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O Felicem Virum!

“O Happy and Blessed Man,” so begins an antiphon in honor of St. Joseph. “To thee was granted not only to see and hear Him Whom many kings longed to see and saw not, to hear and heard not, but to carry and hold close, to kiss, to clothe, to guard.”

Just as St. Joseph, as the adoptive father of Jesus, took care of the physical Body of Christ in many ways, now, from Heaven, he cares for the Mystical Body of Christ, which is the Church.

St. Joseph and the Benedictines of Perpetual Adoration

Venerable Mother Mectilde, Foundress of the Benedictines of Perpetual Adoration, received a special insight in this regard. If Joseph cared for the Body of Christ, and the Institute of Benedictines of Perpetual Adoration exists for the care of the Eucharistic Body of Christ, then St. Joseph must in some way be for the Benedictines of Perpetual Adoration what once he was for the Holy Family.

Mother Mectilde’s devotion is all the more remarkable since it came prior to the full flowering of devotion to St. Joseph. St. Teresa of Avila, whose personal devotion to St. Joseph was so influential for the whole Church, was born only 99 years prior to Mother Mectilde, and the feast of St. Joseph was made a holy day of obligation when Mother Mectilde was seven. Mother Mectilde saw the importance of St. Joseph earlier than many others. Two hundred years before Blessed Pope Pius IX declared him patron of the Universal Church, she recognized him as the patron of the Institute of Perpetual Adoration.

St. Joseph: Protector of the Institute

Sr. Véronique Andral, a Benedictine of Perpetual Adoration, a book on Mother Mectilde’s spiritual journey, tells the story of how St. Joseph’s special role in the Institute of Benedictines of Perpetual Adoration was revealed to Mother Mectilde.

[On the] feast of St. Joseph, [a vision Mother Mectilde had previously had] returned, and with more clarity and power from the Spirit of God to animate it. In particular, it was shown to her that St. Joseph would be the special protector and provider for the house of the Blessed Sacrament, as he had been for the holy family of the incarnate Word on earth.

And since Our Lord showed her His special pleasure in this work, by these words, which He repeated several times to her, “This is My work, I will accomplish it,” she had the courage to say to Him, “Lord, if it is Your work, give me this sign: let the Blessed Sacrament be given to us. And you, great St. Joseph, obtain this for us.”

At the end of her prayer, she herself wrote to the Father Prior to ask for it. She said it was the only time she acted of herself. Against all expectations, the permission was granted.

In a previous post, we presented a translation of the account of her vision of St. Joseph.

At Silverstream Priory

From the beginning of Silverstream Priory, the monks have treasured this Mectildian tradition about the importance of St. Joseph. Our foundational document (next to the Holy Rule of St. Benedict) has this to say:

The monastery is placed under the singular protection of the Holy Family, especially of Saint Joseph, who, together with the Blessed Virgin Mary, was the first adorer of the Son of God on earth. Saint Joseph is not only the protector of the monastery but also the one to whom the monks look in all their necessities.

The monks are devoted to St. Joseph and turn to him often and spontaneously. Three statues of him are located in prominent places in the monastery: looking towards the main entrance, in the Oratory, and in the monks’ cloister.

Another step forward

The Feast of the Holy Family, 2023, marked an important step forward for Silverstream Priory. On that day, the Prior together with the monks of the monastery solemnly consecrated the whole monastery, its property, and all the monks to St. Joseph. This consecration is in some ways a completion of the previous consecrations of the monastery to Jesus, King of Love and to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Thus the Monastery is sacred to each of the three members of the Holy Family. How fitting that the last of these three consecrations would take place on the very feast of the Holy Family!

The Te Deum…Several Times!

In an informal conversation, Mother Mectilde spoke to her sisters about the thanksgiving we should always give for St. Joseph.

The same day, which was the feast of Saint Joseph, a nun asked her in the morning if this great saint had not said anything to her. “We must love him more than ever,” she answered, “and have a great confidence in him. He is one of the most powerful saints in Paradise (after the holy Virgin), and one who has the most power. Do you believe it? Yes, he has a very great power.
We should say the Te Deum several times to honor the bonds and relations he has with the most holy Trinity; there is no saint who has them as he does. The Institute is deeply indebted to him; we must put its inner workings into his hands and ask him to lead it.

Perhaps today especially we might say our Te Deum in gratitude for the consecration to Joseph of Silverstream, but even more of His loving care over it.