Bringing The Grotto to You

A Place of Sanctuary

A special message from Servite Father Richard Boyle

Please click here to view this very special message

Gardens open and free to all

The Grotto is committed to being a place of prayer for our community. For now, our gardens remain open, and admission charges to the Upper Gardens are suspended through March 31 to allow for people to take refuge in nature - well suited for social distancing - during this time. All are welcome to visit our outdoor sanctuary; you can just walk right in.

Open hours are 9 a.m - 6:30 p.m. Please check our website as these guidelines may change in upcoming days.

Series continues

For all those unable to visit, we thought we would share a piece of The Grotto with you each day until Masses resume. We hope this feature, A Place of Sanctuary: Bringing The Grotto to You , brings you joy, and we pray we will see you all at The Grotto soon.

May you, too, experience the peace our visitors and pilgrims encounter in the spiritual and natural beauty of our holy sanctuary.

Day 4: St. Joseph's Grove

Feast of St. Joseph

Today, March 19, we celebrate the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

About St. Joseph

The Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John tell us everything we know about Joseph, the husband of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. But the importance of Joseph's part in God's plan is first found in the Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament. Through the prophet Isaiah, God promises to send a Messiah to save all people. The Savior will come from the "house of David," which means that King David, appointed to be King by God's order, will be his ancestor by lineage. Both Matthew's and Luke's Gospels tell us that Joseph was from the family line of King David.

Early in Matthew's Gospel, we learn that the angel Gabriel appeared to Joseph and told him the child Mary would conceive and bear would be through the power of the Holy Spirit. The angel told Joseph, "...you are to name him Jesus," because he will save his people from their sins." (cf. Matthew 1:18-21)

The Gospels tells us that Joseph was a "just" man. That means that he was faithful. He was faithful to God and said "yes" to God's plan for him to be Mary's husband and Jesus' foster father. He was faithful to Mary, caring for her while they waited for her child to be born. He was faithful to Jesus, protecting him when he learned of King Herod's plan to kill him. And when that danger passed, Joseph was faithful in helping Mary to raise Jesus with love in their home in the town of Nazareth. We honor Joseph's faithfulness to God, to Mary, and to Jesus on March 19th each year, as the Church celebrates the "Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary." We pray that we, too, can be obedient to God's plan for us, just as Joseph was.

St. Joseph Prayer

O Blessed Saint Joseph,who felt the worry and sorrow of a parent

along with Blessed Mary, your spouse and the Mother of Jesus,

when the child Jesus was lost in the Temple in Jerusalem:

protect our dear children now and always.

May you, O Blessed Joseph, foster father of Jesus,

be their special foster father with God and Mary in heaven.

Let our children, like Jesus,

grow healthily in age, wisdom, and grace

before God and all creation!

Preserve them from every harm, hurt, and danger,

and most especially from the coronavirus

so widespread in our community.

We humbly ask this of you, Blessed Saint Joseph,

foster father of Our Lord Himself!

Amen.

St. Joseph's Grove (1947)

Located in The Grotto Upper Gardens, this grove is a perfect place for contemplation and reflection.

The marble panels found in the grove are set in volcanic rock mountings. They depict the joys and sorrows that were part of the life of this strong, quiet man.

The bas-relief sculptures offer us the opportunity to reflect on how events in our own lives might very well be interrelated with the same kind of struggles, joy, pain and happiness reflected in Joseph's life.

The grove also features a heroic-size statue of St. Joseph holding the infant Jesus in his arms.

The panels and statues in this grove were carved by the Eredi Studios in Pietrasanta, Italy, a religious art colony near Pisa.

The Seven Joys and Sorrows of St. Joseph

St. JOSEPH , Chaste Spouse of Mary, Mother of God, by the SORROW with which your heart was pierced at the thought of a cruel separation from Mary, and by the deep JOY that you felt when the angel revealed to you the ineffable mystery of the Incarnation, obtain for us from Jesus and Mary the grace which dispels all anxiety. Gain for us from the Sacred Heart of Jesus the unspeakable peace that defies understanding.

St. JOSEPH , Foster-Father of Jesus, by the bitter SORROW that your heart experienced in seeing the child Jesus lying in a manger, and by the JOY you felt in seeing the wise men recognize and adore him as their God, obtain by your prayers that our hearts, purified by your protection, become a living crib, where Jesus, the Savior of the world, may receive our homage.

St. JOSEPH , by the SORROW with which your heart was weighed down at the sight of the blood which flowed from the infant Jesus at his circumcision, and by the JOY that enveloped your soul at the privilege of giving to him the sacred name of Jesus, through your prayer may his precious blood soothe our souls, and the name of Jesus be engraved forever in our hearts.

St. JOSEPH , by the SORROW you endured when the prophet Simeon declared that the soul of Mary would be pierced with a sword of sorrow, and by the JOY you experienced when Simeon prophesied that Jesus would be the salvation of many, obtain for us the grace to have compassion for the sorrows of Mary, and share in the salvation that Jesus brought to earth.

St. JOSEPH , by the SORROW you felt when told to flee into Egypt, and by the JOY you experienced in seeing the idols overthrown at the arrival of the Living God, grant that no idol of earthly affection occupy our hearts, and that we may be entirely devoted to the service of Jesus and Mary.

St. JOSEPH , by the SORROW which overcame your heart caused by fear of the tyrant Herod Archelaus, and the JOY which came to you in sharing the company of Jesus and Mary at Nazareth, obtain for us the peace of a good conscience and a life free of fear, all in union with Jesus and Mary now, and at the hour of our death.

St. JOSEPH , by the bitter SORROW with which the loss of the child Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem crushed your heart, and the by the immense, holy JOY which inundated your soul upon finding Jesus in that same temple, we ask that we not lose Jesus by our sinning. Yet should misfortune befall us, may we eagerly seek and find him again. May we rediscover his great mercy, especially at the hour of our death, so that we sing his divine mercies with you forever.