The very name of Joseph means “to increase,” Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, explains in his new blockbuster, Consecration to St. Joseph, unleashed at the very moment Catholics are cut off from the Church, the Mass, their priests and the Eucharist itself.

“Now is the time of St. Joseph,” Fr. Calloway writes. “The family  — the foundation of society  — is under attack. The family of God  — the Catholic Church  — is also undergoing vicious assaults from the world, the flesh, the devil, and some of her own children … Under the steadfast love and care of St. Joseph, all ideologies and idols will crumble and fall before Jesus Christ.”

Fatherhood itself is a threat to Satan, Fr. Calloway writes, arguing that the first Joseph of Genesis 37-50 went from being sold into slavery by his twisted brothers to being adopted by the ruler of Egypt and finding a way to feed a starving world. St. Joseph, similarly, was chosen by God to become the literal savior of the Savior, saving the Holy Family when he took them to Egypt, raising and forming the Bread of Life.

The new book, written by the nationally recognized Marian who transformed himself from an addicted — and deported — young rebel into a beloved priest, was designed to be read over 33 days. Many will be completing the book March 19, the feast of St. Joseph in the heart of March, the month of Joseph — as a global pandemic is shutting down the whole Church, the global economy and the world itself.

Way back in August 2018 — 19 months ago — as the sexual abuse scandal was resurfacing, Fr. Calloway announced he was preparing the book, saying it will “rock the world!”

He said on Facebook: “The evil one wants to destroy the book. I have cried so hard and entered into such a place of pain over recent developments. From the depths of my soul, PRAY FOR ME AND FOR THE BOOK TO BE PUBLISHED.”

The book was released Jan. 1, exactly a month after the rise of coronavirus in China, and Catholics who have been reading the first printing have been consecrating themselves to St. Joseph as the virus engulfed the world and the Church itself.

When 1,500 men gathered in Ann Arbor for a men’s conference sponsored by the Diocese of Lansing on Feb. 22, hundreds of copies of the book sold out, with men beginning the consecration just as the world and the Church ground to a halt.

Pope Francis, meanwhile, is asking all Catholics around the world to pray the Rosary at 4 p.m. ET today, March 19, the feast of St. Joseph, for a rapid triumph over the coronavirus.

“Tomorrow we will celebrate the Solemnity of St. Joseph,” the pope said. “In life, work, family, joy and sorrow he always sought and loved the Lord, meriting the praise of Scripture as a just and wise man. Always invoke him with confidence, especially in difficult times, and entrust your lives to this great saint.”

John De Guzman, a seminarian for the diocese of Raleigh, N.C., preparing to complete his consecration March 19, told Catholic News Agency the book completes the call to the Holy Family, the spiritual trinity of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

“They are the perfect model of a family, and why would I not want to get closer to the father? I’m getting closer to the mother. I’m getting closer to the son. Well, then why not get closer to the father, make this a perfect trinity?” De Guzman said.

Most modern problems, he added, “stem from tensions with the father, or a lack of a father, or the lack of some spiritual and emotional intimacy … the lack of human interaction and relationship with a father ... St. Joseph is your human father that you can really develop a relationship with.”

Everything we need to know about Joseph “is contained in the messages given to Sr. Mary Ephrem: St. Joseph’s spiritual fatherhood, virginal fatherhood, youthful appearance, kingship, crown, heart and cloak,” De Guzman added. “St. Joseph speaks of his protection of the family, the importance of fatherhood, and heaven’s desire that a special feast day in honor of St. Joseph’s fatherhood be established. God wants St. Joseph to be known and loved.”

Venerable Fulton Sheen, Fr. Calloway explains, taught there are three “rings” in marriage: the engagement ring, the wedding ring and the suffering. While no marriage is easy, Fr. Calloway teaches that a Christian’s relationship with God is a spiritual marriage, requiring mutual love, sacrifice and faithfulness.

“Modern man has distanced himself from God and attempted to redefine what it means to be a family,” Fr. Calloway writes. “Knowing you can always go to your father in difficult times reassures you that everything will be OK, even when your world seems to be falling apart … When life has you down, run to your spiritual father. Pour out your heart to him. Tell him your troubles. He is the most loving of fathers. He is always available for you, always attentive, always understanding.”

Joseph Serwach is a freelance writer for Detroit Catholic. This article originally appeared on his blog, “The Catholic Way Home.”