NOVENA TO ST. JOSEPH
SAINT JOSEPH PATRON OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH, CHILDREN, FAMILIES, VIRGINS, AND THE SUFFERING. NINTH DAY SAINT JOSEPH, PATRON OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH INITIAL PRAYER (to be prayed everyday) O St. Joseph, you were chosen by God to be the foster father of Jesus, the most pure spouse of Mary, and the head of the Holy Family. You were entrusted to be the protector of the Church founded by Christ; be always the protector of those who labor for souls amid the trials and tribulations of this life and grant that all peoples of the world may be docile to the inspirations, promptings, and graces of the Holy Spirit. St. Joseph, accept the offering I make to you. Be my father, protector, and guide in the way of salvation. Following your example let my actions be directed to the greater glory of God, in union of the Divine Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and your own paternal heart. Be my companion at the hour of my death that I may share the peace and joy of your holy death. Amen. NOVENA PRAYER (to be prayed everyday) Loving Saint Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, I raise my heart to you to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the Divine Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death and the special grace I now implore: (Mention your requests here) Guardian of the Word Incarnate, I feel confident that your prayers on my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.. Amen.
EIGHT DAY SAINT JOSEPH, PATRON OF WORKERS Isn t this the carpenter s son? (Mt 13:55) This Carpenter taught the Word Incarnate, the Child Jesus, how to work with wood. This man was the foster father of the Incarnate Word of God and he loved Jesus with an exemplary love. This same Jesus who learned to work with wood from the hands of Joseph would, during his 33rd year, save the world through the wood of the Cross. In an age that has lost its way, given over to the selfish pursuit of illusory pleasure, Joseph should again be lifted up as a model, particularly to men who desire to follow Jesus Christ. Work was the daily expression of love in the life of the Family of Nazareth. The Gospel specifies the kind of work Joseph did in order to support his family: he was a carpenter. This simple word sums up Joseph's entire life. For Jesus, these were hidden years, years of sharing in the work of Joseph. MEMORARE (to be prayed everyday) Remember, most pure spouse of Mary, ever Virgin, my loving protector, Saint Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to your protection or asked for your aid without obtaining relief. Confiding therefore in your goodness, I come before you and humbly implore you. Despise not my petitions, foster-father of the Redeemer, but graciously receive them. Amen. FIRST DAY SAINT JOSEPH, MAN CHOSEN BY THE FATHER The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin s name was Mary. (Lk 1:26-27) Joseph was a chaste, faithful, hardworking, simple, and just man. He reminds us that a family, a home, a community, and a parish are not built on power and possessions but goodness; they are not built on riches and wealth, but on faith, fidelity, purity, and mutual love. Saint Joseph, you taught Jesus how to work with wood. During the hidden years of his life, Jesus was with you and you with Jesus. Help me to turn that which is ordinary into extraordinary acts of love.
SECOND DAY SAINT JOSEPH, A PRUDENT MAN SEVENTH DAY SAINT JOSEPH, A HUMBLE MAN Her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to send her away quietly. (Mt 1:19). The prudence of St. Joseph is part of our Catholic faith shown in his remarkable practice of silence. At a certain time it was discovered that Mary was pregnant, though not by Joseph. The Law said that if a man discovered that a woman to whom he was betrothed was not a virgin, he should divorce her quietly and not sully his home. Joseph, as a follower of the Law, was prepared to accept its requirements. However, he did not wish to expose Mary to the full force of the law which permitted the stoning of such women. To ignore this might have harmed not only Joseph s standing in the community but also that of his family of origin. He thus remained quiet as to his reason for the divorce and Mary would escape possible stoning. To fail to divorce Mary would expose Joseph to cultural ramifications. Just men did not marry women guilty of fornication or adultery. To ignore this might have harmed not only Joseph s standing in the community but also that of his family of origin. And you know the rest of the story. Joseph was told in a dream not to fear and that Mary had committed no sin. And when he awoke, Joseph took Mary as his wife. I give you praise, Father, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to the childlike. (Lk 10:21) Joseph was a humble man. There was not an ounce of false bravado or machismo in this servant of God. Named after the great Patriarch who was sold into slavery in Egypt, he bore the name with similar humility. As the Old Testament Joseph embraced his lot, rejecting the temptation to bitterness or victimhood; he actually came to rule Egypt, forgiving the very brothers who had sold him into slavery. So too, St. Joseph, this son of the Covenant embraced the One who would establish the New Covenant on the altar of Calvary. In so doing, Joseph is a model to all men who choose to walk the way of the cross. Joseph emptied himself of selfishness and was filled with the love and life of God. He gave himself fully to God through accepting his unique and specific vocation as a guardian of the Redeemer. Saint Joseph, meek and humble of heart, you were lifted high in honor by Jesus. I beseech you to help me learn humility from the school of your life. Saint Joseph, gifted by God with the virtue of patience, you accepted God s Holy Will in silence. I humbly beseech you, obtain for me the grace to discern God s Will for me in my life.
SIXTH DAY SAINT JOSEPH, A MAN OF FAITH THIRD DAY SAINT JOSEPH, MODEL OF OBEDIENCE for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet. (Mt 1:20, 22) When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded... Mt 1:24. Joseph was a man of faith and courage. Along with loving his betrothed, he loved His God courageously. He had a close, intimate personal relationship with the God of His Fathers. In fact, this just man was, in a sense, the last Patriarch who completed the lineage. Through his response of faith, he received the great gift promised for all men and women: he held in his arms the One whom his fathers had only longed to see. When Joseph heard the angel s message he did what the Lord commanded without hesitation. Just as Mary said her Yes to God s invitation, so did Joseph voice his own fiat exercising his human freedom to bring about God s eternal plan. How refreshing such manly faith and courage were in an age filled with cowardice and rebellion. One can say that what Joseph did united him in a very special way to the faith of Mary. He accepted as truth coming from God the very thing that she had already accepted at the Annunciation. When God sent an angel to tell Joseph to care for Mary, he obeyed in spite of the mystery which surrounded her motherhood. When he was told to flee into Egypt under painful conditions and then return to Nazareth, Joseph obeyed without the slightest word of complaint. In every situation Joseph s obedience was as simple as his faith, as humble as his heart, as prompt as his love. Saint Joseph, whose faith in God was so firm, grant that I too may voice my Yes to God s invitation to bring about his Kingdom here on earth. Saint Joseph, as a token of your gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to be a faithful servant of God as you were. Help me to trust in the Providence of God.
FOURTH DAY SAINT JOSEPH, CHASTE SPOUSE OF MARY FIFTH DAY SAINT JOSEPH, GUARDIAN OF THE HOLY FAMILY Joseph, Son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife. Mt 1:20 The nature of Mary and Joseph s marriage was explained indirectly when Mary asked, How can this be, since I do not know man? (Lk 1:34) Joseph, the foster-father of the Lord revealed that fatherhood was more than a mere fact of biological generation. Blessed John Paul II s Apostolic Exhortation of 1989, Redemptoris Custos (Guardian of the Redeemer), teaches us that Joseph s fatherhood is expressed concretely in his having made his life a service a total gift of self. In the words of Leo XIII, "If God gave Joseph as a spouse to the Virgin, He assuredly gave him not only as a companion in life, a witness of her virginity, and the guardian of her honor, but also as a sharer in her exalted dignity by reason of the conjugal tie itself." A man is a father most when he invests himself in the spiritual and moral formation of his children. Real fathers and real men are those who communicate paternal strength and compassion. They are men of reason in the midst of conflicting passions men of conviction who always remain open to genuine dialogue about differences, men who ask nothing of others that they wouldn t risk or suffer themselves. Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of being the virginal husband of Mary. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to love Jesus with all my heart, as you did, and love Mary with some of the tenderness and loyalty with which you loved her. "And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth." (Lk 2:39-40) Jesus, because he was truly a Son of Man needed a mother to love Him and nourish his soul with the highest virtues by her teaching and example. Jesus needed a human father to raise him and shape him in all the virtues and characteristics of true manhood. He needed a father figure to model his life on just as his heavenly Father is perfectly reflected in his divine person. That same divine person required the presence of a human father and we can be sure that his human personality must have reflected the manhood of Joseph who was his guardian, his model, and his teacher in the ways of manhood. Pope Benedict XV clearly expressed this idea: "By St. Joseph we are led directly to Mary, and by Mary to the fountain of all holiness, Jesus Christ, who sanctified the domestic virtues by His obedience to St. Joseph and Mary." Saint Joseph gave himself fully to God through accepting his unique and specific vocation as a guardian of the Redeemer and a faithful and prudent servant, so that with fatherly care he might watch over Mary and God s only begotten Son. The child Jesus, God in the flesh, was given to Joseph. St. J oseph, y o u uniq uely participated in the mystery of God s plan of redemption through simply being the man you were called to be. Obtain for me the graces I need to live a life free of selfish desires.