Day 24: Mary Hidden in Advent--St. Joseph

St. Joseph the Carpenter

Day 22:  St. Joseph 

      Read The Jesse Tree,  p. 74.  Hang ornament (Joseph or a staff).

      An angel comes to Joseph in a dream, commanding him to take Mary as his wife.  He obeys.

      Scripture reference:  Matthew 1:18-25 

      Comment:  Joseph was chosen by God to be the foster father of Jesus.  He cared for Mary and Jesus.  St. Joseph was a just and godly man and is a great saint in Heaven, second only to Our Lady.
In the eyes of the world, Mary was the spouse of Joseph.  In reality, Mary's spouse was the Holy Spirit.  We, too, are the temples of the Holy Spirit and must strive, with God's help, to keep our bodies and minds pure.  Let us ask Mary, the pure Spouse of the Holy Spirit, to be our constant help and friend.

Related title:  Mary, Spouse of the Holy Spirit

Incarnation, Piero di Cosimo

Among creatures made in God's image, the union brought about by married love is the most intimate of all. In a much more precise, more interior, more essential manner, the Holy Spirit lives in the soul of the Immaculata, in the depths of her very being.  St. Maximilian Kolbe

Invocation to the Holy Spirit

Come, Holy Spirit,
come by means of the powerful intercession
of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Your well-beloved spouse.  

Prayer to Mary,  Spouse of the Holy Spirit 

     O MARY, thou spotless Bride of the Holy Spirit, 

thou art the glory of Jerusalem, the joy of Israel, the honor of our nation! 

Thou, as the Valiant Woman, didst crush the head of the serpent 

when thou didst offer thy Divine Son to the Heavenly Father,

in the love of the Holy Spirit, for the salvation of the world. 

Through the merits of this precious Sacrifice and through the sufferings of thy Son,

obtain for us the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

I thank the Holy Spirit that He has chosen thee as His Bride 

and constituted thee the dispenser of His graces. 

Look upon me with thy compassionate eyes; 

look upon my distress and needs. 

Help me, that I may never lose the grace of God 

nor defile the temple of the Holy Spirit,

but that my heart may ever remain His holy dwelling, 

and that with thee I may eternally praise

and bless the Holy Spirit in Heaven.

Amen.

  

 

More about Mary and the Holy Spirit.  
A wonderful in-depth article about Mary and the Holy Spirit, focusing on St. Maximilian Kolbe's teachings is available at Catholic Culture.