Prayers to St. Joseph

Yesterday, during his sermon, our pastor mentioned praying to St. Joseph for a holy death. Growing up we did this after our family Rosary each night by praying the following prayer which was found in 1505:

O St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in thee all my interests and desires. O St. Joseph, assist me by thy powerful intercession and obtain for me all spiritual blessings through thy foster Son, Jesus Christ Our Lord, so that, having engaged here below thy heavenly power, I may offer thee my thanksgiving and homage.

O St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating thee and Jesus asleep in thine arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near thy heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me, and ask Him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath.

St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for me. 

Amen

In 1889, Pope Leo XIII shared and recommended that the following prayer ("Ad te beate Joseph") be recited daily after the Rosary during the month of October, attaching it to his encyclical Quamquam Pluries. In March 2011, Pope Benedict XVI asked that the "Ad te beate Joseph" be offered for his protection and intentions.

To thee, O blessed Joseph, do we have recourse in our tribulation, and having implored the help of thy thrice holy Spouse, we confidently invoke thy patronage also. By that charity wherewith thou wast united to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God, and by that fatherly affection with which thou didst embrace the Child Jesus, we beseech thee and we humbly pray, that thou wouldst look graciously upon the inheritance which Jesus Christ hath purchased by His Blood, and assist us in our needs by thy power and strength.

Most watchful Guardian of the Holy Family, protect the chosen people of Jesus Christ; keep far from us, most loving father, all blight of error and corruption: mercifully assist us from heaven, most mighty defender, in this our conflict with the powers of darkness; and, even as of old thou didst rescue the Child Jesus from the supreme peril of his life, so now defend God’s Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity; keep us one and all under thy continual protection, that we may be supported by thine example and thine assistance, may be enabled to lead a holy life, die a happy death and come at last to the possession of everlasting blessedness in heaven. Amen.

It is time for me to renew my devotion to St. Joseph and to instill in my children a deep love for Christ's foster father on earth.

St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for us.

Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us.

Happy Feast of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary!

May God bless you and your families!

Happy Feast of St. Joseph

Growing up, my parents instilled a deep love in us for St. Joseph. Each night, after praying the family Rosary, we would end with the traditional prayers and a few others, including the prayer below to the foster father of Jesus. St. Joseph is the Patron of the Church, a protector, a comforter, a model for husbands, and so much more. Let us always remember to pray to St. Joseph for our husbands.

 

O St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the Throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires. O St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, Our Lord; so that having engaged here below your Heavenly power I may offer my Thanksgiving and Homage to the most Loving of Fathers. O St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine Head for me, and ask Him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for us.
Amen

30 Day Novena to Saint Joseph

My parents instilled a deep love for St. Joseph in my siblings and me. I started praying this novena for my dad on June 17. I am posting it here for easy reference.

In honor of the years he spent with Jesus and Mary.
[For Any Special Intention]

Ever blessed and glorious Joseph, kind and loving father, and helpful friend of all in sorrow! You are the good father and protector of orphans, the defender of the defenseless, the patron of those in need and sorrow. Look kindly on my request. My sins have drawn down on me the just displeasure of my God, and so I am surrounded with unhappiness. To you, loving guardian of the Family of Nazareth, do I go for help and protection.

Listen, then, I beg you, with fatherly concern, to my earnest prayers, and obtain for me the favors I ask.

I ask it by the infinite mercy of the eternal Son of God, which moved Him to take our nature and to be born into this world of sorrow.

I ask it by the weariness and suffering you endured when you found no shelter at the inn of Bethlehem for the holy Virgin, nor a place where the Son of God could be born. Then, being everywhere refused, you had to allow the Queen of Heaven to give birth to the world's Redeemer in a cave.

I ask it by the loveliness and power that sacred, Name
Jesus, which you conferred on the adorable Infant.

I ask it by that painful torture you felt at the prophecy of Simeon, which declared the Child Jesus and His Holy Mother future victims of our sins and of their great love for us.

I ask it through your sorrow and pain of soul when the angel declared to you that the life of the Child Jesus was sought by His enemies. From their evil plan you had to flee with Him and His Blessed Mother into Egypt. I ask it by all the suffering, weariness, and labors of that long and dangerous journey.

I ask it by all your care to protect the Sacred Child and His Immaculate Mother during your second journey, when you were ordered to return to your own country. I ask it by your peaceful life in Nazareth where you met so many joys and sorrows.

I ask it by your great distress, when the adorable Child was lost to you and His Mother for three days. I ask it by your joy at finding Him in the Temple, and by the comfort you found at Nazareth, while living in the company of the Child Jesus. I ask it by the wonderful submission He showed in His obedience to you.

I ask it by the perfect love and conformity you showed in accepting the Divine order to depart from this life, and from the company of Jesus and Mary. I ask it by the joy which filled your soul, when the Redeemer of the world, triumphant over death and Hell, entered into the possession of His kingdom and led you into it with special honors.

I ask it through Mary's glorious Assumption, and through that endless happiness you share with her in the presence of God.

O good father! I beg you, by all your sufferings, sorrows, and joys, to hear me and obtain for me what I ask. [Here name your petitions or think of them.]

Obtain for all those who have asked my prayers everything that is useful to them in the plan of God. Finally, my dear patron and father, be with me and all who are dear to me in our last moments, that we may eternally sing the praises of

JESUS, MARY and JOSEPH

"A blameless life, St. Joseph, may we lead,
by your patronage from danger freed."

This prayer may be said during any 30 days of the year.

Source: Catholic Tradition

St. Joseph

I can't let the month of March slip by without calling attention to Pope Leo XIII's words. They can also be found in Fr. Hardon's Catholic Prayer Book.

The special motives for which St. Joseph has been proclaimed Patron of the Church, and from which the Church looks for singular benefit from his patronage and protection, are that Joseph was the spouse of Mary and that he was reputed the Father of Jesus Christ. From these sources have sprung his dignity, his holiness, his glory. In truth, the dignity of the Mother of God is so lofty that naught created can rank above it. But as Joseph has been united to the Blessed Virgin by the ties of marriage, it may not be doubted that he approached nearer than any to the eminent dignity by which the Mother of God surpasses so nobly all created natures. For marriage is the most intimate of all unions which from its essence imparts a community of gifts between those that by it are joined together. Thus in giving Joseph the Blessed Virgin as spouse, God appointed him to be not only her life's companion, the witness of her maidenhood, the protector of her honor, but also, by virtue of the conjugal tie, a participator in her sublime dignity. And Joseph shines among all mankind by the most august dignity, since by divine will, he was the guardian of the Son of God and reputed as His father among men. Hence it came about that the Word of God was humbly subject to Joseph, that He obeyed him, and that He rendered to him all those offices that children are bound to render to their parents. From this two-fold dignity flowed the obligation which nature lays upon the head of families, so that Joseph became the guardian, the administrator, and the legal defender of the divine house whose chief he was. And during the whole course of his life he fulfilled those charges and those duties. He set himself to protect with a mighty love and a daily solicitude his spouse and the Divine Infant; regularly by his work he earned what was necessary for the one and the other for nourishment and clothing; he guarded from death the Child threatened by a monarch's jealousy, and found for Him a refuge; in the miseries of the journey and in the bitternesses of exile he was ever the companion, the assistance, and the upholder of the Virgin and of Jesus. Now the divine house which Joseph ruled with the authority of a father, contained within its limits the scarce-born Church. From the same fact that the most holy Virgin is the mother of Jesus Christ is she the mother of all Christians whom she bore on Mount Calvary amid the supreme throes of the Redemption; Jesus Christ is, in a manner, the firstborn of Christians, who by the adoption and Redemption are his brothers. And for such reasons the Blessed Patriarch looks upon the multitude of Christians who make up the Church as confided specially to his trust—this limitless family spread over the earth, over which, because he is the spouse of Mary and the Father of Jesus Christ he holds, as it were, a paternal authority. It is, then, natural and worthy that as the Blessed Joseph ministered to all the needs of the family at Nazareth and girt it about with his protection, he should now cover with the cloak of his heavenly patronage and defend the Church of Jesus Christ.

Pope Leo XIII

QUAMQUAM PLURIES (On Devotion to St. Joseph)

The Solemnity of St. Joseph

Below are some prayers and ideas for celebrating the Solemnity of St. Joseph on March 19:

Go to Mass to honor this great and humble saint.

EWTN provides the following devotion, www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/prayers/stjoe2.htm

Mary Reed Newland's The Year and Our Children shares this prayer:

"O glorious St. Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, obtain for me a pure, humble and charitable mind, and perfect resignation in the Divine Will. Be my guide, father and model through life that I may merit to die as thou didst, in the arms of Jesus and Mary. Amen."

This recipe is taken from Evelyn Birge Vitz's A Continual Feast:

St. Joseph's Ceam Puffs (Sfinge de San Giuseppe)

1 cup water
1/3 cup sweet butter
1 Tablespoon sugar
grated rind of 1 lemon
pinch of salt
1 cup sifted flour
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 Tablespoon vanilla

FILLING:
2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons finely chopped pistachios

Optional:
1 Tablespoon candied orange peel or other candied fruit peel
Confectioners' sugar for sprinkling on top

For the cream puffs: Place the water, butter, granulated sugar, lemon rind, and salt in a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, and as soon as the butter has melted, remove the pan from heat. Add the flour all at once, stirring constantly and vigorously.

Return the pan to the heat, and stir constantly until the mixture forms a ball and comes away from the sides of the pan. Continue to cook a little longer, until you hear a slight crackling or frying sound. Remove the pan from the heat and cool slightly.

Add the eggs, one at a time. Be sure that each egg is thoroughly blended into the mixture before you add the next. Keep stirring until the dough is smooth and thoroughly blended. Add the vanilla. Cover the dough and let it stand for 15 to 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls on a buttered cookie sheet, leaving 2 inches between the Sfinge. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until they are golden brown. Remove them from the oven and cool. So the cream puffs will be crisp, fill just before serving if possible.

For the filling: Mix the ricotta, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate, pistachios, and peel, if using it. Cut each cream puff horizontally partway through the middle and fill with the mixture.
Just before serving sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Keep refrigerated, if not serving immediately.

Say and listen to the Litany to St. Joseph.

Say this prayer to Saint Joseph.

Read Good Saint Joseph.

Color the picture of St. Joseph found in Fenestrae Fidei.

May God bless all fathers on the Solemnity of St. Joseph!

St. Joseph the Worker

Thank you for watching over my husband, yesterday.
Please continue to do so.

The Solemnity of St. Joseph

O St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the Throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires. O St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, Our Lord; so that having engaged here below your Heavenly power I may offer my Thanksgiving and Homage to the most Loving of Fathers. O St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine Head for me, and ask Him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for us. Amen

The above is my favorite prayer to St. Joseph. I don't remember whether I learned it as a baby, or when my family moved from the country of my birth to Switzerland, Canada, and eventually the United States. I do remember praying "O St. Joseph..." after each Rosary that my family prayed. Since we prayed the Rosary whenever we drove anywhere and every night, this means that we usually prayed "O St. Joseph..." at least twice a day. I believe that it was through this prayer that my love for St. Joseph grew.

My parents fostered this love for St. Joseph by visiting the Oratory of St. Joseph in Canada, before coming to the United States (perhaps this was when we added the above prayer to our after the Rosary prayers and my love really began). Regardless of when I started loving St. Joseph, I know that he has played an important role in my life. When my mom was ill, I prayed to St. Joseph for her and I honestly believed that she would die on March 19. She died exactly one month prior. When my dad was diagnosed with Cancer, I implored St. Joseph to not let him die until such time as he merits Heaven.

When I got my first car, my uncle gave me a medal of St. Joseph to put on my key ring. He told me that it was to keep me safe. In 2002, that medal fell off of my key chain and I thought that it was lost forever. On November 10, 2003, I learned that the baby in my womb had died. That same day, my eldest daughter came running into our house and said, "Mommy, guess what I found on the street?" I couldn't guess. She showed me my St. Joseph medal that I had lost approximately one year prior. I immediately placed the medal around my neck.

When we moved to our current house, our first parish was St. Joseph and we joined St. Joseph Homeschool Group. I knew that this was where God wanted us to be. Thanks to the name of our homeschool group, I probably have more pictures of St. Joseph than of anyone else saved on our hard drives. My love for Good St. Joseph just keeps growing.

My parents placed our family under St. Joseph's protection and St. Joseph took care of us. He continues to take care of us today!

Dear St. Joseph, please help my husband and all husbands to be more like you!

Dear God, please help my children to love St. Joseph as much as, or more than, I do!

Don't miss Kristen's beautiful post on St. Joseph.

St. Joseph the Worker (May 1)

Fidelity to Work

Glorious St. Joseph, model of all who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work conscientiously, putting the call of duty above my natural inclinations; to work with gratitude and joy, considering it an honor to employ and develop, by means of labor, the gifts received from God, disregarding difficulties and weariness; to work, above all, with purity of intention and with detachment from self, having always before my eyes death, and the account which I must render of time lost, of talents wasted, of good omitted, of vain complacency in success, so fatal to the work of God. All for Jesus, all for Mary, all after your example, patriarch Joseph. This will be my watchword in life and in death. Amen.

~ Father Hardon's Catholic Prayerbook with Meditations, p. 239 ~