Consecration to Holy Family Strengthens Foundation of "Domestic Church"

In today's tumultuous world, many families seek to build a domestic church with a foundation built upon rock.

Through a new consecration to the Holy Family, they have St. Joseph as their master builder, Mary as their nurturing presence, and Jesus as their pathway to a heavenly home. 

Scott Smith and Father Don Calloway MIC provide such a consecration with the publishing of "33 Days to the Holy Family: Consecration to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph."
Smith is a Catholic author, blogger, and ministry and theology (MAT) instructor and course developer for the office of evangelization and catechesis for the Diocese of Baton Rouge. He is a member of St. Mary of False River Church in New Roads.

Smith explained that devotions to Mary began with the early Church and the apostles. St. Louis de Montfort (1673-1716) developed and formalized the 33-day method of consecration to Jesus through Mary that is widely practiced today. 

Devotions to St. Joseph began spreading in the 1500s, largely due to St. Teresa of Avila. She encouraged people to "test it out" and ask for St. Joseph's intercession for specific needs and "see if it works." Her devotion to St. Joseph influenced St. John of the Cross, who founded with her the Discalced Carmelites.

Pope Francis declared Dec. 8, 2020 to Dec. 28, 2021 as the Year of St. Joseph, marking the 150th anniversary of Pope Pius IX declaring St. Joseph patron of the universal Church.

In the summer of 2020, Father Donald Calloway, of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, published a prominent book on consecration to St. Joseph. The title was "Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father." In summer 2022, Smith and Father Calloway released "Consecration to St. Joseph for Children and Families."

"We basically have these consecrations under the same roof: The holy house of Nazareth," said Smith.

With that in mind, Smith and Calloway co-wrote the book "33 Days to the Holy Family: Consecration to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph."

Smith believes consecrations and devotions offer spiritual protection, shelter, and armor against evil.

"Our Lady of Fatima told (Venerable) Sister Lucia de Jesus, 'The last great battle between Christ's church and the devil will be about the family,'" said Smith.

"It's always been about family," he said. "It's the family covenant. The family of Adam, the family of Noah, the family of Abraham. They and their families and their descendants have always been saved by that family covenant with God.

"And this (book) is not just about intellectually remembering we have been saved, not because we believe 'Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savoir.' We're saved by adoption into the family of Christ, the Holy Family."

The consecration into the family of God begins at baptism, according to Smith. The consecration to the Holy Family is a confirmation of those initial graces received at baptism.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, Smith said, are the perfect models of fatherhood and masculinity, motherhood and femininity, and sonship and childhood. Yet, there's a sacramental nature to the Holy Family that makes them more than models.

At a time when most families suffer from trials and relationship traumas, people need more than images, said Smith. They need Jesus, Mary, and Joseph to be part of their daily lives to heal family wounds. Smith's experience in writing the book deepened his own devotion to the Family of Nazareth.

"When you really start reading and writing about the Holy Family, they take you in, the good and the bad and the suffering, the highs and the lows, the joys."

The book can be purchased at shopmercy.org. To view Father Calloway's presentation on the book, visit youtube.com/watch?v=s9UnbxAuNvU