O God, come to our assistance; Jesus, Mary, Joseph please make haste to help us!
Jesus! Mary! Joseph!
FERVENT invocation of these blessed names gains for us access to the persons, yes, to the very hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
The aspiration JESUS, MARY, JOSEPH! is enriched with an indulgence of seven years for each recital (Raccolta, 274), applicable to the poor souls in purgatory. This, obviously, is a pearl among partial indulgences. But why should so high an atoning value be attached to so short a formula?
1. To invite us to pray it unceasingly.
2. Because of the incomprehensible grandeur of the holy Names of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The name of a person is a personification of its bearer. What a glorious invocation, then, is the prayer: Jesus, Mary, Joseph! What a vast field for meditation here lies open to angels and men! Each one of these names, Jesus, Mary, Joseph, unfolds to us a world of wonders, an abyss of greatness and beauty, of grace and power.
At the sound of these names, Jesus, Mary, Joseph, which to us are so sweet and love-inspiring, all hell shrinks back in terror. The aspiration Jesus, Mary, Joseph! is a deadly flash of lighting to Satan and the devils.
The aspiration Jesus, Mary, Joseph! is a golden arrow, a fiery dart, which springs from our hearts and at the same moment blissfully wounds the hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph and lays them lovingly open to us and to our dear departed. Into this formula, so divine in its content, one breathes the tenderest, strongest and purest love.
How often should we pray this aspiration? Without counting. . . or, if we prefer, on our rosary; on each bead these three names, Jesus, Mary, Joseph (you may add: save souls; have mercy on souls; or have mercy on souls in purgatory, especially those most neglected; etc.) and nothing more (that is no Creed, no Our Father, Hail Mary or Glory be to the Father). It is not a rosary, but simply a chaplet of diamonds, beautiful gems from the Orient of Divine love. It is greatly to be desired that this practice be spread over the world, flowing as a river of love in a never-ending stream from the hearts and lips of Christian people. (Since it is prayed so easily and quickly by everyone, it is advised that the pious reader pray at least one or two full rosary beads each day – that is, 50+ Jesus, Mary, Joseph! ejaculations – applying all the indulgences gained for the souls in purgatory and for the conversion of poor sinners.)
The aspiration Jesus, Mary, Joseph! is an inexhaustible treasure of indulgences especially for the poor souls. With this prayer one enkindles a fire on earth which extinguishes the flames of Purgatory. If every Christian soul but knew, if the world but knew, what consolation for the poor souls is contained in the names, Jesus, Mary, Joseph! Day and night, everywhere and without ceasing may this blessed prayer be the refrain of fervent petitions. Gather, O Christian souls, gather blessings through these heavenly names, Jesus, Mary, Joseph, for those who suffer unspeakable pains in the flames of Purgatory; beg in these sweet names, Jesus, Mary, Joseph, without ceasing.
The aspiration Jesus, Mary, Joseph! is a golden book, an inexhaustible fountain. It awakens a piety which is sweet and strong, wide, deep and full of meaning. And yet, how short and clear, how simple and wonderful is its form! It is the golden key to the hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. It is a precious gem of piety. Already here on earth, but especially in heaven, this prayer will effect an intimate union of the soul, a jubilation, a true fire of love.
The aspiration Jesus, Mary, Joseph! is an inexhaustible subject for meditation. The thoughtful repetition of these names, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, so full of love and light, causes us to meditate, and from the beginning this meditation appeals to us, charms us, affects us, leads us to God and submerges us into Him. We find in these names, Jesus, Mary, Joseph, a power that urges, uplifts, stimulates, impels and quickens. Meditation on these holy names, Jesus, Mary, Joseph, fills the heart and mind, excites sublime thoughts and leads one to self-sacrificing resolutions. This method of meditation may constitute the bliss of a theologian even as it enraptures the soul of a little child. It permits all, without exception, to penetrate into the vast domain of our holy Religion and to meditate at the same time on the articles of faith, the commandments, virtues and sacraments. Like a bee that flies about in an immense garden, where perpetual spring reigns, drawing sweet nectar from bud and blossom, so we may gather heavenly thoughts and graces.
May these blessed names, Jesus, Mary, Joseph, be often on our lips during life, and may we with our dying breath sigh: Jesus, Mary, Joseph!
Bless, O Lord, the repose I am about to take, that with renewed strength I may be able to serve you faithfully. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, assist me in my last agony. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul in peace with you. Rising under the protection of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and armed with the sign of the holy cross: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
THE
HOLY SOULS WILL REPAY US MANY TIMES OVER
Now
who can be in more urgent need of our charity than the souls in
Purgatory? What hunger, or thirst, or dire sufferings on Earth can
compare to their dreadful torments? Neither the poor, nor the sick,
nor the suffering, we see around us, have such an urgent need of our
help. Yet we find many goodhearted people who interest themselves in
every other type of suffering, but alas, scarcely one who works for
the Holy Souls.
Who
can have more claim on us? Among them too, there may be our mothers
and fathers, our friends and near of kin; and also our neighbour!
When
souls from Purgatory are finally released from their pains and enjoy
the beatitude of Heaven, far from forgetting their friends and
benefactors on earth, their gratitude knows no bounds. Prostrate
before the throne of God, they never cease to pray for those who
helped them. By their prayers they shield their friends and
benefactors from many dangers and protect them from the evils that
threaten them.
To
have a better understanding of Purgatory and the terrible suffering
of the Poor Souls and how we can help them, read the book Purgatory
– Explained by the Lives and Legends of the Saints
by Father F.X. Schouppe, S.J. and the booklet How
to Avoid Purgatory
by Fr. Paul
O’Sullivan:
Prayer
of St. Gertrude the Great
“Eternal
Father, I offer Thee the most Precious Blood of Jesus, with all the
Masses being said all over the world this day, for the Souls in
Purgatory.”
Our
Lord showed St. Gertrude a vast number of souls leaving Purgatory and
going to Heaven as a result of this prayer, which the Saint was
accustomed to say frequently during the day.
Taken from the booklet Read Me or Rue it by Fr. Paul O’Sullivan which has the approval of the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, Portugal – March 4, 1936.
Venerable Denis, the Carthusian, relates that the Virgin, St. Gertrude, had made a complete donation of all her works of satisfaction in favour of the faithful departed, without reserving anything wherewith to discharge the debts which she herself might have contracted in the sight of God. Being at the point of death, and, like all the saints, considering with much sorrow the great number of her sins on the one hand, and, on the other, remembering that she had employed all her works of satisfaction for the expiation of the sins of others, she was afflicted, lest, having given all to others and reserved nothing for herself, her soul, on its departure from this world, should be condemned to horrible suffering. In the midst of her fears our Lord appeared to her and consoled her, saying: “Be reassured, my daughter, your charity towards the departed will be no detriment to you. Know that the generous donation you have made of all your works to the holy souls has been singularly pleasing to me; and to give you a proof thereof, I declare to you that all the pains you would have had to endure in the other life are now remitted ; moreover, in recompense for your generous charity, I will so enhance the value of the merits of your works as to give you a great increase of glory in Heaven.” (Rev. F.X. Schouppe, S.J. - The Dogma Of Purgatory)
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