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Prayer to St. Joseph for the Church
Prayer for Missionary Vocations
Nine-Day Prayers in Honour of St. Joseph
Each day has a reflection. To this may be added one or more prayers to St. Joseph.
Fir
st 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 St. Joseph, we will put our problems before the Lord and learn from him what is the right thing for us to do.
Second 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 e 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.
Third 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 realized that God could work in extra-ordinary 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. He 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.
Fourth 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 Jesus Christ and his mother to the unevangelized. John Paul the Great challenges us: “Mission is the joyful proclamation of a gift meant for all and to be offered to all with the greatest respect for the freedom of each one: the gift of the revelation of the God is love.”
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.
Fifth Day – Joseph the Family Man
Micah 5:2 – Bethlehem …. From you will come a future ruler of Israel whose origins go back to the days of old.
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.
Sixth Day – 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, and at certain hours of the day. He would have praised God in the community and sung the Psalms. In the silence of his prayer time he would have known that God spoke to him.
We are called to be people of prayer. We can’t be content with where we are in our prayer life … there is much more for us. We need to enter more deeply into the prayer of the Church in the Liturgy, and to make more meaningful our daily prayer practices; we need to listen to God in prayer. May St. Joseph help us grow more deeply as people of prayer.
Seventh 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 their 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, and 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; any 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 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.
Eighth Day – Joseph, the Workman
Matt 13:55 – Isn’t he the carpenter’s son?
In Matthew’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 our efforts part of the redemptive work of Jesus himself. He probably also knew the evil of unemployment; there would be times of hardship when people had no money to give work to Joseph and Jesus.
People today tend 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 less 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 our of chaos, a means of making our world a better place.
Ninth 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 of 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.
Prayers to St. Joseph
Let us pray to God our Father, for from him, all fatherhood in heaven and on earth takes its name. R Father, allowed 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 all 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 have their being, grant to those who have died new life, through your Son: - with Mary, and Joseph, and all your saints forever. R
Our Father
Concluding Prayer
Almighty God, at the beginning 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 humanity. Grant this through Christ our Lord.
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 tour 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 us to share in your creation: - help us to accept our responsibility by working for your glory and the good of all humanity. R
Our Father
Concluding Prayer
Lord God and Creator of the universe, you imposed on humanity the law of work. Give us grace, by St. Joseph’s example and at his intercession, to finish the work you give us to do, and come to the rewards you promise. Grant this through Christ our Lord.
Joseph, husband of the Mother of God Pray for UsJoseph, 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
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.
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, purified 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 Church from the powers of darkness and strengthen it in every trial.
Give it your 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.
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 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 and sisters living in the darkness of oppression and poverty. Through our prayers andour 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.
Prayer to St. Joseph the Workman
Composed by Pope St. Pius X
O Glorious St. Joseph, model of all those who are devoted to labour, obtain for me the grace to work conscientiously, putting the call of duty above my natural inclinations, to work with gratitude and joy, in a spirit of penance for the remission of my sins, considering it an honour to employ and develop by means of labour the gifts received from God, to work with order, peace, moderation and patience without ever shrinking from weariness and difficulties, to work above all with purity of intention and detachment from self, having always death before my eyes and the account that 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 through Mary, all after your example, O Patriarch, St. Joseph. Such shall be my watchword in life and in death. Amen.
“Of old it was said to the needy and suffering people in the Kingdom of Egypt: ‘Go to Joseph, and do all that he shall say to you’ (Gen 41:55).
“The same is now said by the Sovereign Pontiff to all needy and suffering people in the kingdom of the Church: Go to Joseph …
“What was truly said of the first Joseph, as to his future, and as to his goodness, his chastity, his patience, his wisdom, his influence with the king, his power over the people, and his love for his brothers, is verified much more perfectly, even to this day, in the second Joseph.”
Herbert Cardinal Vaughan
“Some Saints are privileged to extend to us their patronage with particular efficacy in certain needs, but not in others; but our holy patron St. Joseph has the power to assist us in all cases, in every necessity, in every undertaking."
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