Growing in Virtue Through Saint Joseph's Intercession

Meg Herriot shares how her family turned to Saint Joseph as they discerned a move and received confirmation that he had been instrumental in helping them.

My family’s devotion to Saint Joseph has developed over time. Saint Joseph really exemplifies humility, and I think is often forgotten or not thought of very much in modern culture. With two grandfathers named Joseph, I knew he was a good solid saint, but we really don’t have any dialogue from him from the Bible, and he is the oft-forgotten third member of the Holy Family.

I’m not sure why my family obtained the book Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father by Father Donald Calloway. I know the first time we did the Consecration to Saint Joseph as a couple, we struggled. Some of the readings were a little longer than we initially thought (10 pages, when everyone is struggling at the end of the day, can sometimes be rough). So the second time we did it, we included our son (why not up the ante?).

Growing in Virtue with the Help of Saint Joseph

We didn’t know for sure at the time, but we were discerning a move. Who better to join you while discerning a move than Saint Joseph? Saint Joseph is just so rich in virtue, it’s hard to not grow at least a little when asking for his intercession and meditating on the virtues he was abundant in.

There’s a lot to the move story, a lot of God-incidences and convenient falling away of attachments. There’s also a lot of trust. We discerned to move to a place we hadn’t visited before (sure, we had driven through the area on our way to visit my family, but we knew more about the Tim Horton’s and gas station bathrooms in the area than anything else).

My husband didn’t have a definitive job set up. I didn’t have a definitive job set up. My husband and I are generally conservative with our finances and my husband’s well-thought-out planning ... well, let’s just say he’d never make a good ER doctor. He doesn’t like surprises or impulsive decisions.

At one point, I got cold feet. (OK, maybe at two points, but we talked about detachment …) I reached out to Barb Szyszkiewicz, our wonderful CatholicMom.com editor, and she put me in touch with a fellow contributor in the area who immediately plugged us into the vibrant, local Catholic community — and introduced us to our new parish: Saint Joseph’s. Our son joined a wonderful new school: Saint Joseph’s. We found the house of our dreams, which didn’t look like it would happen, but we prayed for Saint Joseph’s intercession, and through various challenges, we were able to obtain our dream home. It was not easy, and there was a job loss situation that happened, but we were on a journey.

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If Saint Joseph could bring Mary and Jesus through their journey, we knew he could certainly accompany us on a journey to Ohio. Saint Joseph’s intercession helped me to give up control, which is especially difficult for a strong-willed woman, and rely on my husband and God, rather than my own decisions. Our journey is not over, and we obviously don’t know what will happen next, but in gratitude to Saint Joseph we are trying to use our dream home to extend hospitality and spread his devotion in our area.

A Confirmation that Saint Joseph Was Interceding for Us

One more small story I have to share: As we were developing more clarity with our employment situations and settling into our new home, my husband put out a nativity scene we had inherited from my parents. He set it up, just kind of centering it in the yard. He came home one night and realized that with the way the lights and the scene were positioned, Saint Joseph’s shadow, kneeling and praying at the manger, was illuminated two stories high on our house. We definitely knew Saint Joseph was looking out for us.

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Whether you are discerning a move, facing an employment situation or just need a paternal figure to guide your family, think about asking for Saint Joseph’s intercession. He is a reliable, wonderful saint who always has something to surprise you with.

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