Saint Joseph
Introduction
Saint Joseph is the Universal patron saint of the Church, patron saint of a good death and patron saint of seminaries. He was chosen by God as the most faithful guardian of the heavenly treasures, which were Jesus and Mary. He with faith he welcomed the Child who had begun to live in the womb of Mary, and to them, to Jesus and Mary, he gave his life without sparing sacrifices.
There has been no happier saint or luckier father in the world. What happiness for him to see at his side the Son of God!
Saint Joseph did not get to see Jesus in his public life (preaching, miracles, etc.).
Saint Teresa of Jesus said about Saint Joseph the following:
«And I took the glorious Saint Joseph as my lawyer and lord and I commended myself very much to him. (..) Until now I don’t remember having begged him for something that he had stopped doing. It is something that frightens the great mercies that God has granted me through this blessed Saint, of the dangers that he has freed me, both in body and soul; It seems that the Lord gave grace to other saints to help them in need, I have experience of helping this glorious Saint in all of them and that the Lord wants us to understand that just as he was subject to him on earth, that as he had the name of father , being a tutor, I could command him, so in heaven he does whatever he asks of him».
“It is something that frightens the great favors that God has granted me through this blessed Saint, of the dangers that he has freed me, both in body and soul.”
“Others seem to have been given grace by the Lord to help in need; I have experience to help this glorious Saint in all”.
“I only ask for the love of God, that those who do not believe me try it and see by experience the great good that it is to entrust oneself to this glorious Patriarch and have devotion to him.”
Year of Saint Joseph
Pope Francis has convened a year dedicated to Saint Joseph to commemorate 150 years since the proclamation of Saint Joseph as Patron of the universal Church, by Pope Pius IX in 1870. It began on December 8, 2020 and will run until December 8, 2021.
Pope Francis indicated that this year is established so that all the faithful, following the example of Saint Joseph, can daily strengthen their life of faith in full compliance with God’s will.
During the Year of Saint Joseph, the Catholic Church will grant indulgences according to a series of conditions established by the Apostolic Penitentiary.
To obtain a plenary indulgence, the conditions prescribed by the Church for this purpose must be met: sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and praying for the intentions of the Holy Father.
Indulgences can be received this year through more than a dozen different prayers and actions, including praying for the unemployed, entrusting daily work to Saint Joseph, performing a corporal or spiritual work of mercy, or meditating for at least 30 minutes on Our father.
Prayer to Saint Joseph to ask him for a favor
My beloved Father, Saint Joseph: trusting in the valuable power that you have before the throne of the Most Holy Trinity and of Mary, your Spouse and our Mother, I beg you to intercede for me and obtain grace for me… (make the request here).
Joseph, with Jesus and Mary, always live in my soul.
Joseph, with Jesus and Mary, assist me in my last agony.
Joseph, with Jesus and Mary, take my soul to heaven.
Prayer to Saint Joseph for the family
Saint Joseph, we want to put our family under your protection, so that each one of us lives in fidelity to the Spirit, in listening to and fulfilling the Word of God. Be for us the model of selfless love, which seeks first of all the happiness of my family. Amen.
Prayer to Saint Joseph from Pope Leo XIII
This prayer is usually prayed in the months of March and October, at the end of the Holy Rosary:
We turn to you, blessed Saint Joseph, in our tribulation; and, after invoking the help of your Most Holy Spouse, we also confidently request your patronage. By that charity that united you with the Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and by the paternal love with which you embraced the Child Jesus, we humbly beg you to turn your eyes benign to the heritage that Jesus Christ acquired with his Blood, and with your power and help succor our needs.
Protect, oh most provident Custodian of the Holy Family, the chosen descendants of Jesus Christ; remove from us all stain of error and corruption; Assist us propitious, from Heaven, our mighty liberator in this fight with the power of darkness; and, as in another time you freed the Child Jesus from the imminent danger of his life, so, now, defend the Holy Church of God from the snares of its enemies and from all adversity, and protect each one of us with perpetual patronage, so that Following your example and supported by your help, we may live holy and piously die and reach eternal happiness in Heaven. Amen
Prayer to Saint Joseph
Oh Saint Joseph, custodian and father of virgins, to whose guardianship the very innocence of Jesus Christ and Mary, Virgin of Virgins, was entrusted: I beseech and beg you, for these two very rich garments, Jesus and Mary, who, preserving me from all filth, may you always serve Jesus and Mary with a pure heart, with a chaste body and with a soul free from all stain of sin. Amen.
Prayer to Saint Joseph to ask for a good death
Powerful patron of the human lineage, protection of sinners, sure refuge of souls, efficient help of the afflicted, pleasant consolation of the forsaken, glorious Saint Joseph, the last moment of my life must arrive without remedy; my soul will perhaps agonize terribly distressed with the representation of my bad life and my many faults; the passage to eternity will be extremely hard; the devil, my enemy, will try to fight me terribly with all the power of hell, so that I lose God eternally; my forces in the natural have to be null: I will not have anyone to help me in the human; From now, by then, I invoke you, my father; I welcome your patronage; assist me in that trance so that I do not lack in faith, hope and charity; When you died, your Son and my God, your wife and my Lady, drove away the demons so that they would not dare to fight your spirit. For these favors and for those that were done to you in life, I ask you to drive away these enemies, so that I may end my life in peace, loving Jesus, Mary and you, Saint Joseph. So be it.
Jesus, Joseph and Mary, I give you my heart and soul.
Jesus, Joseph and Mary, assist me in the last agony.
Jesus, Joseph and Mary, receive when I die, my soul.
Exercise of the seven Sundays in honor of the sorrows and joys of Saint Joseph
Introduction
Saint Joseph’s entire life was a continuous act of faith and obedience in the most difficult and dark circumstances in which God placed him. He is literally “the faithful and attentive manager whom the Lord has placed in charge of his family” (Lk 12, 42). Since time immemorial, the Church has been venerating and invoking him as a continuator in her of the mission that one day he had for his Founder and Mother. In the moments of dark night, the example of Joseph is an unwavering encouragement for the acceptance, without reservation, of the will of God. To propitiate that veneration and imitation and to request his help, they have next the always current Exercise of the seven Sorrows and Joys in honor of Saint Joseph.
By the sign of the Holy Cross, from our enemies, deliver us Lord our God. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
-Act of contrition: My Lord, Jesus Christ! God and true Man, Creator, Father and my Redeemer; because you are who you are, Infinite Kindness, and because I love you above all things, it weighs me with all my heart that I have offended you; it also weighs me down because you can punish me with the pains of hell. Helped by your divine grace, I firmly propose never to sin again, confess and fulfill the penance imposed on me. Amen.
Offering
Glorious Patriarch Saint Joseph, effective consolation of the afflicted and safe refuge of the dying; deign to accept the gift of this Exercise that I am going to pray in memory of your seven pains and joys. And just as in your happy death, Jesus Christ and his mother Mary assisted you and comforted you so lovingly, so you too, assist me in that trance, so that, not lacking in faith, hope and charity, I become worthy, by the merits of the blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ and your patronage, of the attainment of eternal life, and therefore of your company in Heaven,
Amen.
first pain and joy
Husband of Mary, glorious Saint Joseph, what affliction and anguish of your heart in the perplexity in which you were not knowing whether you should abandon your wife or not! But what was not also your joy when the angel revealed to you the great mystery of the Incarnation!
For this pain and this joy we ask you to console our hearts now and in our last pains, with the joy of a just life and a holy death, similar to yours assisted by Jesus and Mary.
Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory.
second pain and joy
Blessed glorious patriarch Saint Joseph, chosen to be the adoptive father of the Son of God made man, the pain you felt seeing the Child Jesus born in such great poverty suddenly changed into heavenly joy when you heard the harmonious concert of the angels and the contemplate the wonders of that night so resplendent.
Through this pain and joy reach us that after the journey of this life we go to hear the praises of the angels and enjoy the heavenly glory.
Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory.
Third pain and joy
Obedient executor of divine laws, glorious Saint Joseph, the most precious blood that the Redeemer Child shed in his circumcision pierced your hearts, but the name of Jesus that was then imposed upon him comforted you, filling you with joy,
Through this pain and through this joy, obtain for us to live far from all sin, in order to expire joyfully with the name of Jesus in our hearts and on our lips,
Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory.
fourth pain and joy
Saint faithful, who had a part in the mysteries of our redemption, glorious Saint Joseph, although Simeon’s prophecy about the sufferings that Jesus and Mary must go through caused you pain, however it also filled you with joy, announcing at the same time the salvation and glorious resurrection that would follow from there for a great number of souls.
For this pain and for this joy, get us to be among those who, through the merits of Jesus and through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, will be gloriously resurrected.
Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be,
Fifth sorrow and joy
Vigilant guardian of the Son of God made man, glorious Saint Joseph, how much you suffered having to feed and serve the Son of God, particularly in your flight to Egypt! But how great was your joy always having the same God with you and seeing cast down the idols of Egypt.
For this pain and for this joy, reach us to keep the devil away from us forever, especially fleeing from the…