Nine Days with Saint Joseph

the most laudable idea of his saintliness. It is enough to inspire the eloquence of the Christian orators. I have to say that these two words seem to me to enfold such a world of meaning that I find myself over- whelmed both by the number and by the grandeur of the things which they imply. If I could adequately express all that I mean by this, I have no doubt that I would render due honor to this incomparable spouse, but because I know that cannot possibly fully satisfy you, what else can I do but turn to the Blessed Virgin? I know that she would want us to honor this saint so dear to her through the most sacred bonds; I hope she will obtain insights for you to make up for the inade- quacy of my words and thoughts. Even if there were no other reason to praise Saint Joseph, we should do so in order to please Mary. There is no doubt that she strongly supports every effort to revere this saint; she herself would be honored by this. Besides the fact that he was her true husband and she always felt for him all that a virtuous wife should feel for the man to whom the Lord had bound her so closely, what gratitude must she not have felt towards him for the way he exercised his authority and for the way he respected her virginal purity! Her gratitude was equal to the love which she herself had for this virtue, and therefore, nothing could be more lively than her zeal for the honor of Saint Joseph. —Saint Claude La Colombière 9