Novena to St. Joseph

Guardian of the Redeemer

Day 1 (March 10)

Betrothal

[Scripture]:

Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah. (Matt. 1:16)

[Tradition]:

(Year B) In His boundless wisdom, God employs the simplest of means. What was the best way to effect the incarnation of the Son of God? To reveal openly the all-holy Virgin's virginal state would have meant to bring attention to the Lord Jesus prematurely, without proper preparation. A threefold purpose was accomplished by Joseph's betrothal to the Virgin: quiet obscurity was assured for Christ until the appointed moment, an impenetrable defense was provided for both her and the divine infant. All this was accomplished by the sacred betrothal of St. Joseph to the Virgin-Mother (St. Jerome).

[Liturgy]:

We beg thee, Lord, assist us by the merits of the spouse of thy most holy Mother, so that what is beyond the reach of our own effort may be given us by his intercession: Who art God, living and reigning with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Roman Missal; Traditional Collect; March 19)

[Devotion]:

Memorare to St. Joseph

Remember, O most pure spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, my great protector, Saint Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to your protection, or implored your aid without obtaining relief. Confiding therefore in your goodness, I come before you. Do not turn down my petitions, foster father of the Redeemer, but graciously receive them. Amen.

Day 2 (March 11)

Annunciation

[Scripture]:

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife,  but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus. (Matt 1:18-25)

[Tradition]:

(Year B) If we look carefully into this life that was apparently so unremarkable, we shall find that it was greater and more adventurous, more full of exciting events, than we are accustomed to assume in our hasty perusal of the Gospel story. The Gospel describes Saint Joseph as a Just Man (Mt. 1:19). No greater praise of virtue and no higher tribute to merit could be applied to a man of humble social condition who was apparently far from being equipped to perform great deeds. A poor, honest, hardworking, perhaps even timorous man, but one with unfathomable interior life, from which very singular directions and consolations came, bringing him also the logic and strength that belong to simple and clear souls, and giving him the power of making great decisions, such as that decision to put his liberty at once at the disposition of the divine designs, to make over to them also his legitimate human calling, his conjugal happiness, to accept the conditions, the responsibility and the burden of a family, but, through an incomparable virginal love, to renounce that natural conjugal love that is the foundation and the nourishment of the family; in this way he offered the whole of his existence in a total sacrifice to the imponderable demands raised by the astonishing coming of the Messiah, to whom he was to give the everlastingly blessed name of Jesus (Mt. 1:21), whom he was to acknowledge as the effect of the Holy Spirit, and his own son only in a juridical and domestic way. (Pope St. Paul VI)

[Liturgy]:

O God, who from the family of your servant David raised up Joseph to be the guardian of your incarnate Son and the spouse of his virgin mother: Give us grace to imitate his uprightness of life and his obedience to your commands; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Lesser Feasts and Fasts; March 19)

[Devotion]:

To you, O Blessed Joseph, do we come in our need, confident that you will hear our prayer. Through the tender and chaste love that bound you to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God, and through the paternal love with which you embraced the Child Jesus, we humbly beg you to look upon us with the same affection and through your power and strength aid us in our necessities.

O glorious St. Joseph, spouse of Mary our Mother, obtain for each of us a pure, humble, and charitable mind, and perfect resignation to the Divine Will. Be our guide, our father, and our model through life, that we may merit to die as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary. Amen.

O glorious St. Joseph, through the love you bear to Jesus Christ and for the glory of His Name, hear our prayers and obtain our petition.

Day 3 (March 12)

 Nativity

[Scripture]:

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered…. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.  And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:1-7)

[Tradition]:

(Year B) The  company of Mary, the atmosphere of Jesus, the continual presence of the Incarnate God, and the fact of his own life being nothing but a series of ministries to the unborn Word, must have lifted him far above all other saints, and per­chance all angels too.  Our  Lord's  birth,  and  the  sight of  His face,  must  have  been  to him  like another  sanctification. The mystery of Bethlehem was enough  of itself to place him among the highest of the saints…. To be hidden in  God,  to be  lost  in  his  bright  light, is surely the highest of vocations among the sons of men. Nothing, to a spiritually discerning eye, can surpass the grandeur of a life which is only for others, only ministering to the divine purposes as in the place of God, without any personal vocation or any purpose of its own…. His spirit is the spirit of Bethlehem. He is, in an especial way, the property of the sacred Infancy. It was his one work, his single sphere…. He moves about  among  the  mysteries of the sacred Infancy, a shy silent figure. Between the going and coming of great mysteries  we  just hear  him, as we hear the rain timidly whispering among the leaves in the intervals of  the deep-toned  thunder.  But his odor is everywhere. It is the very genius of the place. It clings to our garments and lingers in our senses, even when we have left the cave of Bethlehem and gone out into the world's work. (Frederick William Faber)

[Liturgy]:

Grant, we pray, almighty God, that by Saint Joseph's intercession your Church may constantly watch over the unfolding of the mysteries of human salvation, whose beginnings you entrusted to his faithful care. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. (Roman Missal; March 19)

[Devotion]:

Glorious Saint Joseph, foster-father and protector of Jesus Christ, to you I raise my heart and my hands to implore your powerful intercession. Please obtain for me from the kind Heart of Jesus the help and the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare. I ask particularly for the grace of a happy death and the special favor I now implore.

Guardian of the Word Incarnate, I feel animated with confidence that your prayers on my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God. O glorious Saint Joseph, through the love you bear to Jesus Christ, and for the glory of His name, hear my prayers and obtain my petitions.

 Day 4 (March 13)

Circumcision and Presentation

[Scripture]:

After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.  When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord  (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” (Luke 2:21-24)

[Tradition]:

(Year B) Joseph was certainly a good and faithful man, to whom the Mother of the Saviour was given to be his bride. He was a faithful and prudent servant, whom the Lord constituted to be the consolation of His Mother, the rearer of His flesh, and the unique and most faithful collaborator on earth of His great plan. To this may be added that Joseph was of the house of David. He was truly a descendant of the house of David, of a royal race; noble of rank, more noble still of mind. Certainly a son of David, not unworthy of his father David.  I can certainly say he was the son of David, not only by blood, but by faith, sanctity and devotion. He was the man whom the Lord, just as of David, recognised to be according to His heart, the man whom He was able to entrust the most secret and sacred mystery of His heart, the man to whom, as to another David, He confided the hidden plans of His wisdom and from whom He did not wish to hide His mystery, a mystery which had never been revealed to any prince of this world. He was the man to whom was given that which many kings and prophets desired to see and yet did not see, desired to hear and yet did not hear; and he was able not only to see and to hear, but even to carry Him in His arms, rear Him, embrace Him, kiss Him, nourish and watch over Him. Not only Joseph, but also Mary was a descendant of the House of David. She would not have been able, in fact, to espouse a man of the House of David, if She had not also been of the House of David. Both of them, therefore, were of the House of David: but in Mary was realised the promise which the Lord made to David, and Joseph was the conscious witness that the promise had been kept (St. Bernard of Clairvaux).

[Liturgy]:

O God, who from the family of your servant David raised up Joseph to be the guardian of your incarnate Son and the spouse of his virgin mother: Give us grace to imitate his uprightness of life and his obedience to your commands; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.  Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)

[Devotion]:

Prayer of Pope Leo XIII

To thee, O blessed Joseph, we have recourse in our affliction, and having implored the help of thy thrice holy Spouse, we now, with hearts filled with confidence, earnestly beg thee also to take us under thy protection. By that charity wherewith thou wert united to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God, and by that fatherly love with which thou didst cherish the Child Jesus, we beseech thee and we humbly pray that thou wilt look down with gracious eye upon that inheritance which Jesus Christ purchased by His blood, and wilt succor us in our need by thy power and strength.

Defend, O most watchful guardian of the Holy Family, the chosen offspring of Jesus Christ. Keep from us, O most loving Father, all blight of error and corruption. Aid us from on high, most valiant defender, in this conflict with the powers of darkness. And even as of old thou didst rescue the Child Jesus from the peril of His life, so now defend God’s Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity. Shield us ever under thy patronage, that, following thine example and strengthened by thy help, we may live a holy life, die a happy death, and attain to everlasting bliss in Heaven. Amen.

Day 5 (March 14)

Flight and Exile

 [Scripture]:

Now after [the Magi] had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt,  and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.” (Matt. 2:13-15)

(Year B) Joseph shines among all mankind by the most august dignity, since by divine will, he was the guardian of the Son of God and reputed as His father among men. Hence it came about that the Word of God was humbly subject to Joseph, that He obeyed him, and that He rendered to him all those offices that children are bound to render to their parents. From this two-fold dignity flowed the obligation which nature lays upon the head of families, so that Joseph became the guardian, the administrator, and the legal defender of the divine house whose chief he was. And during the whole course of his life he fulfilled those charges and those duties. He set himself to protect with a mighty love and a daily solicitude his spouse and the Divine Infant; regularly by his work he earned what was necessary for the one and the other for nourishment and clothing; he guarded from death the Child threatened by a monarch’s jealousy, and found for Him a refuge; in the miseries of the journey and in the bitternesses of exile he was ever the companion, the assistance, and the upholder of the Virgin and of Jesus (Pope Leo XIII).

[Liturgy]:

God ever near to us, you numbered your Son, together with Mary and Joseph, among the homeless of the earth, and counted them among the countless refugees who have fled from hiding out of fear for their lives.  Shield our families from the dangers to which this world exposes them.  Clothe us with compassion and kindness, with gentleness, patience and mutual forgiveness, so that we in turn may provide others with the shelter of a home where everyone is welcomed.  We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God with us, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.  Amen. (Feast of the Holy Family; Prayers for Sundays and Seasons)

[Devotion]:

Blessed Joseph, husband of Mary,
be with us this day.
You protected and cherished the Virgin;
loving the Child Jesus as your Son,
you rescued Him from the danger of death.
Defend the Church,
the household of God,
purchased by the Blood of Christ.

Guardian of the Holy Family,
be with us in our trials.
May your prayers obtain for us
the strength to flee from error
and wrestle with the powers of corruption
so that in life we may grow in holiness
and in death rejoice in the crown of victory. Amen.

Day 6 (March 15)

Nazareth

[Scripture]:

When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.”  Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.  But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee.  There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean.” (Matt. 2:19-23)

[Tradition]:

(Year B) Fathers of families find in Joseph the best personification of paternal solicitude and vigilance; spouses a perfect example of love, of peace, and of conjugal fidelity; virgins at the same time find in him the model and protector of virginal integrity. The noble of birth will learn of Joseph how to guard their dignity even in misfortune; the rich will understand, by his lessons, what are the goods most to be desired and won at the price of their labour. As to workmen, artisans, and persons of lesser degree, their recourse to Joseph is a special right, and his example is for their particular imitation. For Joseph, of royal blood, united by marriage to the greatest and holiest of women, reputed the father of the Son of God, passed his life in labour, and won by the toil of the artisan the needful support of his family. It is, then, true that the condition of the lowly has nothing shameful in it, and the work of the labourer is not only not dishonouring, but can, if virtue be joined to it, be singularly ennobled. Joseph, content with his slight possessions, bore the trials consequent on a fortune so slender, with greatness of soul, in imitation of his Son, who having put on the form of a slave, being the Lord of life, subjected himself of his own free-will to the spoliation and loss of everything. (Pope Leo XIII)

[Liturgy]:

O God, Creator of all things, who laid down for the human race the law of work, graciously grant that by the example of Saint Joseph and under his patronage we may complete the works you set us to do and attain the rewards you promise. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. (May 1; St. Joseph the Worker)

[Devotion]:

Blessed St. Joseph, patron of all working people, obtain for me the grace to labor in a spirit of penance for the atonement of my many sins. Help me to be conscientious in my work so that I may give as full a measure as I have received. May I labor in a spirit of thankfulness and joy, ever mindful of all the gifts I have received from God that enable me to perform these tasks. Permit me to work in peace, patience, and moderation, keeping in mind the account I must one day give of time lost, talents unused, good omitted, and vanity of success, so fatal to the work of God. Glorious St. Joseph, may my labors be all for Jesus, all through Mary, and all after your holy example in life and in death. Amen.

Day 7 (March 16)

Finding

 [Scripture]:

Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival.  When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him.  After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them.  Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor. (Luke 2:41-52)

[Tradition]:

(Year B) The reply of Jesus in the Temple brought once again to the mind of his “presumed father” what he had heard on that night twelve years earlier: “Joseph...do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” From that time onwards he knew that he was a guardian of the mystery of God, and it was precisely this mystery that the twelve- year-old Jesus brought to mind: “I must be in my Father’s house.”  The words which Mary spoke to the twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple take on their full significance: “Your father and I...have been looking for you.” This is no conventional phrase: Mary’s words to Jesus show the complete reality of the Incarnation present in the mystery of the Family of Nazareth. From the beginning, Joseph accepted with the “obedience of faith” his human fatherhood over Jesus. And thus, following the light of the Holy Spirit who gives himself to human beings through faith, he certainly came to discover ever more fully the indescribable gift that was his human fatherhood (Pope St. John Paul II). 

[Liturgy]:

O God, ever faithful to your covenant, you strengthened Saint Joseph to embrace the mystery of your will and to welcome your Word, made flesh of the Virgin Mary. Keep your Church also steadfast in faith, ready to trust in your promises and eager to fulfill your saving purpose.  We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.  Amen. (March 19; Sunday Celebration of the Word and Hours)

[Devotion]:

O GREAT ST. JOSEPH, whose influence over the Hearts of
Jesus and Mary is all powerful and who hast never been invoked
in vain, I ask, with the most firm and lively confidence, the
speedy granting of my request.

Dear St. Joseph, obtain for me the object of my prayer if it be
for the glory of God and my own salvation; but if it is not, then
obtain for mw the grace lovingly to resign myself to the Will of my
Heavenly Father, who in the afflictions He permits, as well as the
temporal favors He grants me, has in view only my happiness
here and my eternal salvation. Amen.

Day 8 (March 17)

Nurture

[Scripture]:

Jesus came to his hometown and began to teach the people in their synagogue, so that they were astounded and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these deeds of power? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? (Matt. 13:54-56)

[Tradition]:

(Year B) Why should the “fatherly” love of Joseph not have had an influence upon the “filial” love of Jesus? And vice versa why should the “filial” love of Jesus not have had an influence upon the “fatherly” love of Joseph, thus leading to a further deepening of their unique relationship?Joseph experienced both love of the truth-that pure contemplative love of the divine Truth which radiated from the humanity of Christ-and the demands of love-that equally pure and selfless love required for his vocation to safeguard and develop the humanity of Jesus, which was inseparably linked to his divinity (Pope St. John Paul II).

[Liturgy]:

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always, here and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, Holy Father, almighty and eternal God.  In your providence you chose Saint Joseph to be the guardian of your incarnate Son, to bring him up with a father’s love and to be for your people a saving example, a model and industrious craftsman.  Though born of David’s royal line he earned his bread in the sweat of his brow, gracing his labors with holiness in the company of Jesus and  Mary. To his trade he gave such nobility of spirit that your only Son our Lord was not ashamed to be called the Carpenter’s son.  (Preface of St. Joseph the Worker; Ambrosian rite)

[Devotion]:

INVOCATIONS TO ST. JOSEPH  (Jean-Jacques Olier)

Hail Joseph, image of God the Father.
Hail Joseph, father of God the Son.
Hail Joseph, temple of the Holy Ghost.
Hail Joseph, beloved of the Holy Trinity.
Hail Joseph, most faithful helper in the great plan of Redemption.
Hail Joseph, most worthy spouse of the Virgin Mother.
Hail Joseph, father of all the faithful.
Hail Joseph, guardian of holy virgins.
Hail Joseph, greatest lover of poverty.
Hail Joseph, example of meekness and patience.
Hail Joseph, mirror of humility and obedience.
Blessed art thou among all men.
And blessed are thine eyes, which have seen what thou hast seen.
And blessed are thine ears, which have heard what thou hast heard.
And blessed are thy hands, which have touched the Word Incarnate.
And blessed are thine arms, which have carried the One Who carries all things.
And blessed is thy breast, on which the Son of God most sweetly reposed.
And blessed is thy heart, kindled with most ardent love.
And blessed be the Eternal Father, Who chose thee.
And blessed be the Son, Who loved thee.
And blessed be the Holy Ghost, Who sanctified thee.
And blessed be Mary, thy spouse, who loved thee as a spouse and a brother.
And blessed be the Angel who guarded thee.
And blessed be forever all who bless thee and who love thee.

Day 9 (March 18)

Death

[Scripture]:

All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them. By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, of whom he had been told, “It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you.” He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead--and figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. By faith Isaac invoked blessings for the future on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, “bowing in worship over the top of his staff.” By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his burial. (Heb. 11:13-22)

[Tradition]:

(Year B) Since we all must die, we should cherish a special devotion to St. Joseph, that he may obtain for us a happy death. All Christians regard him as the advocate of the dying who had honored him during their life, and they do so for three reasons: First, because Jesus Christ loved him not only as a friend, but as a father, and on this account his mediation is far more efficacious than that of any other Saint. Second, because St. Joseph has obtained special power against the evil spirits, who tempt us with redoubled vigor at the hour of death. Third, the assistance given St. Joseph at his death by Jesus and Mary obtained for him the right to secure a holy and peaceful death for his servants. Hence, if they invoke him at the hour of death he will not only help them, but he will also obtain for them the assistance of Jesus and Mary (St. Alphonsus Liguori).

[Liturgy]:

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, and on the commemoration of Saint Joseph to give you fitting praise, to glorify you and bless you. For this just man was given by you as spouse to the Virgin Mother of God and set as a wise and faithful servant in charge of your household to watch like a father over your Only Begotten Son, who was conceived by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, our Lord Jesus Christ. (Preface of St. Joseph; Roman Missal)

[Devotion]:

O holy St. Joseph,
who died in the arms of the Son of God
and in the presence of his holy Mother,
I beseech you at my last hour
to stand by me, with your immaculate Spouse,
that assisted by both your prayers,
I may repent of my sins,
and breathe my last breath
in an act of perfect love and confidence in my Saviour,
repeating his blessed Name, exalted above every name,
and proclaiming joyfully
“Lord, into your hands, I commend my spirit.” Amen.