The Contemplatives of Saint Joseph

"How could the Blessed Virgin, present in the first community of disciples, be excluded from those who met her divine Son after He had risen from the dead? Indeed, it is legitimate to think that the Mother was probably the first person to whom the risen Jesus appeared" (Pope St. John Paul II).

"Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, He is not here; see the place where they laid Him" (St. Mark 16:6).

"Why should we today sing Alleluia? Because this day we are fed, freed, assured of the truth and given promises of being endowed, in our resurrection, with the gifts of clarity, agility, brightness and impassibility, which Christ showed in His Resurrection" (St. Vincent Ferrer).

A blessed Easter to all from the COSJ!

"For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit; in which He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly did not obey..." (1 Peter 3:18-20).

"Unless there is a Good Friday in our lives, there will never be an Easter Sunday; ... unless there is a crown of thorns, there will never be a halo of light; unless there is the cross, there will never be an empty tomb" (Ven. Fulton Sheen).

"Each human heart can break His Sacred Heart all over again; each soul has within itself the potentiality of another crucifixion. No one can love as much as Our Lord; no one therefore can suffer as much" (Ven. Fulton Sheen).

On the night of that Last Supper,
Seated with His chosen band,
He the Pascal victim eating,
First fulfills the Law's command;
Then as Food to His Apostles
Gives Himself with His own hand.

(from "Pange Lingua" by St. Thomas Aquinas)

"You call me Master, and Lord; and you say well, for so I am. If then I being your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one another’s feet" (St. John 13:13-14).

"You are the truest Lord. You are not like lords who buy with their wallets, but the Lord Who buys with blood. You give me the strength of salvation" (St. Augustine).

"I should like to die on March 25, because it was on that day that Jesus was the smallest" (St. Thérèse of Lisieux).

Happy Solemnity of the Annunciation!

"Gabriel's description of the Child to be born of Mary contains, as in an angelic summary, the whole greatness of Jesus ... To all that immensity of glory and greatness Mary is welcome, as the true Mother; she may rejoice in it all, she may take pride in it all" (Abbot Vonier).

"As the patriarch Joseph stored the wheat not for himself, but for the people in their time of need, so Joseph has received a heavenly commission to watch over the living Bread not for himself alone, but for the entire world" (St. Bernard).

"To give life to someone is the greatest of all gifts. To save a life is the next. Who gave life to Jesus? It was Mary. Who saved his life? It was Joseph ... he alone is the savior of his Savior" (Bl. William Joseph Chaminade).

"What could Jesus Christ refuse St. Joseph who never refused him anything during his mortal life on earth?" (St. Augustine)

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Let us remember that today is a solemnity in our archdiocese.

"The truth of Christ stimulates me, for love of neighbors and children: for these, I have given up my homeland and my parents, and my very life to death, if I am worthy of that. I live for my God, to teach these peoples, even if I am despised by some" (St. Patrick).

"In practice the Catholic Church looks upon the Mother of God as being an unbounded power in the realm of grace; she is considered as the Mother of the redeemed on account of the universality of her grace; in virtue of her divine motherhood Mary is simply the vastest, the most efficient, the most universal supernatural power in heaven and on earth, outside the Three Divine Persons" (Abbot Vonier).

Happy New Year, and happy Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God!

"God has put before our eyes in the divine motherhood a creature not of limits but of grace beyond man's comprehension; limits, with Mary's spiritual estate, are very much after-thoughts; they are not suggested by what we know of her grace" (Abbot Vonier).

Merry Christmas! Here at the COSJ, we had a tasty dinner cooked up by our own Br Raphael, and several guests in attendance.

"Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that we, upon whom is poured the new light of Thine Incarnate Word, may show forth in our actions that brightness which by faith shineth in our minds" (Collect for Christmas Day).

Simbang Gabi is always a great event at Mater Dolorosa parish. Here is Fr Vito celebrating one of those Masses.

"This day you shall know that the Lord will come, and save us: and in the morning you shall see His glory" (cf. Exodus 16:6-7).

12/21 in the Traditional Calendar is the Feast day of St. Thomas the Apostle.
Collect:
"O Lord, grant us, we beseech You, to glory in the feast-day of blessed Thomas, Your Apostle, that we may be helped continually by his patronage and imitate his faith with a devotion like his.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who live and reign with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen."

12/21
"St. Peter Canisius had an extraordinary devotion to the Holy Eucharist – his devotion to the Holy Sacrifice was such that people would come from great distances to watch him offer Mass, so devoutly did he celebrate…and he spent hours before the Blessed Sacrament." – Ven Servant of God Fr John A Hardon S.J. on St. Peter Canisius

https://www.cosjmonastery.com/

The Contemplatives of Saint Joseph Monastic Order The Contemplatives of Saint Joseph Monastic Order (COSJ) is a Public Clerical Association of the Christian Faithful in the Roman Catholic Church, founded in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, CA, in 2012. It consists of three branches: the Priests and Brothers, the Sisters, and the Laity. Each member...

The Contemplatives of Saint Joseph updated their website address.

Ite ad Joseph!
Go to Joseph!

Yesterday, for the first time since we began our common apostolate, we had a 24-hour Adoration day. The next few Tuesdays will be similar. You will all be in our prayers! (The picture is not recent, but it should do.)

"Lord, may I have balance and measure in everything - except in Love" (St. Josemaría Escrivá).

"Her Divine Son was not accepted in any unforeseen or unpredictable way... The time was deliberately chosen; the consent was voluntary; the physical cooperation was free. It was the only birth in all the world that was truly willed and, therefore, truly free" (Ven. Fulton Sheen).

It wasn't too long ago - December 5 - that Sr. Maria had her first experience of snow in Minnesota. She sent us these pictures.

The purity of snow has put some of us in mind of Our Lady, whose Immaculate Conception we recently celebrated.

Sr. Maria sends her greetings to the COSJ family during this busy time of finals (as you all know, she is studying for a Master of Sacred Music at Saint John's University in Minnesota).

On the left, here she is with her best friend Katie Wethli. On the right, there she is standing with Fr. Anthony Ruff, OSB - director of the Liturgical Program - and fellow students (from left to right) Katie, Carol Meier, and Abbey Dupuy.

A belated happy Advent to all!

Last Saturday at St. Dominic's Church in San Francisco, Fr. Vito celebrated a Memorial Mass and Healing Service for Miscarriage and Infant Loss. We estimate that some 60 people attended.

This special Mass was fortunately livestreamed. Here is the link for all who are interested:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4CptxzJsGw

Another of our brothers, Br. Raphael, entered the novitiate on September 15, Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.

O thou Mother! fount of love!
Touch my spirit from above;
Make my heart with thine accord.

Make me feel as thou hast felt;
Make my soul to glow and melt
With the love of Christ our Lord.

On November 3, our very own Br. Mikhael, student at St. Patrick's Seminary, was instituted as lector. The Mass for the Institution of Acolytes and Lectors was celebrated by Bishop Cotta of the diocese of Stockton. Congratulations, Br. Mikhael!

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer" (Ps 19:14).

Earlier in the month, on November 7, Fr. Vito had the honor of celebrating Mass for the Holy Trinity Community as several of its members either renewed their temporary commitments or professed their permanent commitment.

We thank Fr. Mark Doherty, president-rector of St. Patrick's Seminary and University in Menlo Park, for allowing Mass to take place in that seminary's beautiful chapel.

Seeing that this is November, it is fitting that we start our new account with this pic. Some of our Third Order members went to Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma to pray for the souls in Purgatory.

"If only you knew with what great longing these holy souls yearn for relief from their suffering. Ingratitude has never entered Heaven" (St. Margaret Mary Alacoque).