Offering update

The Virtual St. Joseph Altar has been open for one week. So far, there have been 43 virtual offerings placed on the Altar; 17 posts on Prayers for the Dead; and 27 General Prayer Requests. There have been about 500 visitors to the Altar during this first week.

Visits pick up dramatically during the last week before the March 19 feast day. Last year there were over 7,000 visitors during the month prior to the feast day, and 900 visitors on St. Joseph's Day alone!

Spread the word & Viva San Giuseppe!

Why no meat?

Why is there never any meat on a St. Joseph Altar?

There are two reasons for the meatless Altar. The first, and probably the more relevant reason, is that meat was a rarity for Sicilian peasants. The second reason is that St. Joseph's Feast Day falls in the season of Lent. So, in the Sicilian St. Joseph Altar tradition, no meat is prepared for the Altar. But, who needs meat when you've got boiled shrimp, baked red snapper, and boiled crawfish!

Read more on the history of the St. Joseph Altar.

Catholic Cuisine for the month of March

Catholic Cuisine is a wonderful blog that offers recipes and ideas for celebrating the feasts and seasons of the liturgical year. Today's post is of particular interest: Recipes for March ~ Month Dedicated to St. Joseph. But you won't just find recipes for St. Joseph's Day. They've included ALL the March feasts: St. David, St. Casimir, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Gregory the Great, St. Patrick, St. Gabriel, and the Annunciation of the Lord.

Head over to Catholic Cuisine for recipes, beautiful photos, and more!

Spread the word!

Do you have a blog or website? Tell everyone about the Virtual St. Joseph Altar with one of these badges. Grab one, load it up to your site, and link the image back to http://thankevann.com/stjoseph

Thank you, for helping to spread devotion to St. Joseph!

Patron of many

St. Joseph is the patron saint of a wide variety of things & people:

• against doubt and hesitation
• bursars
• cabinetmakers
• carpenters
• confectioners
• craftsmen
• dying people
• emigrants
• engineers
• expectant mothers
• families
• fathers
• happy death
• holy death
• house hunters
• immigrants
• interior souls
• laborers
• married people
• people who fight Communism
• pioneers
• pregnant women
• protection of the Church
• social justice
• travelers
• unborn children
• Universal Church
• wheelwrights
• workers
• working people

He is also the patron of many places:

Americas; Austria; diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Belgium; diocese of Biloxi, Mississippi; Bohemia; diocese of Buffalo, New York; Canada; Carinthia; diocese of Cheyenne, Wyoming; China; Croatian people (in 1687 by decree of the Croatian parliament) ; Florence, Italy; Korea; diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin; archdiocese of Louisville, Kentucky; diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire; Mexico; diocese of Nashville, Tennessee; New France; New World; Peru; diocese of San Jose, California; Sicily; diocese of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Styria, Austria; Turin Italy; Tyrol, Austria; Vatican II; Viet Nam; diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia; and on December 8, 1870, Pope Pius IX proclaimed him the patron of the Universal Church

A spiritual bouquet for Pope Benedict

What Does The Prayer Really Say? is hosting a Spiritual Bouquet for Pope Benedict for St. Joseph’s Day, March 19. Pope Benedict certainly needs our prayers and March 19 is his baptismal name day. There are several options for participation, including:    

• Mass and/or Holy Communion
• Chaplet of the Rosary (5 mysteries)
• Work of mercy
• Decade of the Rosary
• Spiritual reading
• Prayers during the day (including hour of the Office)
• Visit to the Blessed Sacrament
• Day of fasting from food or another thing
• Entire Rosary (all the mysteries)

Participation in the spiritual bouquet will end on March 19. Head over to What Does The Prayer Really Say? for all the details.

St. Joseph Altars of New Orleans, 2010

Join John and his wife on their 2010 pilgrimage to seven different St. Joseph Altars in New Orleans. Thanks, John, for sharing your video with us!

Enjoy and Viva San Giuseppe!

Capturing the heart of the tradition

Allen, of Is Anybody There?,  is a long time visitor and promoter of the Virtual St. Joseph Altar. In a recent blog post, St. Joseph Altars 2011,  he explains the devotion of the annual St. Joseph Altar. Not only does Allen give a wonderful outline of the history behind the tradition, he also had something very special to say about the Virtual St. Joseph Altar:

"If you get the chance to see a real one, please do. But this does capture the heart of the devotion to San Giuseppe."

That has always been my goal with the Virtual Altar. To "capture the heart" of the St. Joseph Altar tradition. Thanks, Allen! You made my day!

Kind words from Altar visitors

Opening day was a busy one. As well as virtual offerings and prayer requests, I received many lovely emails from visitors to the Virtual St. Joseph Altar. Some are from newcomers to the Altar, others are from long-time visitors. Here are a few snippets:

Spring can never be far away when you open your St Joseph's altar!

Thanks again for bringing St Joseph to us every year. 

We have a new pastor, and he does not want an altar this year??????? , so we have yours!

Terrific! What a great way to pray.

Many thanks, Evann, for the fantastic booklet! Viva San Giuseppe!

Thank you all!

2011 Virtual St. Joseph Altar is now open!

The Virtual St. Joseph Altar is my online version of the traditional Sicilian St. Joseph Altars of New Orleans. The first Virtual St. Joseph Altar went online in February of 1999.

The Virtual St, Joseph Altar is open now through the March 19 Feast of St. Joseph.

Visit the Altar and make your virtual offerings, Request prayers for prayers for deceased loved ones. Or make general prayer requests.

There's lot of other things to keep you busy: prayers, history, recipes, photos, links, and more. Don't miss the mini 3d Virtual St. Joseph's Altar craft.

Because of the continued prayers & support of so many, the Virtual St. Joseph Altar gets bigger and better each year!

I welcome the many faithful visitors who have been coming to the Virtual St. Joseph Altar since its very beginning, and a warm welcome to those who are new to the Altar.

Thank you all for helping to spread devotion to St. Joseph. Viva San Guiseppe!

Evann Duplantier
Virtual St. Joseph Altar

General Prayer Requests 2011

This is a place for general prayer requests.

Simply submit your prayer request in the comment box below.  

For prayers for deceased loved ones, please visit Prayers for the Dead 2011.

Holy St. Joseph, Spouse of Mary,
be mindful of me, pray for me, watch over me.
Guardian of the paradise of the new Adam,
provide for my temporal wants.
Faithful guardian of the most precious of all treasures,
I beseech thee to bring this matter to a happy end,
if it be for the glory of God,
and the good of my soul.
Amen

Commenting is now closed -- please pray for the prayer requests listed here and I'll see you for the 2012 Feast of st. Joseph!

Prayers for the Dead 2011

This is a place to request prayers for deceased loved ones.

Simply list your deceased family and friends in the comment box below. Please separate names with a comma.

For other general prayer requests, please visit Prayer Requests 2011.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord;
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace.
Amen. 

Commenting is now closed -- please pray for those listed here and I'll see you for the 2012 Feast of st. Joseph!

30-day novena reminder

A Catholic Mom in Hawaii, reminds us that today is the day to start a 30-day novena to St. Joseph that will end on his March 19 feast. You could have started yesterday to end on the eve of his feast, but since yesterday has passed I am going to concentrate on today!

Thanks, Esther, for the timely reminder.

St. Joseph's Day is right around the corner

Well, not really, but it is just a month away and that means it will be here before you know it! I've been busy getting the Virtual St. Joseph Altar ready for its February 19th opening. That gives you all month to visit and make your virtual offerings to the Altar for the 2011 Feast of St. Joseph.

The Virtual St. Joseph Altar is my online version of the traditional Sicilian St. Joseph Altars of New Orleans which I began in February of 1999. Visitors submit virtual offerings to be placed on the Altar. From the prayer request page, you can add the names of deceased loved ones to the prayer list, and post general prayer requests as well. You will also find crafts, recipes, prayers, history, images of St. Joseph, photos of Altars, links, and more.

There will also be a 2nd Annual St. Joseph Altar Blog Fest! Stay tuned for more info on that.

The Virtual St. Joseph Altar will officially open on February 19.

The 2011 Altar marks 13 years for the Virtual St. Joseph Altar. Spread the word & Viva San Guiseppe!

To bury, or not to bury?

Aggie Catholics has an interesting post on the popular practice of Burying St. Joseph Upside Down To Sell a House. In addition to this story about Blessed Andre Bessett, there is a story about Carmelite nuns and their search for a convent:

The tradition of burying St. Joseph in the earth began hundreds of years ago during the time when St.Teresa of Avila was opening Carmelite Convents throughout Europe. Taking only the bare necessities and their statue of St. Joseph, her nuns would set out in search of land or buildings suitable for a new convent. St. Teresa of Avila always encouraged her nuns to pray to St. Joseph.


It is believed that, on one particular search, the nuns found a piece of property perfect for their needs. Having no money, the nuns immediately started to petition St. Joseph for the funds needed to buy the property. In the meantime, having no place to stay, the nuns decided to bury their statue of St. Joseph on the property so he would not get stolen or broken.


After the nuns prayed to St. Joseph, someone purchased the land and built them a convent. When it was finished, the sisters dug up the statue and built a beautiful shrine inside in honor of St. Joseph.

Read more on this at the Virtual St. Joseph Altar.

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If you haven't visited The Catholic Foodie, now is the time. It's where food meets faith! You'll find blog posts, podcasts, recipes, cookbooks, coffee, and more. While you are there, be sure to subscribe to The Catholic Foodie newsletter and email updates.

As we gear up for the 2011 Feast of St. Joseph, I'm very excited to have been asked to be on the show for Jeff's St. Joseph episode. Stay tuned for the exact date and time!

But, this week, in podcast CF105, Jeff addresses food blogging and various food blogs. He even mentions me and thankevann.com. Thanks, Jeff!

Jeff loves his faith and he loves his food and it's reflected in everything The Catholic Foodie has to offer.