Invitation extended by an esteemed Catholic prayer site
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March 19 is the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, a major feast in the Catholic Church, honoring Joseph as the foster father of Jesus and husband of Mary.Â
It is a liturgical celebration of the highest rank, recognizing the importance of St. Joseph in the plan of our salvation and his example of faith, obedience and masculine strength.
With this in mind, Souls and Liberty readers have been personally invited by Hozana, a respected international online prayer forum, to join together with others around the world in prayer on St. Joseph's Day.
Director of Hozana Association's English-speaking department, Cassandre Verhelst, contacted Souls and Liberty, saying:
"I wanted to reach out to you personally because I think your readers will love this prayer campaign. For the feast of St. Joseph, Hozana is gathering prayer intentions from Catholics around the world, and we will be bringing them to a sanctuary dedicated to him in France on March 19."
"We originally created this initiative for established Hozana users, but immediately thought of Souls and Liberty's readers and wanted to invite them to take part," she said.
"St. Joseph is an incredibly powerful intercessor – his prayers have changed lives, and we want to encourage as many people as possible to entrust their needs to him." – Hozana
“The prayer intentions won't just be entrusted to St. Joseph at the physical shrine in Cotignac," Verhelst emphasized. "They will also be prayed over by more than 2 million other Hozana users online."
THE MIRACULOUS SHRINE OF COTIGNAC
The choice of the shrine in Cotignac, a village in southern France, is not accidental. Of the rare, recorded apparitions of St. Joseph, this one occurred in the village almost four centuries ago.
During an especially hot and dry summer in 1660, a shepherd named Gaspard Ricard was in search of water and fresh grass for his flock on a rocky mount surrounding the town.
Unable to find drink or food for the sheep, Ricard laid down, lamenting his predicament.
Seemingly out of nowhere, a man of significant bearing appeared, introducing himself as "Joseph" and advising the shepherd to lift a nearby boulder to find the water he desired.
Ricard doubted he would find water under the rock or that he was strong enough to lift the boulder at which the man calling himself Joseph had pointed. Nonetheless, he attempted to do what he had been advised.
Somehow, the shepherd found he was able to lift the boulder and – to his astonishment – underneath it was a gushing spring of fresh water!
Ricard looked up to thank the mysterious stranger, but he had already disappeared. He knew at that moment, the man come to help him was St. Joseph himself.
Throughout the centuries, the spring has become associated with many miracles of physical and spiritual healings. A shrine was eventually built at the location to honor St. Joseph and the miraculous event.
It is at this very shrine that the Hozana prayer intentions will be placed after they are printed out.
Hozana users can list any intention they want at the site, Verhelst explains. Other Hozana users can then pray for the intention, thus multiplying the spiritual efficacy.
"Don't let prayer intentions written in other languages deter you," she urges. "The important thing is to join in communion with others on St. Joseph's Day to honor him and his day."
The Hozana link to entrust your intention to St. Joseph can be found here.
If you have questions, contact Cassandre Verhelst at cassandre@hozana.org.Â
ST. JOSEPH'S MEMORARE
As a final note, the Hozana administrators remind the faithful that just as Mary has a Memorare prayer so does St. Joseph, which they remind us can be recited all year long:
Remember, most pure spouse of Mary, ever Virgin, my loving protector, Saint Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to your protection or asked for your aid without obtaining relief. Confiding, therefore, in your goodness, I come before you and humbly implore you. Despise not my petitions, foster-father of the Redeemer, but graciously receive them. Amen.
Dr. Barbara Toth has a doctorate in rhetoric and composition from Bowling Green State University. She has taught high school in Poland and Oman and at universities in the US, China and Saudi Arabia. Her work in setting up a writing center at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahmen University, an all-women's university in Riyadh, has been cited in American journals. Toth has published academic and non-academic articles and poems internationally.
Editor's note:
HOW SOULS AND LIBERTYÂ WILL MOVE FORWARD THE NEXT FOUR YEARS
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Donald Trump is president once again, and his decisions, Cabinet selections, and force of personality are shaping the United States and the world in ways we could only dream of.
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Editor-in-Chief, Souls and Liberty