faith."  The Catholic of today must prove his love for the Lord by obedience to the one and only religion that Our Lord established.  Can one claim to be a son or daughter of Mary and Joseph and not be obedient to His Church?  Can one dissent from Church teaching?  Of course not!  Our Blessed Lady and St. Joseph cannot comprehend that kind of false Catholicism.  Dissent from Church teaching is a contradiction in terms to them, because Mary is the Mother of the Church and Joseph is its Protector.      


BLESSED IS THE FRUIT OF THY WOMB, JESUS
    The Hail Mary is a prayer of unending praise of Jesus Christ.  Everyone must offer praise and adoration to Our Lord!  This is an important point, especially for the Church's senior and handicapped members.  When they become discouraged, either by the weight of their years or the burden of their disabilities, may they find comfort in the realization that by saying the rosary they can perform a tremendous service for the Church.  Their sufferings, offered up in union with the sufferings of Christ (Cf. Col 1:23), may be transformed into graces for members of the Mystical Body who are in special need (Cf. Pope John Paul II, Salvifici Dolores, # 26-27).  Let no one say that his life has no meaning!       
    Moreover, think of the blasphemies and the desecrations of the Holy Name of Jesus.  How many millions of times each day is the Holy Name used as a mere explicative expression, not only by His enemies, but also by those who claim to be His friends.  How terrible!  No friend of Jesus Christ would so use His Sacred Name!  When we say the Hail Mary, we can make reparation for this dreadful indifference by bowing our heads at the Name of Jesus in reverence and adoration.  "At the Name of Jesus every knee should bend in heaven and on earth" (Philippians 2:10).


HOLY MARY
    Holy indeed she is!  Holy means to stand apart from the wickedness of the world.  Our Lady never sinned!  Never for an instant did she come under the dominion of the evil one.  The Second Vatican Council document, Lumen Gentium, teaches that Mary is our Mother and Model.  We find in her the perfect pattern of patience, purity, humility, meekness, charity, temperance, and all the virtues.  This is beautifully expressed in the preface of the feast of the Assumption: "Today the virgin Mother of God was taken up into heaven to be the beginning and the pattern of the Church in its perfection." 
    Pope Leo XIII said that St. Joseph "approached as no other person ever could that eminent dignity whereby the Mother of God towers over all creatures" (Quamquam Pluries, August 15, 1889).  He was the "just man" who always did God's Will.  In biblical language "just" means one who lives in perfect conformity with the Wisdom and Will of God.  St Joseph did exactly that; he gives an example, especially for workers.  Paul VI said: "St Joseph is the model of those humble ones that Christianity raises up to great destinies...he is the proof that in order to be a good and genuine follower of Christ, there is no need of great things...it is enough to have the common, simple and human virtues, but they need to be true and authentic" (Discourse March 19, 1969).  The Protector of the Church is truly the model of holiness for the People of God.
MOTHER OF GOD 
    What a beautiful expression!  How can a mere human be the Mother of God?  But Mother of God she is!  The Church teaches that Our Lord is true God and true Man.  He is a Divine Person with two natures, the Nature of God and the Nature of Man.  The Humanity  which He received from Mary resides in a Divine Person.  Mary must be addressed as Mother of God! 
    Today there are some who would make of Our Lord a mere man.  They hold that He walked the streets of Jerusalem conscious neither of His divinity or His Messianic mission.  Is it any wonder that our modern youth question who they are?  They have been presented with a God who doesn't know who He is!  How can God be God and not know it?  Oh! The madness that comes out of the mouths of those who have lost faith!  Perhaps this is why the recitation of the rosary has been discouraged.  Every time we say the Hail Mary, we must refer to Mary as Mother of God!  In so doing, we affirm that Jesus Christ is divine.  From the first moment of His conception in the virginal womb of our Lady, Jesus was fully conscious of his Divinity, fully conscious of His Humanity, and fully conscious of His mission as the Redeemer of Man.  Jesus Christ is the Son of God!  He is our Lord and our God! 

PRAY FOR US
    Is there anyone not in need of the prayers of the Mother of God?  We see the world about us being swallowed up by materialism and pagan influences.  As Pope Paul VI predicted in Humane Vitae # 17, the contraceptive mentality is destroying the dignity of women.  Families are being violated by grave sins against human life and marriage.  Many young people are destroying their lives with drugs, violence, greed and lust.  Is there a home that has not suffered the scourge of sin?  How desperately we need the prayers of the Mother of God! 
SINNERS 
    Every time we say the Hail Mary, we admit our sinfulness and our need for the Lord's forgiveness.  St. John says that all are sinners and that anyone who denies it is a liar (Cf.1John 1:8-9). When we pray the Hail Mary, Our Lady is gently asking a question.  We may not hear her at first, but she is whispering: "When is the last time that you have made a good confession?"  Mary always leads us to Jesus through the mystery of the Church and its sacraments.
NOW AND AT THE HOUR OF OUR DEATH
    Now and at the hour of our death, at the hour of our death, over and over we repeat the refrain!  Would anyone doubt that, if she is asked fifty times a day, every day, Our Blessed Mother will be there at the hour of death?  When one passes from this life to the next, Our Lady will be waiting.  St. Joseph, our patron of a happy death, will also be there.  At that terrible moment of our final judgment, Mary and Joseph will intercede for us.  If we have lived the "obedience of faith" which she taught us in the rosary, Our Lady will be able to say to the Lord:  "My Son!  Here, too, is my faithful and devoted child!  Have mercy!  Have mercy!"  Our Lord and our Brother will not be able to refuse her!  He will not be able to deny the plea of His mother and Our Blessed Mother!  He will not be able to deny the plea of St. Joseph!  
   

    Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! I give you my heart and my soul!     Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Be with me at the hour of my death!   
    Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, may I breathe forth my last breath in union with you!  Amen!

    Father Richard J. Rego, S.T.L