Consecration to St. Joseph

WEST MILFORD  For the first time, St. Joseph, the quiet earthly father of Jesus, stepped into the spotlight in the Diocese for a day of celebrations that honored him on March 19, his feast day. It concluded that night with Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney consecrating the Diocese to St. Joseph’s fatherly care and intercession at a Mass in St. Joseph Church here.

Bishop Sweeney’s consecrating the Diocese to St. Joseph capped off a whirlwind feast day, which included visits to three sites in the Diocese named for St. Joseph. They also included the blessing of a St. Joseph statue at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Paterson, and celebrating a Mass at St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly in Totowa. The Bishop presided at the 6 p.m. Mass at St. Joseph Parish for the consecration, a capstone event in the Diocese’s schedule of observances for the Year of St. Joseph being celebrated by the universal Church as decreed by Pope Francis.

“We thank the Holy Father for this year and pray that we can walk this journey [with St. Joseph] together,” said Bishop Sweeney in his homily, during the Mass at St. Joseph’s, the oldest parish in the Diocese and in New Jersey, established in 1765. “We need St. Joseph. So much of what we profess isn’t even respected in our society and yet he calls us to follow his example of trusting God — a humble courage in saying ‘yes’ to God’s will and in being faithful in our vocation. We should open our hearts and ask Joseph and the Blessed Mother to bring us closer to Jesus,” the Bishop said.

At the end of the Mass, concelebrated by priests of the Diocese and local religious communities, Bishop Sweeney led the congregation in the Litany of St. Joseph, which invokes many of his roles in salvation history, including “foster father of the Son of God” and “patron of the dying.” Then, he led the faithful inside the church, as well as those watching on livestream, in the Rite of Consecration. It reads in part:

“O Glorious Patriarch and Patron of the Church … In the presence of Jesus and Mary, I choose you this day to be my father, my guardian, and my protector … With her [Mary], pray that I may constantly think of Jesus and serve him faithfully to the end of my life,” Bishop recited. “To you, I consecrate my body and soul, with all their faculties, my spiritual growth, my home, and all my affairs and undertakings … Console and strengthen me with the presence of Jesus and Mary so that, with you, I may praise and adore the Holy Trinity for all eternity,” he said.

That evening, Bishop Sweeney suggested that people read any of three books to prepare to become consecrated to St. Joseph, if they have not already. They are: Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father, by Father Donald H. Calloway, of the Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, a 33-day process; Consecration to St. Joseph, by Trini­tarian Father Dennis Berry, director of the Shrine of St. Joseph in Stirling, in collaboration with the Morning Star Renewal Center of the Miami Archdiocese, a 30-day process; and Scriptural Novena to St. Joseph, nine days of prayer, by Bishop Emeritus Arthur J. Serratelli. The faithful can still prepare for consecration leading up to Friday, May 1, the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, said the Bishop.

Throughout the day on March 19, many parishes around the Diocese held similar rites in their churches, so their members could consecrate themselves to St. Joseph. Faithful prepared either privately or in groups, including during video conferences that followed COVID-19 precautions [see related story on next page].

In his homily, Bishop Sweeney noted that St. Joseph placed his trust in God in life’s many challenges, even in raising Jesus.

“We pray to St. Joseph and Mary that if we place our trust in God — as parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, and parish communities — we can help one another respond to God with a trusting ‘yes,’ ” Bishop Sweeney said.

The Bishop’s consecration of the Diocese to St. Joseph is among numerous activities planned for the Church of Paterson on the diocesan, parish, and individual levels to observe the Year of St. Joseph. The Year of St. Joseph events are on the diocesan website www.rcdop.org and on St. Paul’s website www.insidethewalls.org/year-of-st-joseph.

Father Jakub Grzybowski, St. Joseph’s administrator, welcomed Bishop Sweeney to the parish and thanked him for celebrating the rite of consecration here and for his leadership of the Diocese in these difficult times.

“May God bless you, Bishop Sweeney, and may St. Joseph give you strength to pursue your ministry in the best way possible,” Father Grzybowski said.

For the first celebrations of Joseph on March 19, Bishop Sweeney headed at 9 a.m. to St. Joseph’s Hospital, founded and operated by the Sisters of Charity. He blessed a wooden statue of St. Joseph, designed by Ken Morris, the hospital’s vice president for external affairs, and sculpted in Italy.

“We’re so grateful that Bishop Sweeney agreed to come to St. Joseph’s to bless the statue in honor of the Year of St. Joseph. We consider St. Joseph the Worker as one of our founders. We look to him for inspiration and as a model for service, as he used his skills to benefit others,” said Sister of Charity Patricia Mennor, vice president of mission, who noted that the hospital has been celebrating the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker for years.

Bishop Sweeney then headed to St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly, operated by the Little Sisters of the Poor, for 10:30 a.m. Mass. In his homily, he praised the front-line workers, including the sisters and others at the home, for their bravery in the pandemic and urged them to look to St. Joseph as a trusted intercessor, as St. Teresa of Avila did.

“It was a great joy to see Bishop Sweeney and for him to celebrate a beautiful Mass,” said Mother Mary Thomas, the Little Sisters’ superior, who noted that her community has a longstanding devotion to St. Joseph. “We trust him. God provides through his intercession. He has never failed us,” she said.