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Prayer to St. Joseph Before Mass & Holy Communion
Happy and blessed art thou, O Joseph, to whom it was given
not only to see and to hear that God whom many kings desired to
see, and saw not, to hear, and heard not; but also to hold Him
in thine arms, to embrace Him, to clothe Him, and to guard and
defend Him.
Pray for us, O blessed Joseph,
that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray: O God, who hast given unto us a holy priesthood,
vouchsafe, we beseech Thee, that as Blessed Joseph was found worthy
to touch with his hands, and bear within his arms, Thine Only-begotten
Son, born of the Virgin Mary, so may we be made fit, by cleanness
of heart and purity of work, to serve at Thy holy altars; that
we may worthily receive the Most Sacred Body and Blood of Thy
Son, now in this present world, and deserve to attain an everlasting
reward in the world to come. Through the same Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Prayer for the Whole Church
O glorious St. Joseph, you were chosen by God to be the foster
father of Jesus, the most pure spouse of Mary, ever Virgin, and
the head of the Holy Family. You have been chosen by Christ's
Vicar as the heavenly Patron and Protector of the Church founded
by Christ. Protect the Sovereign Pontiff and all bishops and holy
priests united with him. Be the protector of all 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 Church without
which there is no salvation.
Dear St. Joseph, accept the offering I make to you. Be my father,
protector, and guide in the way of salvation. Obtain for me purity
of heart and a love for the spiritual life. After your example,
let all my actions be directed to the greater glory of God, in
union with the Divine Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of
Mary, and your own paternal heart. Finally, pray for me that I
may share in the peace and joy of your holy death. Amen.
Prayer for Church
Almighty God, You entrusted to the faithful care of Joseph the
beginnings of the mysteries of man's salvation. Through his intercession
may Your Church always be faithful in her service so that Your
designs will be fulfilled. Amen.
Prayer for the Church and the Pope
Most powerful Patriarch St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church,
which has always invoked thee in anxiety and trouble, from the
exalted seat of thy glory cast a loving glance upon the whole
Catholic world. let thy 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
thou didst experience upon earth, dry the tears of the venerable
Pontiff, 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.
Prayer for Church
"Saint Joseph, patron of the universal Church, watch over
the Church as carefully as you watched over Jesus; help protect
it and guide it as you did with your adopted son. Amen"
Prayer for the Church and Priests & Pope
Most powerful Patriarch St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church,
which has always invokedthee in anxiety and trouble, from the
exalted seat of thy glory cast a loving glance upon the whole
Catholic world. let thy 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
thou didst experience upon earth, dry the tears of the venerable
Pontiff, 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 Priests may serve God in perfect
liberty. Amen.
Prayer for Priests
O illustrious patriarch St. Joseph, who carried the Infant Jesus
in thy blessed arms and who, during the space of thirty years,
lived in the most intimate familiarity with Him, take under thy
powerful protection those whom He has clothed with His authority
and honored with with the dignity of His priesthood, whom He has
charged to continue His mission, to preach His Gospel, and to
dispense everywhere His graces and blessings. Sustain them in
their fatigues and labors; console them in their pains; fortify
them in their combats; but above all, keep far from them all the
evils of sin.
Obtain for them the humility of St. John the Baptist, the faith
of St. Peter, the zeal and charity of St. Paul, the purity of
St. John and the spirit of prayer and recollection of which thou,
my dear Saint, art the model, so that, after having been on earth,
the faithful dispensers of the Mysteries of thy foster Son, Our
Lord Jesus Christ, they may in Heaven receive the recompense promised
to pastors according to the Heart of God. Amen.
~~from Favorite Prayers to St. Joseph, Tan Books
The Fatherhood of the Priest
From the Booklet, St. Joseph, Fatima and Fatherhood
by Msgr. Joseph Cirrincione with Thomas Nelson
TAN BOOKS AND PUBLISHERS
The role of the priest in relation to Christ is strikingly analogous
to the role of St. Joseph in relation to God the Father. Just
as the Eternal Father willed to share His Fatherhood with St.
Joseph-----such that they were "Co-Fathers," as it were-----so
Jesus willed to share His Fatherhood with the priest, who becomes
"Co-Father" with Him of the Baptized. Now it becomes
obvious why we call our priests "Father," for the priest
is an alter Christus, "another Christ," through whom
Christ works. And as Christ is our Father in the faith, we call
His official representative "Father" as well, in order
to acknowledge the profound truth of Christ's spiritual fatherhood
of us all who believe in Him and are Baptized. this is the only
satisfying answer to the Protestants' objection quoted from Scripture,
"Call no man on earth your father . . ." In effect,
we are not calling the Catholic priest "Father," by
reason of his person, but by reason of his office; in effect,
when we call the priest "Father," we are actually calling
Christ "Father," Whose instrument and representative
the priest really is.
We find this concept used by St. Paul in First Corinthians [3:9],
where he refers to himself and to Apollo as "God's co-workers,"
with the Father and "co-fathers" with the Son, as he
reminds the Corinthians in the next chapter, "For if you
have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet not many fathers.
For in Christ Jesus, by the Gospel, I have begotten you."
[4:15] Thus, just as Jesus could say, "The Father and I are
one," so he can say, "the priest and I are one,"
because it is His priesthood that they share. And whatever the
priest in his role as priest, he does in Christ's name.
As in the case of St. Joseph, it is in the priest's role or office,
not in his person, that his authority resides . . . in the Eucharist,
when the priest prays the words of Consecration: "this is
My Body," "This is . . . My Blood . . ." the union
between Christ and the priest reaches its most intimate moment.
Only Divine power can effect the awesome change of bread and wine
into the Boy and Blood of Jesus Christ. Yet the priest, by the
authority and power conferred on him by ChristHimself, does effect
this tremendous change of the substance of bread and wine into
the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, even when
he does so unworthily [that is, when the priest may unfortunately
not be in the state of grace when he says Mass]. Thus, since,
in the Consecration of the Mass, the death of Christ, the source
of our supernatural life, is made present on the altar by the
words of the priest, he the priest, stands revealed as Christ,
in Christ's role as our spiritual Father, present among us today.
Like St. Joseph, the priest enjoys a very special authority,
one conferred on him by the Will of God. But also, like St. Joseph,
his role as father burdens him with duties and responsibilities.
St. Joseph taught the young Jesus to pray, introduced Him to the
Psalms, led Him to the habitual practice of communion with God,
even while at work. The priest too has the duty to pray, not just
in his own name, but in the name of the Church, when he recites
the Divine Office . . . and flowing from his life of prayer and
interior union with Christ comes the power to convert souls in
Christ . . . Prayer and ministry of the Word! This was the life
of Christ, whose Fatherhood priests share -----the fatherhood
of Him who, at the beginning of His life on earth was hailed by
Simeon in the temple, 'A light to the revelation of the Gentiles"
and who, before ascending into Heaven, instructed His disciples
thus: "All Power is given to Me in Heaven and in earth. Going
therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the Name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them
to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold
I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world."
[Matt. 28:18-20]. Christ and the priests . . . one now and forever!
Prayerto St. Joseph for PriestsO ILLUSTRIOUS PATRIARCH
St. Joseph, who carried the Infant Jesus
in thy blessed arms and who, during the space of thirty years,
lived in
the most intimate familiarity with Him, take under thy powerful
protection
those whom He has clothed with His authority and honored with
with the
dignity of His priesthood, whom He has charged to continue His
mission,
to preach His Gospel, and to dispense everywhere His graces
and blessings. Sustain them in their fatigues and labors; console
them in their pains; fortify them in their combats; but above
all,
keep far from them all the evils of sin.
Obtain for them the humility of St. John the Baptist, the faith
of
St. Peter, the zeal and charity of St. Paul, the purity of St.
John
and the spirit of prayer and recollection of which thou, my
dear Saint, art the model, so that, after having been on earth,
the faithful dispensers of the Mysteries of thy foster Son,
Our Lord Jesus Christ, they may in Heaven receive the recompense
promised to pastors according to the
Heart of God. Amen.
From the Booklet, Favorite Prayers to St. Joseph TAN BOOKS AND
PUBLISHERS
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