In the chronicles of the Reformed Carmelites, there is an interesting story of something that happened in one of their monasteries of Perpignan (a city in southern France, near the Mediterranean coast). It involved a very holy religious, who strove hard to grow in his love for God and to keep his soul pure for Him. All of his efforts however, while greatly pleasing Heaven, aroused the devil with an even greater hatred for the monk and all the good he was doing.

So one evening, in the dead of night, satan came to the man’s cell and began to try and corrupt him. Striking at one of the monk’s most vital virtues, the devil harassed and tormented him with temptations to impurity. The fierce struggle lasted all night, as the religious resisted the devil with all his strength. But no matter how often he drove the wicked thoughts away, the tempter kept returning with his relentless evil. Only at dawn, when sunlight again lit the sky, did grace enable the weary monk to put the devil to flight.

Later that same morning, the prior of the monastery came to this monk and asked him to accompany him into town on an errand. The prior knew nothing of the exhausting night, whose effects were still weighing heavily on his spiritual son. But, putting aside his preference to stay at the monastery and rest after a sleepless night, the monk obeyed and went with the prior on the errand.

However, when they came to the bustling village, the two religious unintentionally became separated from each other; lost amidst the many people milling about in the town square. As the holy monk anxiously looked around for his superior, he saw an old man coming towards him. The elderly stranger eyed the monk with a look of kindness and sympathy, as he unexpectedly asked:

"Why didn’t you think of St. Joseph during those many attacks you went through last night? Why didn’t you ask him for help?"

The religious stared at the old man in stunned silence. How could this stranger possibly know about all of those demonic attacks from the previous night? No one else was there! The monk had been alone during those horrible temptations against his purity. Yet now, only a few hours after his intense struggles, this total stranger was asking about them? Who told him? Not even the prior knew about them!

A strange feeling came over the religious as he looked at the person before him. The man was so kind, gentle, and fatherly - but why would this man trouble himself about the struggles of a poor monk, unless…

In a matter of moments, the monk realized who the old man was. Astonished and almost excited, he opened his mouth to answer the man’s questions and ask a few of his own, when with a peaceful smile the "stranger" disappeared.

The monk glanced around quickly, but there was no mistaking it. The man was gone. However, in his place there remained a deep peace which filled the monk’s soul. To the end of his life, the religious remained firmly convinced that the old man was none other than the good and loving St. Joseph - whose wise advice he would never forget.

In this day and age, the devil is constantly harassing us with many temptations - especially against purity; and it is very difficult for us to keep our thoughts and hearts pure from this evil. However, as this story shows, God has not only given us many graces to help us in our struggles, but also many friends in Heaven who want to help us. As they have suffered from similar temptations, they want all the more to give us the strength we need to win our own struggles. They know what it’s like to feel weak and alone.

Let us learn then, like the good religious, to call upon St. Joseph whenever you need help. Whether you are being tempted to do the wrong thing, or struggling to do the right one…or even if you are just feeling lonely and need a friend to talk to, you can be sure that he will always be there for you. As the holy monk discovered, you yourself will find in St. Joseph not only a strong protector against the attacks of the devil, but, even more so, a loving friend and tender father who will never fail you.