A father for our times
GREENSBORO — It’s the Year of St. Joseph and, by extension, Father Donald Calloway, MIC. The Marian priest is the author of “Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father.” The book has sold 500,000 copies in the year since it was published, and it has been translated into 15 languages. Father Calloway has been traveling for speaking engagements at least once a week ever since Pope Francis declared 2021 would be dedicated to St. Joseph.
“It’s been pretty much nonstop,” Father Calloway said.
So when the popular priest agreed to speak at Our Lady of Grace Church on March 30, the parishioners, staff and clergy considered it divine providence. Not only was it the last remaining date Father Calloway had available for the next two years, it was also during Holy Week. Yet it wasn’t the first time he visited the parish.
As a seminarian, Father Calloway spent the summer of 1999 there. At the time, his order, the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, served the parish. In 1993, when Father Calloway first joined the order, he was sent to OLG to ride a bus with young people to World Youth Day in Denver to hear Pope John Paul II speak.
On top of all of this, March 30 was the start date for the book’s 33-day program for consecrating oneself to St. Joseph, culminating with consecration on May 1, the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, a timely observance when so many have lost jobs. Church members started a parish-wide consecration the day of Father Calloway’s visit.
Consecrating oneself to St. Joseph can be a source of inspiration and hope, Father Calloway said.
He noted that 25 percent of children are raised in a home without a father. “In light of that, people are looking to find solidity in things that are unchanging because even marriage has been redefined today,” he said.
Then he shared something that came to him in prayer four years ago which led to his spending three years researching St. Joseph and developing the consecration method found in his book.
“When I had my own conversion and became Catholic, I needed St. Joseph to help me to be a good man because I really messed it up in my youth. Joseph was there for me to help me learn virtues and learn how to be a gentleman. What happened to me I think the world could use to understand what a good father is, what a good husband is, what a good man is, and I think that’s a big draw.”
During his talk, after being introduced by OLG’s pastor Father Casey Coleman, Father Calloway revealed why this historically – and biblically – quiet saint is now in the Church’s spotlight.
“When things are crumbling, which so many things seem to be in society, who would you want to bring in to rebuild things? A carpenter would be a pretty good idea ... we have the best one, and he’s also our spiritual father,” Calloway noted. “God and Our Lady are pointing to him, saying to bring him into your family life. He can help you, your marriage. He can help you with your children. … He’s just kind of all-around. Your dad covers everything.”
Parishioner David Foppe shared what hearing these insights meant to his family: “I brought my two oldest kids to the talk. I thought it was good for them to hear from someone other than just their father about how crazy the world is becoming. You will get caught up in its swift currents if you don’t cling to Jesus Christ and the Church. What better way is there than through the help of
St. Joseph and the Holy Mother? Father Calloway explained this is in a way that resonated with them.”
During his talk, Father Calloway walked through a series of events in the Church that have emphasized St. Joseph – including when he was declared Patron of the Universal Church in 1870, the apparition of St. Joseph holding the Christ child in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917, and the completion of St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal, Canada, in 1967.
He also noted prophecies concerning St. Joseph at Akita and from the 16th-century Dominican priest Father Isidore of Isolanis, who said the Church in the future would go through an extraordinarily difficult time and would turn to St. Joseph.
He also shared stories about his efforts to get a letter to Pope Francis requesting a church-wide year dedicated to St. Joseph. Eventually, the letter was hand-delivered to the pontiff.
The tireless priest also wrote to every U.S. bishop requesting that they declare a Year of St. Joseph in their respective dioceses. Eleven responded, including Bishop Peter Jugis of the Diocese of Charlotte. “I think it’s actually your bishop who was the first one to respond, and then 10 others followed suit,” Father Calloway said.
Bishop Jugis, whose devotion to St. Joseph is well known, declared a Year of St. Joseph in the Charlotte diocese to great applause at the Eucharistic Congress in 2019.
Pope Francis declared a worldwide Year of St. Joseph on Dec. 8, 2020.
When asked about what wisdom St. Joseph would want to impart to the faithful, Father Calloway said, “Have hope. He would want to say, ‘God is with you. He hasn’t abandoned you, He hasn’t left you.’ Because a lot of people feel that way. Suicide rates are very high. Depression rates are very high. I think he would tell us to have hope, trust in Jesus, and don’t become despairing. I think we just need to turn back to a message of hope.”
— Annie Ferguson, Correspondent
Pictured: Marian Father Donald Calloway speaks to a rapt congregation at Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro. (Photo provided by Barbara Markun)
More online
At www.yearofstjoseph.org: Find educational resources, prayers and devotions, and more to celebrate the “Year of St. Joseph,” including information about how to consecrate yourself and your family to St. Joseph