I would like your opinion on devotion and consecration to the Most Chaste Heart of Saint Joseph.

Question

Dear Father Angelo,

I am contacting you to ask your opinion on devotion and consecration to the Most Chaste Heart of Saint Joseph, which is recommended by the (alleged) visionary of (….), along with the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

A debate has arisen regarding this with a person dear to me, as I am against it and she is in favor. My concerns are as follows:

1) Although Saint Joseph is a most eminent saint, I believe it is a theological error to consecrate oneself to the heart of any human being, other than the most holy Immaculate Conception, which is something different.

2) It seems to me unwise, regardless of whether the apparitions are genuine or not (for the sake of brevity, I’ll avoid going into detail; I’ll simply state that I see conflicting elements), to practice a devotion recommended by a visionary whose apparitions have not been officially recognized by the Church, even though they were approved by a local bishop. (…).

Thank you in advance and send my warmest regards in Jesus and Mary.

M.C.

Reply from the priest

Dear friend,

1. I’d like to point out that I’m not familiar with the apparition you’re writing about. Reading your email is the first time I’ve heard of it.

I’d like to take this opportunity to clarify a few things.

2. I think it’s useful first of all to revisit what the Directory on Popular Piety and Liturgy of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments wrote regarding consecration to Mary.

Here’s what it says: “Expressions of appreciation from the Roman Pontiffs regarding the pious practice of consecration to Mary are not uncommon, and the formulas they publicly recited are well known.

A well-known master of the spirituality underlying this practice is Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, who proposed to Christians consecration to Christ through the hands of Mary as an effective means of faithfully living their baptismal commitments.

In light of Jesus’ testament (cf. Jn 19:25-27), the act of consecration is, in fact, a conscious recognition of the singular place that Mary of Nazareth occupies in the mystery of Christ and the Church, of the exemplary and universal value of her evangelical witness, of trust in her intercession and the effectiveness of her patronage, and of the multiple maternal functions she carries out, as a true mother in the order of grace, for the benefit of each and every one of her children.

It should be noted, however, that the term “consecration” is used somewhat loosely and inappropriately: for example, it is said to consecrate children to the Virgin Mary, when in reality it simply means placing the little ones under the Virgin’s protection and asking for her maternal blessing.

It is also understandable that many people suggest using other terms, such as “entrustment” or “donation,” instead of “consecration.”

Indeed, in our time, the progress made by liturgical theology and the resulting need for a rigorous use of terms suggest reserving the term “consecration” for the offering of oneself, which has God as its goal, totality and perpetuity as its characteristics, the intervention of the Church as its guarantee, and the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation as its foundation” (n. 204).

3. Coming now to our question: can one consecrate oneself to Saint Joseph?

Here, even more than with Our Lady, who was given to us by Our Lord as a mother in the order of grace, it is more appropriate to use the term “entrustment.”

One can entrust oneself to Saint Joseph because he is the first among the Saints (Our Lady is above all Saints), just as one can also entrust oneself to other Saints.

In the past, some children were entrusted to Saint Anthony because they had received a miracle through his intercession. And as a sign of this, they wore the Franciscan habit until a certain age.

It was a public testimony of the protection obtained from Saint Anthony and at the same time as a perennial invocation to be protected by him for a holy life, in other words for the Lord.

4. In fact, consecration means removing something from profane use and reserving it solely for the praise of God.

For this reason, it is more appropriate to use the term consecration only in reference to God.

The consecration made to Our Lady is different from the consecration made to God. When it is made, it is merely a means to better consecrate oneself to God.

5. In fact, while consecration to God is an absolute consecration because it touches the very meaning of our life, which is to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to Him because it is our spiritual worship (cf. Rom 12:1), consecration to Our Lady is relative to this objective.

For this reason, the Directory says that it is more appropriate to speak of entrustment than of consecration.

6. This also applies to Saint Joseph.

Consecrating ourselves to her most chaste heart means entrusting ourselves to Saint Joseph to guard our hearts and bodies in complete chastity, so that they may be a living, holy, and pleasing sacrifice to God, and so that through his intercession and protection we may become, with our entire lives, a spiritual worship offered to God.

7. It does not detract from Mary’s greatness that some cause, such as that of purity, is subordinated even to that of her most chaste spouse, Saint Joseph, or of Saint Thomas Aquinas, because it was precisely through her that they became so holy and so pure.

8. In conclusion, clarifying the meaning of the terms, preferring the term “entrustment” rather than “consecration,” and regardless of the veracity of the apparitions you write about, it is correct to speak of entrustment to Saint Joseph.

God himself entrusted Saint Joseph with the task of guarding the Holy Family.

Many people entrust to Saint Joseph the protection of their work and family finances.

Thank you for your question, I bless you, and I remember you in prayer.

Father Angelo

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