Though he speaks no words in Scripture, St. Joseph’s message to us is resounding: he wants to lead us to Jesus. In Through the Heart of St. Joseph, Fr. Boniface Hicks reveals the path St. Joseph has laid.

Discover how St. Joseph’s vulnerability, littleness, silence, and hiddenness can transform and heal us. Fr. Hicks also looks to the saints who lived the “Joseph Option” to show how we too can embrace a life of humble trust and steadfast courage.

Through the Heart of St. Joseph proves with quiet conviction that if we entrust ourselves to the
foster father of Our Lord, he will give us his love and protection—just as he gave it to Jesus.

As an added bonus when you order, you’ll also receive access to six free talks on St. Joseph by Fr. Boniface Hicks, Scott Hahn, John Bergsma, and Mike Aquilina. Enrich your journey and start growing closer to our spiritual father right away!

Author Biography

Fr. Boniface Hicks, OSB, is a Benedictine monk of Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He has provided spiritual direction for many men and women, including married couples, seminarians, consecrated religious and priests, even while completing his Ph.D. in computer science at Penn State University. He is the programming manager and an on-air contributor for We Are One Body Catholic Radio and has recorded thousands of radio programs on theology and the spiritual life. He has extensive experience as a retreat master for laity, consecrated religious, and priests. He is the Director for Spiritual Formation for Saint Vincent Seminary and Director of the Institute for Ministry Formation and has offered numerous courses on the spiritual life. Fr. Hicks is the co-author, along with Fr. Thomas Acklin, of the books Spiritual Direction and Personal Prayer.

Endorsements

“Along with his two previous books, co-authored with Fr. Thomas Acklin, Spiritual Direction and Personal Prayer, Fr. Boniface Hicks has written another classic. This time his subject is St. Joseph, seen through the eyes of great popes and saints, as a model for the interior life. Fr. Boniface’s brief but profound reflection invites us to seek St. Joseph’s help to be honest with God about our deepest need and true vulnerability. During the Year of Saint Joseph, this book is just what we need.”

Bishop Gregory John Mansour, Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn

“Through the Heart of St. Joseph is an invaluable resource for discovering, or deepening knowledge and love of, St. Joseph, particularly during this 150^th anniversary year of his proclamation as Patron of the Universal Church. Benedictine Fr. Boniface Hicks’ gracious accompaniment of the reader takes the form of an extended lectio divina of St. Joseph’s portrayal in the Gospels, specifically his primary role in the lives of Jesus and Mary and thus in salvation history, that is both accessible and profound. This lectio is informed by insights gleaned from prayerful study of and ruminative meditation on Sacred Scripture, from a variety of spiritual traditions (Benedictine, Carmelite, Salesian, etc.), and from the author’s priestly ministry, especially as a spiritual director. In sum, this timely book on the Husband of Mary, Earthly Father of Jesus, and Patron of the Universal Church is spiritually rich and enriching, particularly when approached in a reflective and prayerful manner.”

Fr. Joseph F. Chorpenning, O.S.F.S., Editorial Director, St. Joseph’s University Press

“In Through the Heart of St. Joseph, Fr. Boniface Hicks has given us a rare gift.  These accessible pages are an original and ground-breaking contribution to understanding the spirituality of St. Joseph. In reading these pages, not only does the reader learn about St. Joseph, but also quickly feels he or she is meeting St. Joseph. Through the Heart of Saint Joseph is a spiritual tool that can access our heart and change our life.”

Rev. Msgr. J. Brian Bransfield, Author of The Human Person: According to John Paul II

“A tremendous renewal of interest in St. Joseph is taking place in the Church today. It is a movement of the Holy Spirit, ushering in an unprecedented era of devotion to St. Joseph. Fr. Hicks has followed the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and penned an incredible book for us on St. Joseph. Through the Heart of St. Joseph is packed with insights, wisdom, and application and highlights the important message that God is speaking to the Church today, namely, Go to Joseph! I very highly recommend this book. Now is the time of St. Joseph!”

Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, Author, Consecration to St. Joseph

“It’s clear that this book flows from a faithful monk who has not only a sound theological grasp of St. Joseph, but also a deep experience in his own interior life of Joseph’s fatherly care. Contrary to certain hyper-pious theories, Fr. Boniface portrays St. Joseph in his red-blooded humanity as a passionate spouse and tender father who is the vigorous head and strong protector of the Holy Family. If you read this book prayerfully, you will come to know St. Joseph as Fr. Boniface does: as a loving father and friend. You will also want to join the saints who chose the ‘Joseph Option’ to help others meet him as well.”

Christopher West, Th.D., President, Theology of the Body Institute

“Fr. Boniface speaks of St. Joseph in a way that is perfectly contemporary—and yet always grounded in tradition, engaging the reflection of many saints. I know no book that so thoroughly plumbs the spiritual depths of St. Joseph’s life. Through the Heart has become my favorite book about the holy patriarch.”

Mike Aquilina, Author, St. Joseph and His World

“Fr. Boniface Hicks is the person who not only introduced me to St. Joseph and encouraged me to form a relationship with this spiritual father, but Fr. Boniface most embodies the heart of St. Joseph in my life. In the pages of this book, you will glimpse Father’s devotion to St. Joseph and discover new aspects of the heart of this silent saint. You will encounter his tender fatherhood, his courageous masculinity, his fierce and chaste spousal love for Our Lady, and his fatherly heart for you. May you welcome St. Joseph into your heart!”

Jennifer Settle, Consecrated Virgin, Director of Programs for the Theology of the Body Institute, and Co-author of Consecration to Jesus through Saint Joseph: An Integrated Look at the Holy Family

“What a novel work this is! It is a Christian Anthropology disguised as a loving devotion to St. Joseph. How fitting that he who was chosen to guard and protect the deepest mysteries of God (Christ, Mary, the Church) can also serve to unveil the mystery of what is truly human, truly virtuous. St. Joseph, known in this book through Scripture, saints, homilies, and theological reflection, encourages us to embrace our authentic humanity. Most powerfully he fathers us into loving the ordinary…that which we normally wish to escape. Joseph burrowed deep within the ordinary and found there life and life to the full. Let’s join him.”

Deacon James Keating, Ph.D, Professor of Spiritual Theology, Kenrick Glennon Seminary

“Reading this book helped me and will help you to love St. Joseph even more deeply! Beyond guiding us into the Saint Joseph option, Fr. Boniface engages us in a real relationship with St. Joseph in such a way that we experience the love of the tender heart of this fatherly saint.”

Fr. Thomas Acklin, O.S.B., author of The Unchanging Heart of the Priesthood

“It behooves Christians who seek to know the Lord Jesus to contemplate him in the midst of the Holy Family. Through careful attention to the biblical stories about St. Joseph, and drawing upon spiritual wisdom from a wide range of sources, Fr. Boniface Hicks here explores ‘Joseph’s way’ of serving and obeying the Lord. If Catholics today are to advance beyond our fallen experience of wounded fatherhood—whether our own or that of our fathers, including our spiritual fathers—we will need to draw close to the obedience, patience, and perseverance of St. Joseph. May this book draw many hearts into the circle of the Holy Family where, in the midst of human trials, the love of the Lord reigns.”

Matthew Levering, James N. and Mary D. Perry Jr. Chair of Theology, Mundelein Seminary

“Do we know enough about St. Joseph to know him? How can the one known for his silence and strange disappearance be a guiding presence in our lives? Why did God the Father choose Joseph to father His Son?  What is it like to be fathered by the father of our Lord? Drawing on many years as both a spiritual director and devotee of St. Joseph, Fr. Boniface Hicks provides a delightful pastoral portrait of St. Joseph. While the Church’s teachings on and her saints’ devotions to St. Joseph are brought to life, it is this book’s ability to impart to its readers a great sensitivity to Joseph’s sacred heart that is most remarkable. This is precisely what we need in order to rekindle devotion to St. Joseph in our day.  Take and read and then go to St. Joseph!”

James R. A. Merrick, Ph.D., Director of Emmaus Academic & Clergy Support, St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology

“Shortly after praying with Fr. Boniface’s extraordinary and stunning insights in this book, I saw a statue of St. Joseph that, until that moment, I had encountered routinely with no significance. At the sight of the statue, my heart unexpectedly leapt and I had to catch my breath.  A spontaneous cry of recognition came up from the depths of my heart: ‘I know him and he knows me!’ I was no longer looking at the face of a saint I wanted to get to know in heaven, but at the face of one I knew and loved and whom, thanks to this book, I now can intimately encounter in my daily life. He is a father and protector who sees me and loves me. This book is undoubtedly written by a prayerful heart who truly knows this beloved saint.”

Sr. Therese Marie Iglesias, T.O.R.

Imprimi Potest:
The Right Reverend Martin R. Bartel, OSB
Archabbot of Saint Vincent Archabbey

Nihil Obstat:
The Most Reverend Larry J. Kulick, JCL
Bishop-elect of the Diocese of Greensburg

Imprimatur:
The Most Reverend Gregory J. Mansour, STL
Bishop of the Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn
Date: January 15, 2021

The nihil obstat, imprimatur and imprimi potest are official declarations that a book or pamphlet is free of doctrinal or moral error.  No implication is contained therein that those who have granted the nihil obstat, imprimatur or imprimi potest agree with the contents, opinions or statements expressed.