Prayer & the Heart of Jesus

What is the “secret”, the key to the holiness of St. Joseph Marello? Without a doubt, it is prayer! Everyone who knew him and especially those that testified in the process of his Canonization, commented on perceiving him to be a man of

prayer, who intimately conversed with God to such an extent that it was apparent in his very appearance. To be so “radiant” with the presence of God is only

possible as the fruit of one who has a deep and abiding personal relationship with God, which itself is only possible because he dedicates time and effort to prayer - the personal communication and sharing of life - that allows God to be abundantly present in a person’s life. To be a man of God, one must know God. To know God, one must speak to Him, and above all, learn to listen to Him.

The testimonies to Marello’s devotion to prayer come even from his earliest childhood, but continue throughout the stages of his life. He deliberately and consciously sought to model himself on his great namesake, St. Joseph, whom he regarded as a unique model of the “interior life” - the contemplative life of prayer. It was in imitation of St. Joseph that Marello constantly sought moments to immerse himself in the contemplation of the Lord Jesus who was always before the eyes of St. Joseph. It was leaning upon the heart of Mary, Spouse of Joseph, that he sought to be filled with love for and devotion to the Jesus who was her heart. A

prayer life that builds in discipline, and application so as to become contemplation and listening is the path to which both Joseph and Mary lead, and which Joseph Marello followed.

Of course, as a priest, he was already called to prayer, and as a Canon of the Cathedral of Asti, he regularly was part of the prayer of the Divine Office which was the duty of the Canons to offer on behalf of the whole Church. Yet, even more it was in the daily celebration of the Eucharist that Marello turned into an exercise

of the deepest prayerful union with Christ. Many who knew him commented on the intensity and reverence with which he celebrated the Mass - expressions of profound faith and inner union with the One who offers and is offered in the Sacrifice of the Mass, in worship of the Father, and in communion with His children. This Eucharistic prayer of Marello was also evident in his promotion of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, the love and prayerful worship of the Eucharistic Lord outside of Mass, to which he dedicated time and to which he invited others, even creating a weekly group of prayer at the little chapel of the Michelerio, dedicated to the “Name of Jesus” where he invited others to enter into union with the Lord.

Marello’s prayerful union with Christ in the Eucharist is also the source of his devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In the worship and contemplation of Christ in the Eucharist there opens the way to love Jesus as St. Joseph loved Him. To love Jesus, the Son of God who came in the flesh to be with us, to love Jesus whose heart

is filled with love for us as it was for St. Joseph. To love Jesus because He is the bringer of light, of grace, of joy, and of salvation. It is to love the Jesus who desires to be with us, listen to us, and speak to us - like He did with Joseph in Nazareth. Our Oblate devotion to the Heart of Jesus is thus not exactly that of St. Margaret

Mary and her visions, nor again that of St. Faustina and hers. It is devotion to that Jesus known by St. Joseph whom we find ever with us in the Eucharist. It is that Jesus who came into the arms of St. Joseph, God incarnate, to be the Messiah and Savior of us all - which He would eventually accomplish by His Cross and

Resurrection.

Marello as a man of prayer shows us the way to true holiness, to finding and focusing on the Heart of Christ, learning to spend time and give of ourselves to Him who must be the source of everything in our lives.

Fr. Gregory Finn, OSJ

General Councilor