Over the centuries, many saints are known to be devoted to St. Joseph. Let us remember St Teresa of Avila who said: " No matter how great your needs, turn to the powerful help of St. Joseph...rest assured that your pleas shall certainly be heard... His help has always been greater tham I could hope for. I cannot remember one single time in which I prayed to him for a grace without having it obtained . He greatly helps those who recommend themselves to him."
St Joseph Marello used to say to his faithful followers:" We need to ask St Joseph to be our spiritual director. We need to be inspired by him who was the first on earth to care for Jesus. He looked after Him as an infant, protected Him as a child, and was father for the first years of His life."
Blessed Luigi Guanella describing St . Joseph as model of piety, hard work and dignifying poverty said: " When overwhelmed by necessity , tiredness, or sadness, we feel the need for a powerful voice to intercede for us before the Immaculate Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Let us have recourse to St . Joseph ; he, who many times experienced the strains and humiliations of poverty, will become our powerful advocate and father.
Pope Leon XIII proclaimed St Joseph patron of all Christians. In his writings we read :" To all fathers he will grant the grace to raise their children with vigilance and educate them in a Christian way. To all spouses he will grant the gift of a reciprocal and long-lasting love, or perfect unity in the sacrament of marriage. To single men and women , he will grant the spirit of perfect purity and chastity. To the rich, he will teach to sanctify themselves through work and to accept poverty with serenity ."
Blessed Pope John XXIII said:" O St Joseph! I love him so much that I cannot either start or close the day without first giving to him my first word and last thought."
Blessed John Paul II declared : " The Heavenly Father put all treasures of redemption , which are Mary and Jesus, in the hands of St Joseph."
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