by David Carollo –
Someone said to me, “I am very uneasy about the present situation in our country.” I responded that we are all disturbed during times of such uncertainty, but if we focus on the issues that cause this anxiety, we understand that it is rooted in our lack of acceptance of God’s will. It is proper to hope for solutions to the problems, but sadly, we quickly return to complacency and indifference, when things calm down and return to normal.
The issues that we hold dear, however, must always be on our minds. A Catholic can never return to a feeling of ease regarding issues that direct our society, as the stakes are so high. We must fight at every moment for our values. This is our road to salvation. We can only attain that if we work tirelessly to bring about a righteous society. If we do not, we are not worthy of it. We need also fight with all our might for the salvation of others. If we are going to live in the aura of charity, as Our Lady requested, we have no choice. We must be consistent in our actions. I look to St. Joseph as the model of consistency.
Year of St. Joseph
For this reason, the World Apostolate of Fatima USA is dedicating 2021 as a Year of St. Joseph, imploring his intercession for the work we do to spread Our Lady’s message, and to help restore the family, primarily through the role of fathers, and the universal Church. On December 8 this year, we will not only celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception, but the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of St. Joseph as the Patron of the Universal Church. As many know, St. Joseph appeared during the last apparition at Fatima on October 13. His place in the promotion of the Fatima message, the message of our time, is prominent. His role as the Patron of the Universal Church has been established so that he can lead and guide us, as he led and guided the Holy Family. St. Joseph is a man of authority and dignity, magnanimous in his intentions and strong in his actions—the model for every man. Once his mission was revealed to him, he knew that the power of God was behind him. He never cowered from his duties; he never saw limitations in his quest for justice. We also must realize that our only limitations are those that we place on ourselves. We have God and Our Lady on our side.
When St. Joseph led Mary and the Child Jesus from Bethlehem to a safe haven in Egypt, he knew he was not just protecting them from the evil intentions of Herod, but protecting the One who would bring salvation to all of mankind. His vision was on a much broader scale. Like St. Joseph, we must understand that we are working for the conversion of the entire world. We pray for deliverance from the evils that are overwhelming our country at this time, but the implications are global.
The great artist Michelangelo is quoted as saying, “Men do not fail because they set their goals too high and fall short; rather that they set their goals too low and achieve them too easily.” We need to aim high in our quest to make Our Lord and Our Lady known and loved on earth, just as the Queen of Heaven directed Sister Lucia. Our goal should be to have the Fatima message known by all. Is this a goal too high to achieve? Under the power of the Almighty, with Our Lady directing us and St. Joseph overseeing our actions, we can never reach too far. The powers poised against us are powerful and many, but their ability to destroy is nothing compared with our ability to build a better world under the guidance of heaven.
As we kick off our year, we will be doing a consecration to St. Joseph on December 10 at the Blue Army Shrine. In January, we will begin presenting First Saturday devotions online with monthly speakers throughout the entire year, and invoking St. Joseph in our prayer as the greatest consoler of the Immaculate Heart. Other events, St. Joseph consecrations and programs are planned for the year. More information will be forthcoming.
We have much to be thankful for this year, despite the upheaval in our nation. But we see the hand of God in all our difficulties. Let us go forward, contemplating our own lives and what we can do to make our country and world a better place. Our Lord, Our Lady and St. Joseph will protect us.
May you all have a happy and joyful Thanksgiving.
David Carollo is the Executive Director of the World Apostolate of Fatima, USA
16 Responses
I am Joseph and I believe.
Please pray for me & my family… Things are not going so well…
Thank you in advance for praying for my family. Please pray that we all stay well. Please Pray that my wife & oldest gets a promotion this year. Youngest passes all her teaching certifications and helps all her new students. None of them get sick. We are able to find a way to get all her medical supplies especially her insulin pump & it gets approved by Champ VA, & let us find good doctors that take her CHAMP VA insurance. Middle one gets good safe/jobs & enough hours to get into the film industry union if that is the best for him. Right now, he needs a job, been 25 weeks & no jobs due to the circumstances in CA & country. I find work since I’m out of work also. Find a good solution with our dispute with chimney company that misrepresented themselves is settled to our satisfaction & they do not cheat us further. We are able to get the chimney fixed. Since our case in MD was dismissed with prejudice against them because the company never completed the project. The company defaced our chimney & never finished the job or came back to repair it. They have no license in VA or MD. Legal is advising we sue them for Breach of Contract, not sure what we should do. If we do that; it goes to our favor & we stop them from doing this to other Seniors that is a good thing. We need to win back our attorney fees & cost to repair the chimney along with our deposit. Please pray to help us decide the right course of action & we do not lose any more than $2K deposit already since we still need to finish the repairs.
Our house got hit by lightning, & brought trees down upon the house. Pray that all repairs go smoothly for house & contents. Hope will not be too expensive. We find a better/cheaper place to move to next year for our future. We are able to get out of our time share properties
Thanks so much
Ellett
It isn’t widely known but St. Joseph was present with Our Lady at Knock before his appearance with her at the final apparition at Fatima. This may seem to some like a secondary detail, but when the Lord repeats something He’s showing its importance. People need to hear his name more frequently in important contexts. I’ve been looking for a way to request of the Pope that St. Joseph’s name be placed in the prayer for forgiveness at the beginning of Mass, but haven’t found one. Is it possible to do that? If people at every Mass were to say “I ask Blessed Mary ever Virgin, her Spouse St. Joseph, and all the angels and saints, and you my brothers and sisters…,” wouldn’t that sink the importance of his intercession deep into folk’s minds over time?
Hopefully St. Joseph’s time has come and he will be more prominent in our Church because he is so needed. We all need to “Go to Joseph” at this time.
We do need to always make the distinction of invoking the HOLY Angels.
Wednesday ,is for St .Joseph .
A friend and I are doing a reconsideration to St. Joseph using Father Calloway’s book. Always ‘Go to Joseph.’
God bless you! The entire world needs this! Let’s all go to Joseph!
As a novice devotee of St Joseph, I am SO looking forward to being a part of this monumental movement of dedication to our Spiritual Father and building an army of spiritual warriors led by the Chosen Head of the Holy Family. We are so blessed to be living in these very significant times. ????
I pray to St. Joseph every day. After the Virgin Mary he is the greatest of saints! Saint Joseph, Terror of Demons. Pray for and protect me and the whole world. Amen
I look forward to joining you in honoring St. Joseph. I will be watching for further information
My husband and I are re-consecrating ourselves to Our Lady and consecrating ourselves to St. Joseph in December 8th.
Thank you for this great news! We will be observing a year of St. Joseph along with the World Apostolate of Fatima and sharing this among our friends throughout Alaska and the U.S.
Year of st Joseph
This news brings me great joy! Praise be the Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! It’s certainly the time of St. Joseph, our spiritual father, and the great consoler of Our Lady, as you say. He is mighty in heaven and has a huge mission for these our times!
I am thankful you will be honoring St. Joseph. He is differently a saint that we need to help us in our world and our lives. I have much devotion to St. Joseph. My hallway leading to our bedrooms is dedicated to St. Joseph. I have a beautiful wall statue of the Holy Family and another wall decoration with St. Joseph holding The Child Jesus. I speak to St. Joseph as I pass up and down this hallway to protect me and my family/to help us/pray for us and to protect our home with his blessings. I love St. Joseph very much.
Yes, let us Go to Saint Joseph!