The Novena of
Saint Joseph
& other Prayers and Devotions in honour of Saint Joseph
Feast usually 19th March but 15th in 2008 because of Holy Week
Novena thus 6th to 14th March 2008 [usually 10th to 18th March]
Novena
| Prayers to St. Joseph 1 &
2 & 3 | Litany to St. Joseph | Prayer
for the church | Prayer for Missionary Vocations
Prayer for Church and the Holy Father |
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You could also use this novena for the Feast of
St. Joseph the
Worker when it falls on 1st May. (see page end )
The short daily novena prayer is
useful on its own without the longer daily meditations if time constrains you
Introduction
Joseph, the silent man of the Gospels, is in the line of
the great men of faith of the Old Testament. He is described as a "just
man", a righteous man of integrity. He is in the tradition of Abraham who
was called by God to "walk before my face and be upright (Gen: 17.1); of
Moses who was told to be "entirely sincere", "entirely
faithful" (Deut: 18.13). For centuries his place in the story of Jesus was
comparatively unnoticed. Gradually, in Catholic tradition, he was recognised as
patron of fathers of families, of bursars and procurators, of manual workers,
especially carpenters, and of all who desire a holy death (cf. Farmer, Oxford
Dictionary of Saints). St. Bernardine of Siena (d. 1444) wrote of St. Joseph:
"He it is who marks the closing of the old testament.
In him the dignity of the prophets and patriarchs achieves its promised
fulfillment. Moreover, he alone possessed in the flesh what God in his goodness
promised to them over and again
Therefore be mindful of us, blessed Joseph, and intercede
for us with him whom men thought to be your son."
St. Teresa of Avila (d. 1582) wrote eloquently of St.
Joseph in her autobiography: "He who cannot find anyone to teach him to
pray, let him take this glorious saint for his master, and he will not wander
out of the way." She also recommended the intercession of St. Joseph for
our daily needs. "Our Lord would have us understand that as he was subject
to St. Joseph in all things during his earthly pilgrimage, so now in Heaven he
is ready to grant all his petitions."
St. Joseph's Missionary Society was founded in London in
1866. Cardinal Herbert Vaughan called St. Joseph "Our Father and
Founder". Herbert Vaughan was inspired by Joseph's unobtrusive but
essential role in the story of salvation. St. Joseph's intercession was sought
to obtain the necessary funds for the new missionary society; he was invoked to
secure the desired house at Mill Hill that was to become the birthplace of the
Society. Cardinal Vaughan promoted devotion to St. Joseph throughout the country
and established at St. Joseph's College, Mill Hill, the national shrine to St.
Joseph. From the beginning of St. Joseph's Society, lay people were involved as
"associates" in this work for the spread of the Gospel. Priests,
Brothers, "associates" all look to Joseph for protection, guidance and
inspiration.
Mill
Hill Missionaries - see
also credit at foot of page
top
Nine Days Prayer - in Honour
of St. Joseph
10th - 18th March (or any nine consecutive days)
Each day has a reflection. To this may be
added one or more of the prayers (see later)
1st day -
2nd
day - 3rd day - 4th day -
5th
day - 6th day - 7th day -
8th
day - 9th day
Daily
Novena Prayer
Almighty God, you have chosen Saint Joseph to be the
mainstay of Jesus and Mary, the wise and faithful servant in whom they could
trust.
We pray that he may truly be the guardian of your Church;
that he may inspire with confidence those who are devoted to him; that he may
give security to those who work in the vineyard of Your Son; and finally, that
he may be a source of strength to us, who wish, like him, to dedicate ourselves
to Christ's service, now and in times to come. Amen.
top
of page
1st Day
- Joseph the Just Man
Matt.1.19: "Joseph
was a man who always did what was right."
What a predicament Joseph was in when he discovered that
Mary had conceived. What was he to do? But he "always did the right
thing", he was a man of God, a just man. God would show him what was to
be done, he trusted in God's guidance - and God did
show him the way.
We are often in a state of uncertainty as to what will
be the right thing to do. We fret and worry, and blame God for allowing this
or that to happen to us. Pray that like Joseph we will put our problems before
the Lord and learn from him what is the right thing for us to do.
say
the Daily Novena Prayer
top
of page
2nd Day
- Joseph the Man who Listened
Prov.2.9: "If you
listen to me, you will know what is right, just.''
Joseph was a man who listened. No spoken word is
recorded of him. He was able to hear God's word; he knew how to be silent so
as to allow God's word to come through to him.
In our world today we are surrounded by noise and
distraction. Our spiritual "senses" become deadened by the intrusive
noises of radio and television, of vehicles and planes. Is it any wonder we
don't hear God speaking to us? Let us ask St. Joseph to help us to know how to
be silent before God, how we can carve out a "quiet time" in our
day.
say
the Daily Novena Prayer
top
of page
3rd Day
- Joseph the Man of Vision
Matt. 1.20; 2.13; 19.22: "The angel of the Lord
appeared in a dream to Joseph."
Joseph was a man of dreams, a man of vision. His life
was "ordinary", yet he realised that God could work in extraordinary
ways even in his life, in his village.
Our lives too seem very ordinary. But every one of us is
special before God. God has a plan for each of us. Re wants to use us in his
plan to make his Kingdom come. Let us ask St. Joseph to help us be alive to
God's wonderful working in our lives.
say
the Daily Novena Prayer
top
of page
4th Day
- Joseph the Missionary
Matt. 2.14:
"Joseph got up and took the child and his mother and left that night for
Egypt."
The Gospel tells us that Joseph took Mary and the child
to a pagan land. St. Hilary, one of the early Fathers of the Church, said St.
Joseph is the "model of the apostles". The apostle's, the
missionary's task is to take the good news of Christ and his mother to the
unevangelized.
The missionary of today is the bearer of the same Good
News. Every Christian is called to share in the mission of the Church, at home
and in lands afar. Let us ask St. Joseph to help us to know how we can bring
Christ into the lives of people, especially those who are most disadvantaged.
say
the Daily Novena Prayer
top
of page
5th Day
- Joseph the Family Man
Micah 5.2: "Bethlehem. . . out of you I will
bring a ruler for Israel, whose family goes back to ancient
times."
Lk. 2.4: "Joseph went . . . to David's town
of Bethlehem-because he was a descendant of David."
Joseph was a descendant of the Royal Family of David.
Yet he lived in comparative obscurity and was a "nobody in the world's
eyes. He faced difficult family problems: Mary's pregnancy, the threat to the
life of the child, the exile to a foreign land; how to make ends meet from the
work of his hands. And then, what was he to make of the forewarning that the
boy Jesus was marked out for glory and suffering?
Let us ask St. Joseph to protect our families as he did
his own. May he help us to discern God's hand in the ups and downs of family
life. May he help us with our financial problems, so that we don't allow money
or material things to spoil the bond that unites us as a family.
say
the Daily Novena Prayer
top
of page
6th Day
- Joseph-Man of Prayer
Lk. 2.41: "Every year the parents of Jesus
went to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival."
Joseph as head of the family observed the religious
festivities with his family. He would attend the synagogue in Nazareth on the
Sabbath, and go up to the Temple for the major feasts. But he also would have
prayed at meals, at certain hours of the day; he would have used words like
"alleluia", "hosanna", "amen"; he would have
prayed and sung the Psalms. In the silence of his prayer time he would have
known that God spoke to him.
We are all called to be people of prayer. We can't be
content with where we are in our prayer life there is so much more for
us. We need to enter more deeply into the prayer of the Church in the Liturgy,
we need to make more meaningful our daily prayer practices, we need to listen
to God in prayer. May St. Joseph help us to grow up more as people of prayer.
say
the Daily Novena Prayer
top
of page
7th Day
- Joseph-Teacher of Jesus
Matt. 1.25: "And Joseph named him
Jesus."
Name-giving was something very solemn and significant in
the Bible. "To know someone's name was to have access to the mystery of
his being." Joseph, "the man closest to Jesus" must, like Mary,
have pondered deeply on this remarkable child. Yet Joseph as head of his
household had the task of teaching Jesus his prayers, taking him to sit with
the men in the synagogue, introducing him to the Scriptures, presiding over
his "coming of age" (bar mitzvah) at 13, teaching him the various
rituals of the devout Jew.
In our days many fathers of families have lost their
sense of place in the family; many provide weak leadership, especially in the
area of religious practice. We must pray that the example of Joseph will
inspire Christian fathers to assume their rightful role of leading their
children in worship of our heavenly Father. May fathers provide firm and clear
standards of Christian behaviour to their families in a society that is losing
its spiritual foundations.
say
the Daily Novena Prayer
top
of page
8th Day
- Joseph the Workman
Matt. 13.55: "Isn't he the carpenter's
son?"
In Mark's Gospel we read of how the people said of Jesus
"Is this not the carpenter?" He learned his trade from Joseph, who
must surely have been as diligent at his work as he was at his religious
duties. He knew the dignity of work, the "homage of work" (Vat. II)
- that makes man's efforts part of the redemptive work of Jesus himself He
probably also knew the evil of unemployment; there would be times of hardship
in Nazareth when people had no money to give work to Joseph and Jesus.
Modern man tends to view work only as a means of making
money; too often work is thought of as a means to satisfy one's instincts of
greed. The machine has taken over from the craftsman. There is little sense of
pride in workmanship. Let us ask St. Joseph to help us see our work as service
for others, as a sharing in the work of redemption; a means of bringing order
and beauty out of chaos, a means of making our world a better place.
say
the Daily Novena Prayer
top
of page
9th Day
- Joseph-Man of Loving Service
Matt. 24.45: "Who is the faithful and
farsighted servant whom the master has put in charge of his household to
dispense food at need?"
The Jewish ideal man was someone who was
"righteous", someone who actively obeyed God's word, who did his
will. Joseph acted instantly when he knew God's will. His was a life of loving
service. He served his family, he served his village neighbours, he served his
God. No wonder Christian piety has imagined his "happy death" in the
presence of Jesus and Mary.
May St. Joseph's example and intercession help us to
grow in loving service in our families, in our places of work, in all our
relationships. May we learn to "wait in joyful hope for the coming of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ", and may we share one day in the loving
service of the heavenly banquet in the Kingdom of Heaven.
say
the Daily Novena Prayer
top
Prayers
to St. Joseph
(1)
Intercessions I
Let us pray to God our Father, for from
him, all fatherhood in heaven and on earth takes its name.
R. Father, hallowed be your name.
Father, in your Son you revealed to
Joseph the mystery kept secret for endless ages:- Help us to acknowledge your
Son as God and man.
R. Father, you enabled Joseph to spend
his life in your service:-set our minds on your kingdom and your justice
before all other things.
R.Father, your will is that every man
should accept and answer your call:-by the prayer of Joseph, give us the grace
to live in accord with your will.
R. Creator of all things, you have
entrusted your work to our hands:-grant that our labours may prove worthy of
you.
R. Father, in whom all men live, grant
to those who have died new life, through your Son:-with Mary, and Joseph, and
all your saints for ever.
R. Our Father
Concluding Prayer
Almighty God, at the beginnings of our
salvation, when Mary conceived your Son and brought him forth into the world,
you placed them under Joseph's watchful care. May his prayer still help your
Church to be an equally faithful guardian of your mysteries, and a sign of
Christ to mankind.
(We make our prayer) through our Lord.
Intercessions II
Whatever we do or say, let us do it in
the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
R. Lord, hear us.
As Joseph believed what you had told
him, and became the guardian of your only Son:-so may we put our faith in you,
and receive the fulfilment of your promise.
R. Father, give us that faith which
gives substance to our hopes,-and make us certain of realities we do not see.
R. Joseph took the child Jesus into his
care, loving and accepting him as his own Son:-May we accept all that God
gives us, and care for those entrusted to us.
R. You have given man authority over the
work of your hands and invited him to share in your creation:-help us to
accept our responsibility by working for your glory and the good of all
mankind.
R. Our Father
Concluding Prayer
Lord God and Creator of the universe,
you imposed on mankind the law of work. Give us grace, by Saint Joseph's
example and at his intercession, to finish the works you give us to do, and to
come to the rewards you promise. (We make our prayer) through our Lord.
top
A
Short Litany to St. Joseph
Joseph, husband of the Mother of God,
Pray for us
Joseph, foster father of the Son of God,
Pray for us
Joseph, man of prayer , Pray for us
Joseph, man of faith,
Pray for us
Joseph, committed to doing God's will,
Pray for us
Joseph, model of workers,
Pray for us
Joseph, defender of family life,
Pray for us
Joseph, patron of the dying,
Pray for us
Joseph, protector of the Church,
Pray for us
top
Prayer
to St. Joseph for the
Church
Loving husband of Mary, the Immaculate Virgin Mother of
God, and foster father of her Son, we turn to you with confidence as we pray for
the Church throughout the world.
Watch over the family of God, bought by the precious blood
of Christ, as you watched over the Holy Family of Nazareth. You once rescued the
Child Jesus from danger of death: protect now his mystical body from the powers
of darkness and strengthen it in every trial.
Give it your own courage, in the struggle against evil,
and keep it free from sin and error.
Help us to follow your example, that we may live a holy
life, die a holy death and so share your joy for ever in heaven.
top
Prayer
to Saint Joseph for the Church and The Holy Father.
Most Powerful Patriarch Saint Joseph, Patron of the Church which has always
invoked you in anxiety and trouble, from the exalted seat of your glory, cast
a loving glance upon the whole Catholic world. Let your fatherly heart be
touched at the sight of the Mystical Spouse and the Vicar of Christ
overwhelmed with sorrow and persecuted by powerful enemies. Oh, by the bitter
anguish you experienced upon earth, dry the tears of the Holy Father, defend
him, comfort him, intercede for him with the Giver of peace and charity, that,
all adversity being removed and all error dissipated, the entire Church may
serve God in perfect liberty. Amen!
top
Prayer
to St. Joseph
(2)
Humble and great, just and prudent, chaste and generous,
hard-working and prayerful, glorious St. Joseph, patron of the universal Church
and my protector, in the same confidence with which I love and venerate you I
turn to you, sure of your powerful friendship and of your intercession with him
who lived with you for many years in the house at Nazareth, Our Lord Jesus
Christ.
God in his goodness chose you as the reliable and prudent
guardian of his greatest treasure and gift to mankind, Jesus his Son. With your
beloved spouse, Mary his Virgin Mother, you were the one closest to the Saviour.
Together you loved him like no one else in the world; you cared for him as a
baby, educated him wisely, and worked with him in the silence and hidden-ness of
Nazareth. From him you learned Divine Wisdom. You were loved by him with a love
which had no equal. In his presence, and in the sweet company of Mary, you
closed your eyes, certain of living with them for ever in the house of the
Father.
Our glorious patron St. Joseph, generations of saints and
sinners have called on you as their protector and intercessor. They have taken
you as the model of Christian life, of surrender to the will of God and of
humility; as the model of love for Jesus and Mary, of the interior life, of
service and faithfulness, of purity and prudence. In you and in Mary we
contemplate with admiration all the most noble Christian virtues lived under the
gaze of Jesus, and given by the Holy Spirit to all who welcome him and yield to
his direction.
Together with so many who look to you with deep friendship
and confidence I ask your intercession with the Lord Jesus, the most high Son of
God at whose name everything in heaven and on earth kneels down (Phil. 2:1-11).
Ask for me humility, obedience, purity and faithfulness;
teach me simplicity, hard work, and wonder at the marvels God does every day;
endow me with discernment, respect for the values of a simple holy life like
yours, and the discipline of a faithful spiritual life; introduce me to the
beauty of interiority, hidden-ness, and of family and community life based on
the gospel; help me to love and serve Jesus as you loved and served him;
encourage me by your example to grow with him and through him; grant that I too
may feel the strong sweet presence of Mary in my life; assist me in carrying out
my everyday work with dedication and with all the enthusiasm and faithfulness
fitting for someone who wants to spend his life for the Lord (Col. 3:17-23).
Above all, pray that I may receive the grace of
humility-the humility which made you great by putting you totally at the
disposal of God's will to be used as his instrument in the plan which brought
salvation to the whole world. May my senses, my mind, my heart and my whole
being be open to his will, so much that even my "dreams", like yours,
may be full of his will and of love for Jesus and Mary.
Glorious St. Joseph, I ask the grace that, whenever the
Lord of Life should wish, I too may end my earthly pilgrimage with Jesus and
Mary by my side, and enjoy their company for ever. Amen
top
Prayer
to St. Joseph (3)
O glorious St. Joseph,
you who have the power to render possible, things that are, for us impossible,
come to our aid in our present trouble and distress.
(mention your petition here)
Take this important and difficult affair under your particular protection
that it may end happily.
O dear St Joseph, all our confidence is in you. Let it not be said that we would
invoke in you vain, and since you are so powerful with Jesus and Mary, show that
your goodness equals your power.
O St. Joseph, foster father of our Lord Jesus Christ and true spouse of Mary the
Virgin, pray g=for us.
This prayer may be said daily. it
may also serve as a Novena to be concluded by Holy Communion.
top
Prayer
for Missionary Vocations
God our Father, your Son, Our Lord told us to pray and
pray often for what we want.
We pray to you not for ourselves.
We beg you to give the grace of vocation to young men and
women,
To give up all and follow the Cross of Christ to the far
corners of the world.
May they train to become wise and holy missionaries,
Ready to bear the heat of the day in the fields of fear
and confusion.
May they become the flickering flames for our brothers
living in the darkness of oppression and poverty.
Through our prayers and our missionaries May your name be
glorified, May the poor have the gospel preached to them,
And may our own faith be strengthened. We commend
ourselves and our prayer to the intercession of Our Lady of Vocations,
To St. Joseph, our patron, and to Our Blessed Lord, Jesus
Christ,
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy
Spirit,
Now and for ever. Amen.
top
Daily
Novena Prayer
see Novena
above
Almighty God, you have chosen Saint Joseph to be the
mainstay of Jesus and Mary, the wise and faithful servant in whom they could
trust.
We pray that he may truly be the guardian of your Church;
that he may inspire with confidence those who are devoted to him; that he may
give security to those who work in the vineyard of Your Son; and finally, that
he may be a source of strength to us, who wish, like him, to dedicate ourselves
to Christ's service, now and in times to come. Amen.
(Material courtesy
of St. Joseph’s Missionary Society & Mill Hill
Missionaries, St. Joseph’s
College, Mill Hill, London NW7 4JX - see 'introduction' at top of page)
top
Prayer
to St. Joseph the Worker
O glorious St.
Joseph, patron and model of all who labour, obtain for me the grace; to work
conscientiously, putting the demands of my work before my ever-changing feeling;
to work with gratitude and joy, considering it an honour to develop, by means of
my work, the gifts God has given me; to work in an orderly manner, with patience
and perseverance, without too easily giving in to weariness or difficulties; to
work above all, with the purity of intention and with detachment from self,
keeping death in mind and the account I will have to give God of time lost,
talents and material wasted, of good omitted, of complacency in success - all so
fatal to the work of God. "All for Jesus, all through Mary, all after your
example", blessed Joseph, such shall be my watchword at my daily work, in
life and in death. Amen - - Pope St. Pius
X
Alternative
version:- Glorious Saint Joseph, model of all
who are devoted to labour, obtain for me the grace to work in the spirit of
penance in expiation of my many sins; to work conscientiously by placing love of
duty above my inclinations; to gratefully and joyously deem it an honour to
employ and to develop by labour the gifts I have received from God, to work
methodically, peacefully, and in moderation and patience, without ever shrinking
from it through weariness or difficulty to work; above all, with purity of
intention and unselfishness, having unceasingly before my eyes death and the
account I have to render of time lost, talents unused, good not done, and vain
complacency in success, so baneful to the work of God. All for Jesus, all for
Mary, all to imitate thee, O patriarch Saint Joseph! This shall be my motto for
life and eternity.
Pope Saint Pius X
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