INTRODUCTION
The scripture spoke of St. Joseph as an upright man (Mtt.
1:19). Otherwise nothing much is known about him. However, the role of St.
Joseph in the protection of the Holy Family, from incarnation to the early
childhood of the divine Son, is very visible. Mary could have been a single
mother if St. Joseph had sent her away on finding out that she was with a child
before they lived together, but the grace of God informing the decision of St.
Joseph, and St. Joseph’s heed to divine counsel never allowed that to happen.
St. Joseph is especially privileged and chosen by God to be the foster-father
of His divine Son, and as the most chaste spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The silence of St. Joseph is very eloquent, teaching us a fundamental attitude;
a call for openness to God’s will. These are the basic foundation of the honour
paid to St. Joseph by the Church.
The intercession of St. Joseph has been sought for centuries.
The earliest recognition, of a public character, of the sanctity of St. Joseph
can be traced back to the East. The feast of St. Joseph was kept by the Copts
as early as the beginning of the fourth century. There is a gorgeous oratory
dedicated to the honour of St. Joseph in the great Basilica erected at
Bethlehem by St. Helena. In the West, the name of St. Joseph appears in the
local Martyrologies of the ninth and tenth centuries, and in 1129 a Church was
dedicated to the honour of St. Joseph in Bologna. The devotion to St. Joseph
gained a great impetus owing to the influence and zeal of saintly persons like
St. Bernard, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Gertrude, and St. Bridget of Sweden.
However, the effort of these men and women were rewarded by the Roman calendar
(19 March) under the pontificate of Sixtus IV (1471-84). From that time on, the
devotion to St. Joseph gained popularity.
The righteous St Joseph is a powerful patron saint of
husbands and fathers, the universal church, unborn children, immigrants,
workers, employment, pilgrims, travelers, carpenters, and of a happy death. St
Joseph was the guardian of our Redeemer during his childhood and youth at Bethlehem,
in Egypt and at Nazareth. He was chosen by the eternal father as the
trustworthy guardian and protector of his greatest treasure; His divine Son and
His mother, Joseph’s wife. He humbly accepted his role as guardian, husband and
father in the Holy Family. St Joseph carried out this vocation with fidelity
until God called His faithful servant back to Himself. St. Joseph’s
intercession has been sought for centuries.
St. Joseph was clearly very close to our Lord and so we come
to him with this novena with a sense of humility because of his great humility.
The novena to St. Joseph can be
prayed for finding employment, finding your spouse, for purity, for overcoming
lust and for many other needs we may have.
Muogbo Michael, ssp
DAY ONE: FOSTER FATHER OF THE DIVINE
SON
INTRODUCTORY PRAYER
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen
O saint Joseph, most pure spouse of Mary, you are the
provident guardian of the Holy Family, and the faithful protector and
intercessor of the chosen people of God. I venerate you and pray through your
intercession, that I may obtain all the graces I stand in need of. With your
strength and power help me in my urgent needs.
DAILY PRAYER
Saint Joseph, I thank God for your
privilege of having been chosen by God to be the foster-father of His Divine
Son. As a token of your own gratitude to God for this your greatest privilege,
obtain for me the grace of a very devoted love for Jesus Christ, my God and my
Savior. Help me to serve Him with some of the self-sacrificing love and
devotion which you had while on this earth with Him. Grant that through your
intercession with Jesus, your foster-Son, I may reach the degree of holiness
God has destined for me, and save my soul.
NOVENNA PRAYER
Saint Joseph, I, your unworthy
child, greet you. You are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who
love and venerate you. You know that I have special confidence in you and that,
after Jesus and Mary, I place all my hope of salvation in you, for you are
especially powerful with God and will never abandon your faithful servants.
Therefore I humbly invoke you and commend myself, with all who are dear to me
and all that belong to me, to your intercession. I beg of you, by your love for
Jesus and Mary, not to abandon me during life and to assist me at the hour of
my death. Glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, obtain for me
a pure, humble, charitable mind, and perfect resignation to the divine Will. Be
my guide, my father, and my model through life that I may merit to die as you
did in the arms of Jesus and Mary.
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 request).
Guardian of the Word Incarnate, I feel confident that your prayers on my behalf
will be graciously heard before the throne of God. Amen.
Our
Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory be…
MEMORARE
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.
DAY TWO: MOST CHASTE SPOUSE OF MARY
INTRODUCTORY PRAYER
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen
O saint Joseph, most pure spouse of Mary, you are the
provident guardian of the Holy Family, and the faithful protector and
intercessor of the chosen people of God. I venerate you and pray through your
intercession, that I may obtain all the graces I stand in need of. With your
strength and power help me in my urgent needs.
DAILY PRAYER
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.
NOVENNA PRAYER
(see page…)
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory be…
MEMORARE
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.
DAY THREE: THE CHOSEN MAN OF THE
BLESSED TRINITY
INTRODUCTORY PRAYER
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen
O saint Joseph, most pure spouse of Mary, you are the
provident guardian of the Holy Family, and the faithful protector and
intercessor of the chosen people of God. I venerate you and pray through your
intercession, that I may obtain all the graces I stand in need of. With your
strength and power help me in my urgent needs.
DAILY PRAYER
Saint Joseph, I thank God for having
made you the man specially chosen by Him. As a token of your own gratitude to
God, obtain for me the grace to imitate your virtues so that I too may be
pleasing to the Heart of God. Help me to give myself entirely to His service
and to the accomplishment of His Holy Will, that one day I may reach heaven and
be eternally united to God as you are.
NOVENNA PRAYER
(see page…)
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory be…
MEMORARE
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.
DAY
FOUR: FAITHFUL SERVANT OD GOD
INTRODUCTORY PRAYER
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen
O saint Joseph, most pure spouse of Mary, you are the
provident guardian of the Holy Family, and the faithful protector and
intercessor of the chosen people of God. I venerate you and pray through your
intercession, that I may obtain all the graces I stand in need of. With your strength
and power help me in my urgent needs.
DAILY
PRAYER
Saint Joseph, I thank God for your
privilege of being God’s faithful servant. As a token of your own gratitude to
God, obtain for me the grace to be a faithful servant of God as you were. Help
me to share, as you did, the perfect obedience of Jesus, who came not to do His
Will, but the Will of His Father; to trust in the Providence of God, knowing
that if I do His Will, He will provide for all my needs of soul and body; to be
calm in my trials and to leave it to our Lord to free me from them when it
pleases Him to do so. And help me to imitate your generosity, for there can be
no greater reward here on earth than the joy and honor of being a faithful
servant of God.
NOVENNA PRAYER
(see page…)
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory be…
MEMORARE
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.
DAY
FIVE: PATRON OF THE CHURCH
INTRODUCTORY PRAYER
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen
O saint Joseph, most pure spouse of Mary, you are the
provident guardian of the Holy Family, and the faithful protector and
intercessor of the chosen people of God. I venerate you and pray through your
intercession, that I may obtain all the graces I stand in need of. With your
strength and power help me in my urgent needs.
DAILY
PRAYER
Saint Joseph, I thank God for your
privilege of being the Patron of the Church. As a token of your own gratitude
to God, obtain for me the grace to live always as a worthy member of this
Church, so that through it I may save my soul. Bless the priests, the
religious, and the laity of the Catholic Church, that they may ever grow in
God’s love and faithfulness in His service. Protect the Church from the evils
of our day and from the persecution of her enemies. Through your powerful
intercession may the church successfully accomplish its mission in this world ;
the glory of God and the salvation of souls!
NOVENNA PRAYER
(see page…)
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory be…
MEMORARE
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.
DAY
SIX: PATRON OF FAMILIES
INTRODUCTORY PRAYER
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen
O saint Joseph, most pure spouse of Mary, you are the
provident guardian of the Holy Family, and the faithful protector and
intercessor of the chosen people of God. I venerate you and pray through your
intercession, that I may obtain all the graces I stand in need of. With your
strength and power help me in my urgent needs.
DAILY
PRAYER
Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of living in
the Holy Family and being its head. As a token of your own gratitude to God,
obtain God’s blessing upon my own family. Make our home the kingdom of Jesus
and Mary ; a kingdom of peace, of joy, and love.
NOVENNA PRAYER
(see page…)
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory be…
MEMORARE
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.
DAY
SEVEN: PATRON OF WORKERS
INTRODUCTORY PRAYER
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen
O saint Joseph, most pure spouse of Mary, you are the
provident guardian of the Holy Family, and the faithful protector and
intercessor of the chosen people of God. I venerate you and pray through your
intercession, that I may obtain all the graces I stand in need of. With your
strength and power help me in my urgent needs.
DAILY
PRAYER
Saint Joseph, I thank God for your
privilege of being able to work side by side with Jesus in the carpenter shop
of Nazareth. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace
to respect the dignity of labor and ever to be content with the position in
life, however lowly, in which it may please Divine Providence to place me.
Teach me to work for God and with God in the spirit of humility and prayer, as
you did, so that I may offer my toil in union with the sacrifice of Jesus in
the Mass as a reparation for my sins, and gain rich merit for heaven.
NOVENNA PRAYER
(see page…)
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory be…
MEMORARE
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.
DAY
EIGHT: FRIEND OF THE SUFFERING
INTRODUCTORY PRAYER
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen
O saint Joseph, most pure spouse of Mary, you are the
provident guardian of the Holy Family, and the faithful protector and
intercessor of the chosen people of God. I venerate you and pray through your
intercession, that I may obtain all the graces I stand in need of. With your
strength and power help me in my urgent needs.
DAILY
PRAYER
Saint Joseph, I thank God for your
privilege of being able to suffer for Jesus and Mary. As a token of your own
gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to bear my suffering patiently for
love of Jesus and Mary. Grant that I may unite the sufferings, works and
disappointments of life with the sacrifice of Jesus in the Mass, and share like
you in Mary’s spirit of sacrifice.
NOVENNA PRAYER
(see page…)
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory be…
MEMORARE
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.
DAY
NINE: PATRON OF A HAPPY DEATH
INTRODUCTORY PRAYER
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen
O saint Joseph, most pure spouse of Mary, you are the
provident guardian of the Holy Family, and the faithful protector and
intercessor of the chosen people of God. I venerate you and pray through your
intercession, that I may obtain all the graces I stand in need of. With your
strength and power help me in my urgent needs.
DAILY
PRAYER
Saint Joseph, I thank God for your
privilege of being able to die in the arms of Jesus and Mary. As a token of
your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace of a happy death. Help me to
spend each day in preparation for death. May I, too, accept death in the spirit
of resignation to God’s Holy Will, and die, as you did, in the arms of Jesus,
strengthened by Holy Viaticum, and in the arms of Mary, with her rosary in my
hand and her name on my lips!
NOVENNA PRAYER
(see page…)
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory be…
MEMORARE
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.
PRAYER TO ST JOSEPH
We come to you, O Blessed Joseph, in
our distress. And having sought the help of your most holy spouse, we
confidently implore your assistance too. We humbly beg you to remember the
dutiful affection which bound you to the immaculate Virgin Mother of God and
your fatherly love for the child Jesus. Watch over the souls which Jesus Christ
bought with His blood, and with your strength and power help us in our urgent
need.
O most provident guardian of the
divine family, protect the chosen people of Jesus Christ. Drive far from us,
most loving father, every pest of error and corrupting sin.
From your place in heaven, most
powerful deliverer, graciously come to our aid in this conflict with the powers
of darkness. And as you delivered the child Jesus from the great perils of
life, so now defend the holy church of God from the snares of her enemies and
from all adversity. Have each of us always in your keeping, that following your
example and borne up by your strength, we may be able to live holily, die
happily and so enter into the everlasting bliss of heaven. Amen
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