Fr Paul blesses the chaplet of St Joseph
By Catherine Wan
August 23 2022
KOTA KINABALU – Sacred Heart Cathedral celebrated its first devotion Mass to St Joseph Aug 3 evening, the first Wednesday of the month by parish priest Fr Paul Lo.
This took place after the statue of St Joseph was installed at the front of the Cathedral and was blessed by Archbishop John Wong on Jul 6.
In his homily, Fr Paul pointed out that the Church honored St Joseph as the Patron of the Universal Church, the protector and guardian of the Church.
Though little is known about him in the Bible, he is the greatest of all saints, ranking after Mother Mary.
His name was inserted in the Eucharistic prayer as the spouse of the blessed Virgin Mary by Pope Francis, who also declared the Year of St Joseph last year.
In the liturgical calendar, March is dedicated to St Joseph and the Solemnity of St Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated on Mar 19, while May 1 is celebrated as the feast of St Joseph, patron for laborers.
Fr Paul pointed out that Jesus is called ‘Son of David’ in the Gospel, the descendant of King David and Jesus is our King. Joseph, being the man of faith, obeyed the Word of God.
He hoped St Joseph would inspire men or husbands/fathers in the family to have faith and courage to face trials and challenges in life to safeguard the spiritual welfare of the families other than material needs.
The litany and prayers to St Joseph were projected on screen. However, for the next devotion, booklets will be prepared.
Fifty Chaplets of St Joseph were blessed and given out free after Mass to encourage parishioners to emulate the virtues of St Joseph.
Fr Paul distributes the chaplet of St Joseph to one of the parishioners
The next devotion Mass to St Joseph will fall on 7 Sep, while the devotion Masses to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary will fall on the first Friday on 2 Sep and the first Saturday on 3 Sep respectively.
