Flower of Devotion

According to the revelations of the Venerable Mary of Jesus:

Saint Joseph was born in Nazareth and lived in that holy city, descended from the royal house of David. When, by God’s decree, he was to be married to the Blessed Virgin Mary, he was thirty-three years old. He had a beautiful figure, a gentle face and incomparable modesty and morality. Namely, he was characterized by perfect purity in deeds and thoughts, as well as holiness of inclinations. At the age of twelve he made a vow of chastity. He was related
with the Blessed Virgin in the third degree and led a very pure and blameless life before God and people. Due to some fortunate events, the Lord God decreed that St. Joseph left Nazareth and came to Jerusalem for a long time. Here he was to have the great happiness of being chosen as the Spouse of the One whom God Himself had designated to be His mother.
After the wedding, Saint Joseph and the Blessed Virgin returned to Nazareth, where Mary had her parents’ house and here they both lived in uninterrupted peace. In his youth, Saint Joseph learned carpentry, and by performing this craft he earned a living for himself and his bride.
Thanks to God’s enlightenment, Saint came to Joseph was able to recognize in a short time the qualities of his Bride, her wonderful wisdom, humility, purity and all the virtues that were far beyond his understanding. This awareness filled him with admiration and Saint In the greatest joy of his heart, Joseph did not fail to praise God and thank Him with the most ardent acts for having given him, above all his merits, such a companion and bride.
In the very first days of their life together, the Blessed Virgin announced to her most chaste husband that in her early years she had made a vow to the Lord to serve Him in constant virginity. Saint Joseph was greatly pleased by these words and declared that he, too, already in the 12th year of his life, had promised the Lord to maintain virginal purity. From this they both felt indescribable pleasure and wonderful comfort. Saint Joseph was also given the grace of perfect reign by the Most High
over his nature, so that in miraculous purity he was able to serve his Spouse, Mary, and thus fulfill God’s will.
When this holy man later came to know the dignity of his most holy bride and, as a result of the divine revelation he received, learned about the mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God, he had such a sublime and dignified opinion of Mary that, one could say, he was transformed into a completely different man; although he was always very holy and perfect. He therefore decided to behave towards the Queen of Heaven differently from then on, namely with the greatest possible reverence. From then on, whenever he spoke to Her alone or passed by Her, he knelt before Her. He also did not want to allow her to serve him or to do worse work, such as washing the house, cleaning kitchen utensils, etc. The happy bridegroom wanted to do all these activities himself, so as not to offend the dignity of the Queen of Heaven.
When the Son of God was born in a stable in Bethlehem, and St. Joseph saw the Child of God in the arms of His virgin Mother, clinging to Her face and breast, he paid Him divine homage with tears, and in the deepest humility he kissed His feet with such great joy and admiration that he would have died from the excess of this feeling if God’s omnipotence had touched him. didn’t keep him alive. Mary carried her delicate, beloved Child almost constantly in her arms. Sometimes she gave it to Saint Joseph to make him happy with this most precious treasure. Hesitating between the desire to receive the Child of God in his hands and the reverence that kept him from doing so, the holy bridegroom aroused in himself heroic acts of faith, love, humility and deep reverence. Trembling with holy emotion and respect, he knelt down and received the Child from the hands of His Most Holy Mother, shedding the sweetest tears of joy so great as the happiness he experienced.

The Holy Family suffered great hardships in their flight to Egypt. To know the pain of these hardships, we must first of all remember that it was the will of the Most High that His Only-Begotten Son, together with Mary and Joseph, felt the pain and suffering of this exile. Although the Lady of Heaven bore them calmly, Her sadness was great, and the same can be said about Saint. Joseph. They were both personally exposed to a multitude of ailments; but greater were the sufferings that Mary suffered in her heart as a result of the sufferings of her Child and Saint Joseph. Saint Joseph, however, was very sad and worried because of the sufferings of Jesus and Mary and because, despite his sincere desire, he could not help them in anything. Despite this, they both never thought about the past or feared the future, but in everything they maintained incomparable peace and constant contentment, always devoting themselves to the Divine justice in the greatest misery and poverty. Saint The family stayed in Egypt for seven years, and then, after the death of King Herod, they returned to the land of the Jews and settled there in Nazareth, in his former poor house. Note Saint Joseph soon made arrangements with everything that belonged to him. First of all, he immediately started working to earn money to support the Divine Child and His Most Holy Mother. How great was the joy now of this holy patriarch! For the rest of Adam’s children it was a punishment and a burden, that they were condemned to labor by the sweat of their faces for the maintenance of their lives. Saint Joseph considered it a blessing, a blessing and the highest joy that he was called to feed the Mother of God and God himself with the work of his hands – the God whose property is Heaven and earth and everything in Heaven and on earth.

Saint Joseph experienced severe suffering when the Lord Jesus, as a twelve-year-old boy, went to Jerusalem for the Easter holiday with his parents and, without their knowledge, remained in the temple for three days. Saint Joseph suffered a lot in those days. His pain was inexpressibly great. He ran from one place to another, sometimes with his Bride, sometimes without Her, and always in great sadness. His life would even be in danger if the Lord did not support him. The Most Holy Queen comforted him and reminded him not to deny himself food and rest; for because of his true and tender love with which he loved Jesus, he sought Him so earnestly that he thought neither of eating nor of resting.
Saint Joseph was not yet very old, but his body’s strength weakened early. The cares, travels and constant work he devoted himself to in order to earn a living for his Bride and the Lord of the world weakened him more than his age. At the same time, the Most High also wanted to give Him the opportunity to practice patience and other virtues. That’s why he caused him illnesses and suffering that often prevented him from working. Over time, he also stopped manual work, which he earned to support his family, and devoted himself completely to contemplating the secrets entrusted to him and practicing virtues.
Because he had the great happiness of having before his eyes the incarnate Wisdom of God and Mary, the Mother of Wisdom, and of being able to commune with them, this man of God acquired such a high degree of interior holiness that in this respect, next to his heavenly Spouse, he surpassed all (…). And since the Queen of Heaven herself, together with Her Divine Son, so carefully nursed, comforted and encouraged this happiest of people when he was sick, it is impossible to describe what humility and love these benefits stimulated the innocent and grateful heart of this servant of God.
Saint Joseph’s illness and suffering lasted eight years. His noble soul became more and more pure day by day in the fiery furnace of God’s patience and love; and his body grew weaker with increasing age and its attendant infirmities. He was also losing more and more strength, and the inevitable goal of life was approaching, at which all Adam’s children must pay the tribute of death.
During the nine days immediately preceding Saint Joseph’s death, Jesus and Mary were at his side day and night, so that he was never alone; Jesus was always with him, or there was Mary. On the day before his death, Saint Joseph, who was filled with God’s love because of all the graces he had received, was very delighted. It lasted twenty-four hours, during which time the Lord Jesus miraculously sustained his strength and his life.
When he awoke from his ecstasy, his face shone with beauty and wonderful radiance; and his soul was transformed entirely into God by this vision of the Divine Being. Then he asked his Most Holy Spouse for a blessing; she asked Her Divine Son to bless him, which Jesus did. Now this great Queen and Mistress of Peace knelt down and asked Joseph to bless her too, as her husband. The Man of God, moved by God’s grace, gave his bride a blessing and said to her: “Blessed are you among all women, chosen from among all creatures! Let angels and men praise You! Let all generations know Your dignity and praise You! Through You, let the people of all future ages know, glorify and adore the Name of the Most High! May God be praised forever for creating you so beautiful in His eyes and so beautiful in the eyes of all blessed spirits!
Then the man of God turned to the Lord Jesus. He would gladly have knelt on the ground to speak in the highest reverence to his God at this hour; but the most kind Jesus drew near to him and took him into His arms. Saint Joseph therefore, leaning his head on Jesus’ hand, said: “My Lord, the most high God, Son of the eternal Father, Creator and Redeemer of the world, bless Your slave, this work of Your hands! I confess and praise You and give thanks
I thank You with all my heart for having chosen me, out of all people, as Your Mother’s beloved, in Your infinite goodness. May Your own Majesty and Your greatness will be my thanks for all eternity!
The Savior of the world gave him His blessing and said: “My Father, rest in peace, in the grace of My heavenly Father and in My grace! Tell My prophets and saints who are waiting for you in the abyss the good news that their deliverance is at hand!” Among these words of the Lord Jesus, Saint Joseph gave his soul to God in the arms of his Savior. The Son of God closed his eyes.
The entire life of Saint Joseph, the happiest of all men, was just over 60 years. He married Mary at the age of 33, and lived in her company for a little more than 27 years. The Blessed Virgin was 41 years and a few months old when Saint Joseph died.