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Befriending St. Joseph

Finding Faith, Hope, and Courage in the Seven Sorrows Devotion
$13.95

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Format: Paperback

Publication date: April 8, 2022

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Description

After Pope Francis declared 2020 the year of St. Joseph, interest in the patriarch of the Holy Family and patron of the Universal Church was heightened worldwide.

In Befriending St. Joseph, popular blogger Deacon Greg Kandra leads you on a journey of imaginative exploration and spiritual renewal rooted in the few Bible stories where Joseph is written about. This book offers a fresh take on the centuries-old devotion known as the Seven Sorrows of St. Joseph and provides an opportunity to ponder Joseph’s role in our salvation and to become more like him.

Although the Bible doesn’t record St. Joseph saying a single word, we know he became what God wanted him to be with patience, attention, trust, and prayer. The biblical account of Jesus’s life shows us that St. Joseph had faith in times of uncertainty and courage in times of danger. Kandra shows us Joseph as a gentle man, pure of heart, trusting in God, and a role model for those who feel unworthy or unready.

Through guided reflections, Kandra helps you imagine what life may have been like for Joseph, Mary, and Jesus and offers guidance to help you better navigate your own life, with particular attention to trust, purity of heart, courage, and persistence in faith. Kandra invites you to:

  • trust the mystery of God when life seems shattered;
  • persist in caring for those you love, guide, and protect;
  • be courageous and compassionate in the face of suffering;
  • find strength to comfort others;
  • attend to those on the margins;
  • pray for the grace of endurance; and
  • expect to find Christ in unexpected places.

Each chapter of Befriending St. Joseph includes a scriptural verse about Joseph that lies at the heart of the devotion, original prayers by Kandra, and questions for self-reflection, journaling, or faith sharing. The appendixes include additional prayers to St. Joseph and an adaption of the Seven Sorrows devotion for group prayer.

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Product Details

Pages: 128

Trim size: 5 x 7 inches

ISBN: 9781646801374

Imprint: Ave Maria Press

CFN Live - Deacon Greg Kandra from CFN on Vimeo.

Deacon Greg Kandra talks about Befriending St. Joseph on Catholic Faith Network Live.

  • “An absolute gift.”

    “Deacon Greg Kandra’s Befriending St. Joseph is an absolute gift for me as a young father, working professional, and a Catholic man striving to be holy. St. Joseph is far from the seemingly inaccessible images of Jesus’s father-on-earth that I grew up with. Kandra paints a vivid and relatable picture of a father confronting the joys, doubts, insecurities, challenges, and triumphs of raising a child and serving as a husband. Don’t let the brevity of this little book fool you; it’s packed with prayerful insights that you’ll return to over and over again.”

    Joel Stepanek
    Vice president of parish services
    Life Teen International

  • “Relevant and practical.”

    “Deacon Greg Kandra leads us through the life of this great saint in a relevant and practical way. Reading this book has increased my desire to trust God's plan even when I don’t fully understand all the details.”

    Gary Zimak
    Author of Give Up Worry for Lent!

  • “Innovative and inspirational.”

    “Innovative and inspirational, Befriending St. Joseph breathes new life and insight into a traditional devotion as Greg Kandra invites us to consider Joseph as the perfect companion for our daily challenges and everyday joys.”

    Lisa M. Hendey
    Founder of Catholicmom.com

  • “Facinating.”

    “Fascinating and probing meditations on the seven sorrows of this beloved saint. In reflecting on an ancient and somewhat hidden tradition, Greg Kandra invites us to see in Joseph that same ancient grace, that hidden presence, which lives in the shadows but intercedes for, guides, and supports us.”

    Bishop Paul R. Sanchez
    Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn

  • “I love this book.”

    “I love this book. No one is better than Kandra when it comes to finding and sharing with us the small, nuanced points that are sometimes missed within the grand and ongoing pageant that is our salvation.”

    Elizabeth Scalia
    Editor-at-large
    Word on Fire Catholic Ministries

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