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1. Nine Day Novena to St. Joseph
2. Novena to St. Joseph the Worker
3. A Powerful Novena to St Joseph
1. Nine Day Novena to Saint Joseph
Day 1 • Day 2
• Day 3 • Day 4
• Day 5 • Day 6
• Day 7 • Day 8
• Day 9
Day One
FOSTER-FATHER OF JESUS
Saint Joseph, you were privileged to share in the mystery of
the Incarnation as the foster-father of Jesus. Mary alone was
directly connected with the fulfillment of the mystery, in that
she gave her consent to Christ's conception and allowed the Holy
Spirit to form the sacred humanity of Jesus from her blood. You
had a part in this mystery in an indirect manner, by fulfilling
the condition necessary for the Incarnation -- the protection
of Mary's virginity before and during your married life with her.
You made the virginal marriage possible, and this was a part of
God's plan, foreseen, willed, and decreed from all eternity.
In a more direct manner you shared in the support, upbringing,
and protection of the Divine Child as His foster-father. For this
purpose the Heavenly Father gave you a genuine heart of a father
-- a heart full of love and self-sacrifice. With the toil of your
hands you were obliged to offer protection to the Divine Child,
to procure for Him food, clothing, and a home. You were truly
the saint of the holy childhood of Jesus -- the living created
providence which watched over the Christ-Child.
When Herod sought the Child to put Him to death, the Heavenly
Father sent an angel but only as a messenger, giving orders for
the flight; the rest He left entirely in your hands. It was that
fatherly love which was the only refuge that received and protected
the Divine Child. Your fatherly love carried Him through the desert
into Egypt until all enemies were removed. Then on your arms the
Child returned to Nazareth to be nourished and provided for during
many years by the labor of your hands. Whatever a human son owes
to a human father for all the benefits of his up-bringing and
support, Jesus owed to you, because you were to Him a foster-father,
teacher, and protector.
You served the Divine Child with a singular love. God gave you
a heart filled with heavenly, supernatural love -- a love far
deeper and more powerful than any natural father's love could
be.
You served the Divine Child with great unselfishness, without
any regard to self-interest, but not without sacrifices. You did
not toil for yourself, but you seemed to be an instrument intended
for the benefit of others, to be put aside as soon as it had done
its word, for you disappeared from the scene once the childhood
of Jesus had passed.
You were the shadow of the Heavenly Father not only as the earthly
representative of the authority of the Father, but also by means
of your fatherhood -- which only appeared to be natural -- you
were to hide for a while the divinity of Jesus. What a wonderfully
sublime and divine vocation was yours -- the loving Child which
you carried in your arms, and loved and served so faithfully,
had God in Heaven as Father and was Himself God!
Yours is a very special rank among the saints of the Kingdom
of God, because you were so much a part of the very life of the
Word of God made Man. In your house at Nazareth and under your
care the redemption of mankind was prepared. What you accomplished,
you did for us. You are not only a powerful and great saint in
the Kingdom of God, but a benefactor of the whole of Christendom
and mankind. Your rank in the Kingdom of God, surpassing far in
dignity and honor of all the angels, deserves our very special
veneration, love, and gratitude.
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.
Second Day
VIRGINAL HUSBAND OF MARY
Saint Joseph, I honor you as the true husband of Mary. Scripture
says: "Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, and of her
was born Jesus who is called Christ" (Matt. 1:16). Your marriage
to Mary was a sacred contract by which you and Mary gave yourselves
to each other. Mary really belonged to you with all she was and
had. You had a right to her love and obedience; and no other person
so won her esteem, obedience, and love.
You were also the protector and witness of Mary's virginity.
By your marriage you gave to each other your virginity, and also
the mutual right over it -- a right to safeguard the other's virtue.
This mutual virginity also belonged to the divine plan of the
Incarnation, for God sent His angel to assure you that motherhood
and virginity in Mary could be united.
This union of marriage not only brought you into daily familiar
association with Mary, the loveliest of God's creatures, but also
enabled you to share with her a mutual exchange of spiritual goods.
And Mary found her edification in your calm, humble, and deep
virtue, purity, and sanctity. What a great honor comes to you
from this close union with her whom the Son of God calls Mother
and whom He declared the Queen of heaven and earth! Whatever Mary
had belonged by right to you also, and this included her Son,
even though He had been given to her by God in a wonderful way.
Jesus belonged to you as His legal father. Your marriage was the
way which God chose to have Jesus introduced into the world, a
great divine mystery from which all benefits have come to us.
God the Son confided the guardianship and the support of His
Immaculate Mother to your care. Mary's life was that of the Mother
of the Savior, who did not come upon earth to enjoy honors and
pleasures, but to redeem the world by hard work, suffering, and
the cross. You were the faithful companion, support, and comforter
of the Mother of Sorrows. How loyal you were to her in poverty,
journeying, work, and pain. Your love for Mary was based upon
your esteem for her as Mother of God. After God and the Divine
Child, you loved no one as much as her. Mary responded to this
love. She submitted to your guidance with naturalness and easy
grace and childlike confidence. The Holy Spirit Himself was the
bond of the great love which united your hearts.
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.
Third Day
MAN CHOSEN BY THE BLESSED TRINITY
Saint Joseph, you were the man chosen by God the Father. He selected
you to be His representative on earth, hence He granted you all
the graces and blessings you needed to be His worthy representative.
You were the man chosen by God the Son. Desirous of a worthy
foster-father, He added His own riches and gifts, and above all,
His love. The true measure of your sanctity is to be judged by
your imitation of Jesus. You were entirely consecrated to Jesus,
working always near Him, offering Him your virtues, your work,
your sufferings, your very life. Jesus lived in you perfectly
so that you were transformed into Him. In this lies your special
glory, and the keynote of your sanctity. Hence, after Mary, you
are the holiest of the saints.
You were chosen by the Holy Spirit. He is the mutual Love of
the Father and the Son -- the heart of the Holy Trinity. In His
wisdom He draws forth all creatures from nothing, guides them
to their end in showing them their destiny and giving them the
means to reach it. Every vocation and every fulfillment of a vocation
proceeds from the Holy Spirit. As a foster-father of Jesus and
head of the Holy Family, you had an exalted and most responsible
vocation -- to open the way for the redemption of the world and
to prepare for it by the education and guidance of the youth of
the God-Man. In this work you cooperated as the instrument of
the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was the guide; you obeyed and
carried out the works. How perfectly you obeyed the guidance of
the God of Love!
The words of the Old Testament which Pharaoh spoke concerning
Joseph of Egypt can well be applied to you: "Can we find
such another man, that is full of the spirit of God, or a wise
man like to him?" (Gen. 41:38). No less is your share in
the divine work of God than was that of Egypt. You now reign with
your foster-Son and see reflected in the mirror of God's Wisdom
the Divine Willand what is of benefit to our souls.
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.
Fourth Day
FAITHFUL SERVANT
Saint Joseph, you lived for one purpose -- to be the personal
servant of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. Your noble birth
and ancestry, the graces and gifts, so generously poured out on
you by God -- all this was yours to serve our Lord better. Every
thought, word, and action of yours was a homage to the love and
glory of the Incarnate Word. You fulfilled most faithfully the
role of a good and faithful servant who cared for the House of
God.
How perfect was your obedience! Your position in the Holy Family
obliged you to command, but besides being the foster-father of
Jesus, you were also His disciple. For almost thirty years, you
watched the God-Man display a simple and prompt obedience, and
you grew to love and practice it very perfectly yourself. Without
exception you submitted to God, to the civil rulers, and to thevoice
of your conscience.
When God sent an angel to tell you to care for Mary, you obeyed
in spite of the mystery which surrounded her motherhood. When
you were told to flee into Egypt under painful conditions, you
obeyed without the slightest word of complaint. When God advised
you in a dream to return to Nazareth, you obeyed. In every situation
your obedience was as simple as your faith, as humble as your
heart, as prompt as your love. It neglected nothing; it took in
every command.You had the virtue of perfect devotedness, which
marks a good servant. Every moment of your life was consecrated
to the service of our Lord: sleep, rest, work, pain. Faithful
to your duties, you sacrificed everything unselfishly, even cheerfully.
You would have sacrificed even the happiness of being with Mary.
The rest and quiet of Nazareth was sacrificed at the call of duty.
Your entire life was one generous giving, even to the point of
being ready to die in proof of your love for Jesus and Mary. With
true unselfish devotedness you worked without praise or reward.But
God wanted you to be in a certain sense a cooperator in the Redemption
of the world. He confided to you the care of nourishing and defending
the Divine Child. He wanted you to be poor and to suffer because
He destined you to be the foster-father of His Son, who came into
the world to save men by His sufferings and death, and you were
to share in His suffering. In all of these important tasks, the
Heavenly Father always found you a faithful servant!
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.
Fifth Day
PATRON OF THE CHURCH
Saint Joseph, God has appointed you patron of the Catholic Church
because you were the head of the Holy Family, the starting-point
of the Church. You were the father, protector, guide and support
of the Holy Family. For that reason you belong in a particular
way to the Church, which was the purpose of the Holy Family's
existence.
I believe that the Church is the family of God on earth. Its
government is represented in priestly authority which consists
above all in its power over the true Body of Christ, really present
in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, thus continuing Christ's
life in the Church. From this power, too, comes authority over
the Mystical Body of Christ, the members of the Church -- the
power to teach and govern souls, to reconcile them with God, to
bless them, and to pray for them.
You have a special relationship to the priesthood because you
possessed a wonderful power over our Savior Himself. Your life
and office were of a priestly function and are especially connected
with the Blessed Sacrament. To some extent you were the means
of bringing the Redeemer to us -- as it is the priest's function
to bring Him to us in the Mass -- for you reared Jesus, supported,
nourished, protected and sheltered Him. You were prefigured by
the patriarch Joseph, who kept supplies of wheat for his people.
But how much greater than he were you! Joseph of old gave the
Egyptians mere bread for their bodies. You nourished, and with
the most tender care, preserved for the Church Him who is the
Bread of Heaven and who gives eternal life in Holy Communion.
God has appointed you patron of the Church because the glorious
title of patriarch also falls by special right to you. The patriarchs
were the heads of families of the Chosen People, and theirs was
the honor to prepare for the Savior's incarnation. You belonged
to this line of patriarchs, for you were one of the last descendants
of the family of David and one of the nearest forebears of Christ
according to the flesh. As husband of Mary, the Mother of God,
and as the foster-father of the Savior, you were directly connected
with Christ. Your vocation was especially concerned with the Person
of Jesus; your entire activity centered about Him. You are, therefore,
the closing of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New,
which took its rise with the Holy Family of Nazareth. Because
the New Testament surpasses the Old in every respect, you are
the patriarch of patriarchs, the most venerable, exalted, and
amiable of all the patriarchs.
Through Mary, the Church received Christ, and therefore the Church
is indebted to her. But the Church owes her debt of gratitude
and veneration to you also, for you were the chosen one who enabled
Christ to enter into the world according to the laws of order
and fitness. It was by you that the patriarchs and the prophets
and the faithful reaped the fruit of God's promise. Alone among
them all, you saw with your own eyes and possessed the Redeemer
promised to the rest of men.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!
Sixth Day
PATRON OF FAMILIES
Saint Joseph, I venerate you as the gentle head of the Holy Family.
The Holy Family was the scene of your life's work in its origin,
in its guidance, in its protection, in your labor for Jesus and
Mary, and even in your death in their arms. You lived, moved,
and acted in the loving company of Jesus and Mary. The inspired
writer describes your life at Nazareth in only a few words: "And
(Jesus) went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject
to them" (Luke, 2:51). Yet these words tell of your high
vocation here on earth, and the abundance of graces which filled
your soul during those years spent in Nazareth.
Your family life at Nazareth was all radiant with the light of
divine charity. There was an intimate union of heart and mind
among the members of your Holy Family. There could not have been
a closer bond than that uniting you to Jesus, your foster-Son
and to Mary, your most loving wife. Jesus chose to fulfill toward
you, His foster-father, all the duties of a faithful son, showing
you every mark of honor and affection due to a parent. And Mary
showed you all the signs of respect and love of a devoted wife.
You responded to this love and veneration from Jesus and Mary
with feelings of deepest love and respect. You had for Jesus a
true fatherly love, enkindled and kept aglow in your heart by
the Holy Spirit. And you could not cease to admire the workings
of grace in Mary's soul, and this admiration caused the holy love
which you had consecrated to her on the day of your wedding grow
stronger every day.
God has made you a heavenly patron of family life because you
sanctified yourself as head of the Holy Family and thus by your
beautiful example sanctified family life. How peacefully and happily
the Holy Family rested under the care of your fatherly rule, even
in the midst of trials. You were the protector, counselor, and
consolation of the Holy Family in every need. And just as you
were the model of piety, so you gave us by your zeal, your earnestness
and devout trust in God's providence, and especially by your love,
the example of labor according to the Will of God. You cherished
all the experiences common to family life and the sacred memories
of the life, sufferings, and joys in the company of Jesus and
Mary. Therefore the family is dear to you as the work of God,
and it is of the highest importance in your eyes to promote the
honor of God and the well-being of man. In your loving fatherliness
and unfailing intercession you are the patron and intercessor
of families, and you deserve a place in every home.
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.
I also pray for all Christian families. Your help is needed in
our day when God's enemy has directed his attack against the family
in order to desecrate and destroy it. In the face of these evils,
as patron of families, be pleased to help; and as of old, you
arose to save the Child and His Mother, so today arise to protect
the sanctity of the home. Make our homes sanctuaries of prayer,
of love, of patient sacrifice, and of work. May they be modeled
after your own at Nazareth. Remain with us with Jesus and Mary,
so that by your help we may obey the commandments of God and of
the Church; receive the holy sacraments of God and of the Church;
live a life of prayer; and foster religious instruction in our
homes. Grant that we may be reunited in God's Kingdom and eternally
live in the company of the Holy Family in heaven.Seventh
Day
PATRON OF WORKERS
Saint Joseph, you devoted your time at Nazareth to the work of
a carpenter. It was the Will of God that you and your foster-Son
should spend your days together in manual labor. What a beautiful
example you set for the working classes!It was especially for
the poor, who compose the greater part of mankind, that Jesus
came upon earth, for in the synagogue of Nazareth, He read the
words of Isaiah and referred them to Himself: "The Spirit
of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed Me to bring good
news to the poor..." (Luke 4:18). It was God's Will that
you should be occupied with work common to poor people, that in
this way Jesus Himself might ennoble it by inheriting it from
you, His foster-father, and by freely embracing it. Thus our Lord
teaches us that for the humbler class of workmen, He has in store
His richest graces, provided they live content in the place God's
Providence has assigned them, and remain poor in spirit for He
said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3).
The kind of work to which you devoted your time in the workshop
of Nazareth offered you many occasions of practicing humility.
You were privileged to see each day the example of humility which
Jesus practiced -- a virtue most pleasing to Him. He chose for
His earthly surroundings not the courts of princes nor the halls
of the learned, but a little workshop of Nazareth. Here you shared
for many years the humble and hidden toiling of the God-Man. What
a touching example for the worker of today!
While your hands were occupied with manual work, your mind was
turned to God in prayer. From the Divine Master, who worked along
with you, you learned to work in the presence of God in the spirit
of prayer, for as He worked He adored His Father and recommended
the welfare of the world to Him, Jesus also instructed you in
the wonderful truths of grace and virtue, for you were in close
contact with Him who said of Himself, "I am the Way and the
Truth and the Life."
As you were working at your trade, you were reminded of the greatness
and majesty of God, who, as a most wise Architect, formed this
vast universe with wonderful skill and limitless power.
The light of divine faith that filled your mind, did not grow
dim when you saw Jesus working as a carpenter. You firmly believed
that the saintly Youth working beside you was truly God's own
Son.
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 whichit 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.
Eighth Day
FRIEND IN SUFFERING
Saint Joseph, your share of suffering was very great because
of your close union with the Divine Savior. All the mysteries
of His life were more or less mysteries of suffering. Poverty
pressed upon you, and the cross of labor followed you everywhere.
Nor were you spared domestic crosses, owing to misunderstandings
in regard to the holiest and most cherished of all beings, Jesus
and Mary, who were all to you. Keen must have been the suffering
caused by the uncertainty regarding Mary's virginity; by the bestowal
of the name of Jesus, which pointed to future misfortune. Deeply
painful must have been the prophecy of Simeon, the flight into
Egypt, the disappearance of Jesus at the Paschal feast. To these
sufferings were surely added interior sorrow at the sight of the
sins of your own people.
You bore all this suffering in a truly Christ-like manner, and
in this you are our example. No sound of complaint or impatience
escaped you -- you were, indeed, the silent saint! You submitted
to all in the spirit of faith, humility, confidence, and love.
You cheerfully bore all in union with and for the Savior and His
Mother, knowing well that true love is a crucified love. But God
never forsook you in your trials. The trials, too, disappeared
and were changed at last into consolation and joy.
It seems that God had purposely intended your life to be filled
with suffering as well as consolation to keep before my eyes the
truth that my life on earth is but a succession of joys and sorrows,
and that I must gratefully accept whatever God sends me, and during
the time of consolation prepare for suffering. Teach me to bear
my cross in the spirit of faith, of confidence, and of gratitude
toward God. In a happy eternity, I shall thank God fervently for
the sufferings which He deigned to send me during my pilgrimage
on earth, and which after your example I endured with patience
and heartfelt love for Jesus and Mary.
You were truly the martyr of the hidden life. This was God's
Will, for the holier a person is, the more he is tried for the
love and glory of God. If suffering is the flowering of God's
grace in a soul and the triumph of the soul's love for God, being
the greatest of saints after Mary, you suffered more than any
of the martyrs.
Because you have experienced the sufferings of this valley of
tears, you are most kind and sympathetic toward those in need.
Down through the ages souls have turned to you in distress and
have always found you a faithful friend in suffering. You have
graciously heard their prayers in their needs even though it demanded
a miracle. Having been so intimately united with Jesus and Mary
in life, your intercession with Them is most powerful.
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.
Ninth DayPATRON OF A HAPPY DEATH
Saint Joseph, how fitting it was that at the hour of your death
Jesus should stand at your bedside with Mary, the sweetness and
hope of all mankind. You gave your entire life to the service
of Jesus and Mary; at death you enjoyed the consolation of dying
in Their loving arms. You accepted death in the spirit of loving
submission to the Will of God, and this acceptance crowned your
hidden life of virtue. Yours was a merciful judgment, for your
foster-Son, for whom you had cared so lovingly, was your Judge,
and Mary was your advocate. The verdict of the Judge was a word
of encouragement to wait for His coming to Limbo, where He would
shower you with the choicest fruits of the Redemption, and an
embrace of grateful affection before you breathed forth your soul
into eternity.
You looked into eternity and to your everlasting reward with
confidence. If our Savior blessed the shepherds, the Magi, Simeon,
John the Baptist, and others, because they greeted His presence
with devoted hearts for a brief passing hour, how much more did
He bless you who have sanctified yourself for so many years in
His company and that of His Mother? If Jesus regards every corporal
and spiritual work of mercy, performed in behalf of our fellow
men out of love for Him, as done to Himself, and promises heaven
as a reward, what must have been the extent of His gratitude to
you who in the truest sense of the word have received Him, given
Him shelter, clothed, nourished, and consoled Him at the sacrifice
of your strength and rest, and even your life, with a love which
surpassed the love of all fathers.
God really and personally made Himself your debtor. Our Divine
Savior paid that debt of gratitude by granting you many graces
in your lifetime, especially the grace of growing in love, which
is the best and most perfect of all gifts. Thus at the end of
your life your heart became filled with love, the fervor and longing
of which your frail body could not resist. Your soul followed
the triumphant impulse of your love and winged its flight from
earth to bear the prophets and patriarchs in Limbo the glad tidings
of the advent of the Redeemer.
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!
2. Novena to St. Joseph the WorkerSt.
Joseph, the foster father of Jesus, was a carpenter by trade,
and thus he has always been regarded as the patron of workers.
This novena—a prayer to be said over nine days—is
perfect for those times when we have an important project or assignment
that we're having trouble completing.
"O God, the Creator of all things, You have laid the law
of labor upon the human race. Grant, we beseech You, that by the
example and protection of St. Joseph we may perform the work You
command and attain to the reward that You promise. Through our
Lord Jesus Christ, Amen."
3. A Powerful Novena to St. Joseph
This novena has proven to be highly efficacious. It seems to be
pleasing to St. Joseph and helpful to souls. This form of novena
was originally devised by the celebrated Fr. Louis Lallemant,
S.J. (1587-1633). It has proved particularly effective in obtaining
favors through the intercession of St.Joseph. In the Life of this
saintly priest and great master of the spiritual life, to whom
St. Joseph never refused anything he asked, the story is told
that on one occasion he urged two young priests to make this novena,
promising that they would obtain everything they asked through
the intercession of St. Joseph if, in turn, they would show him
special honor and spread devotion to him among others. Both did
as Fr. Lallemant suggested. One of them asked for grace to speak
and write worthily of Our Lord. But the next day he came to Fr.
Lallemant to tell him that, upon reflection, he wished to ask
for a different grace, which he considered more conducive to his
perfection. Fr. Lallemant replied, “It is too late now to
ask for another grace. The first one has already been granted.”
This grace was conspicuously displayed throughout the whole course
of the priest’s life, as he became one of the most noted
preachers and writers of his day.
How to Make this Novena
No particular prayers need be said for this novena. Every day
for nine days, turn to St. Joseph in spirit four times during
the day and honor him in the following four points. (These “visits”
may be made anywhere—at home, at work, on the street, in
the car or bus—and at any time.)
1. During the first visit, consider St. Joseph’s fidelity
to grace. Reflect upon the action of the Holy Ghost in his soul.
At the conclusion of this brief meditation, thank God for so honoring
St. Joseph, and ask, through his intercession, for a similar grace.
2. Later in the day, consider St. Joseph’s fidelity
to the interior life. Study his spirit of recollection. Think,
thank God, and ask.
3. Later still, consider St. Joseph’s love for Our
Lady. Think, thank God, and ask.
4. Finally, in a fourth visit, reflect upon St. Joseph’s
love for the Divine Child. Think, thank God, and ask.
Prayer Which May Be Said at the Conclusion of the Visits
(These prayers are adapted from Reflections for a Novena to St.
Joseph, by Sister Emily Joseph, C.S.J.)
O MY GOD, I thank Thee and bless Thee for St. Joseph's great faithfulness
to grace.
Grant that, through his loving intercession and the power of his
example, I too may be faithful to grace.
O St. Joseph, intercede for me, and obtain for me the favor I
ask. (Name your request.)
O MY GOD, I thank Thee and bless Thee for St. Joseph's great faithfulness
to the interior life.
Grant that, through his loving intercession and the power of his
example, I too may be faithful to the interior life.
O St. Joseph, intercede for me, and obtain for me the favor I
ask. (Name your request.)
O MY GOD I thank Thee and bless Thee for St. Joseph's great love
for Our Lady.
O Grant that, through his loving intercession and the power of
his example, I too may truly love the Blessed Virgin Mary
O St. Joseph, intercede for me, and obtain the favor I ask. (Name
your request.)
O MY GOD, I thank Thee and bless Thee for St. Joseph's great love
for the Divine Child.Grant that, through his loving intercession
and the power of his example, I too may truly love the Child Jesus.
O St. Joseph, intercede for me, and obtain the favor I ask. (Name
your request.)
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