By Elizabeth Hoyle
Ever since I wrote a piece about the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts of Jesus and Mary (which you can read here), I’ve been meaning to do a follow-up about the apparitions about the Most Chaste Heart of St. Joseph. The apparitions concerning St. Joseph’s heart were declared of supernatural origin back in 2016. They give quite a bit of insight into his life and have a timely and needed message for both believers and non-believers alike.
Back in 1994, a Brazilian university student named Edson Glauber received an apparition of Jesus and Mary. Our Lady appeared to him under the title of “Queen of the Rosary and Peace” and stressed the need for conversion, Mass, Confession, and penance. Edson’s mother, Maria, would receive apparitions, too. Jesus and Mary especially stressed the importance of devotion to the Most Chaste Heart of Joseph. These apparitions continued over the years when, in March of 1998, St. Joseph himself appeared to Edson. He appeared to Edson over the course of eight days during that month, speaking more about his Chaste Heart, giving warnings, making promises to those who spread this message, and establishing a way to celebrate this devotion.
His Most Chaste Heart
As with the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts, St. Joseph revealed what his Most Chaste Heart looked like. It is a heart set aflame with the love of God, with white lilies spread diagonally across it. Rather than explain about St. Joseph’s heart with my own insignificant words, I am going to quote some of Jesus’ and St. Joseph’s words that they spoke to Edson (the texts I’m referencing can be found here and here.) In the second apparition, the child Jesus said “Here in this Heart you will find me living, because it is pure and saintly. That all hearts could be like this one, so they could be my home on earth. Imitate this Heart so that you may receive my graces and blessings.”
These are St. Joseph’s words from the fourth apparition. “The Heavenly Father granted me the honor of representing him, in this world, to take care of his Divine and Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. My Heart was also surprised by so such dignity, I felt incapable and undeserving of such a great favor and benefit, but I put all in the hands of the Lord and, as his servant, I was ready to do his holy will….Because of this great grace and joy that God granted my Heart and, by such great mystery, I promise to intercede before him for those who come to me, honoring this Heart of mine.”
The Warnings and Promises
During the course of the apparitions, St. Joseph was incredibly honest about how sinful humanity had become and of the persistence of the attacks of the devil. He said, “…how sin spreads in a such a strong way! Men let themselves be led by the most insidious wiles of the Devil. The enemy of salvation wants to destroy all men so that, this way, all will be lost. He is envious and hates the entire human race.” He particularly stressed that the Devil would continue to attack humanity’s virtue of purity, an attack that has only grown stronger and more vehement since St. Joseph spoke about it in 1998. Yet St. Joseph did not leave us without hope: “And it is because of this, that God asks all humanity to have devotion to my Chaste Heart. He wants to give men the grace to overcome the temptations and attacks of the Devil in their day-to-day lives.”
Celebrating and Spreading this Devotion
To celebrate and foster devotion to Saint Joseph’s Heart, he gave directions to pray to him on the first Wednesday of every month in a manner similar to the first Friday and Saturday devotions. You can pray the rosary of the seven sorrows and joys of St. Joseph. St. Joseph also recommended the simple formula of one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be. There are multiple prayers to St. Joseph you can pray on the first Wednesdays. There’s a comprehensive list linked here.
The Sacred and Immaculate Hearts were both revealed at pivotal times during the Church’s history, and it seems that the Most Chaste Heart has followed that pattern, given all that happened in and shortly after 1998. He made two main promises to those who would devote themselves to his Heart. The first was that these devotees would be chaste, righteous and holy in God’s sign and that Joseph himself would fill them with graces and help them to grow every day in holiness. The second promise was that if his devotees do good works for the sick, dying, and needy, he would petition for them during the time of their death and they would spend their last hours resting in the Sacred, Immaculate, and Chaste hearts. There are more warnings and more promises he gave, but these are the main ones. I hope this little introduction to this devotion has informed you and has inspired you to learn more. Do not be afraid to go to St. Joseph, especially if you are struggling with purity in some way. Regardless, whatever is troubling you, he can and will help. God bless you.
From Catholic365.com