The Espousal of the Blessed Virgin Mary with Saint Joseph
Hail, holy Mother! giving birth to thy Child, thou didst bring forth the King, who ruleth the heavens and the earth for ever and ever. [Ps.] My heart hath uttered a good word. I speak my works to the King. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Hail..
COLLECT Imbue Thy servants, we beseech Thee, O Lord, with the gift of heavenly grace: that having been exhorted to salvation in the childbearing of the Blessed Virgin; in celebrating the solemnity of her espousal we may be granted an increase of peace. Through our Lord.
COLLECT OF SAINT JOSEPH We beseech Thee, O Lord, that we may be helped by the merits of the Spouse of Thy most holy Mother, so that what we cannot obtain of ourselves may be given to us through his intercession.
(http://www.rosarychurch.net/latin/jan23.html)
Day Seventeen
The Queen of Heaven in the Kingdom of the Divine Will leaves the Temple. Marriage with Saint Joseph.
Divine Mirror to which She calls, to reflect themselves, all those who are called by God to the Marital State.
The soul to her Celestial Mama:
Holy Mama, today more than ever I feel the need to remain clasped in the arms of my Mama, so that that Divine Will which reigns in You may form the sweet enchantment to my will, that It may keep it subdued, and it may not dare to do anything which is not Will of God. Your lessons of yesterday made me comprehend the life imprisonment into which the human will casts the poor creature, and I so much fear that my will may make little escapes from me, and take its place in me again. Therefore I entrust myself to You, my Mama, that You may watch over me so much, that I may be sure to live always of Divine Will.
Lesson of the Queen of Heaven:
Cheer up, my child – have courage and trust in your Mama, and an iron resolution never to give life to your will. Oh! how I would love to hear from your lips: “My Mama, my will is ended, and the Divine Fiat has total empire in me.” These are the weapons that make it die continuously, and conquer the Heart of your Mama to use all the loving arts of Mother, so that Her child may live in the Kingdom of Her Mama. For you it will be sweet death, which will give you true life; and for Me it will be the most beautiful victory I will achieve in the Kingdom of the Divine Will. Therefore, have courage and trust in Me. Distrust is of the cowardly, and of those who are not really committed to obtaining victory, and therefore they are always without weapons; and without weapons one cannot win, and is always inconstant and vacillating in doing good.
Now, my child, listen to Me: I continued my life in the Temple and my little escapes up there to my Celestial Fatherland. I had my rights of daughter to make my little visits to my Divine Family which, more than Father, belonged to Me. But what was not my surprise when in one of these visits of mine They made known to Me that it was Their Will for Me to leave the Temple; first, to unite Myself in bond of marriage, according to the custom of those times, to a holy man called Joseph; and to withdraw together with him to live in the house of Nazareth.
My child, in this step of my life, in appearance it seemed that God wanted to put Me in a trial. I had never loved anyone in the world, and since the Divine Will extended through my whole being, my human will never had one act of life; therefore, the seed of human love was missing in Me. How could I love a man in the human order, as great a saint as he might be? It is true that I loved everyone, and that my love toward all was so great, that my love of Mother had inscribed them in my maternal Heart, one by one, with indelible characters of fire. But this was all in the order of divine love; and human love, compared to the divine, can be called shadows, shadings – atoms of love. Yet, my child, that which in appearance seemed to be a trial and as though strange for the sanctity of my life, God used in an admirable way in order to fulfill His designs, and to grant Me the grace which I so much longed for – that is, the descent of the Word upon earth. God gave Me the safeguard, the defense, the help, so that no one could talk about Me – about my honesty. Saint Joseph was to be the cooperator, the tutor, who was to take care of that bit of the human which We needed; as well as the shadow of the Celestial Paternity, in which our little Celestial Family on earth was to be formed.
So, in spite of my surprise, immediately I said: “Fiat”, knowing that the Divine Will would not harm Me, or prejudice my sanctity. Oh! had I wanted to put in one act of my human will, even in the aspect of wanting to know no man, I would have sent to ruin the plans of the coming of the Word upon earth. Therefore, it is not the diversity of states that prejudices sanctity, but the lack of Divine Will, and of the fulfillment of one’s duties to which God calls the creature. All states are holy, marriage too, as long as the Divine Will is present in them, as well as the exact sacrifice of one’s duties. But the great part are indolent and lazy, and not only do they not make themselves saints, but they make of their state, some a purgatory, and some a hell.
So, as I learned that I was to leave the Temple, I did not say a word to anyone, waiting for God Himself to move the external circumstances to make Me fulfill His adorable Will, as indeed it happened. The superiors of the Temple called Me and said to Me that it was their will, and also the custom of those times, that I prepare Myself for marriage. I accepted. Miraculously, among many, the choice fell upon Saint Joseph; and so the marriage was formed and I left the Temple.
Therefore, I pray you, child of my Heart, that in all circumstances you take to heart the Divine Will alone, if you want the divine designs to be accomplished over you.
The soul:
Celestial Queen, your child entrusts herself to You. With my trust, I want to wound your Heart; and may this wound always say in your maternal Heart: “Fiat! Fiat! Fiat!” – so your little child always asks from You.
Little Sacrifice:
Today, to honor Me, you will come onto my knees and will recite fifteen Glory Be’s to thank the Lord for all the graces He granted Me up to the fifteenth year of my life, especially for having given Me the company of a man so holy, as was Saint Joseph.
Ejaculatory Prayer:
Powerful Queen, give me the weapons to wage battle, to make me conquer the Will of God.
Fiat!
