I heard a voice from heaven saying to me,
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.
O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, grant to the souls of Thy servants and handmaids the remission of all their sins, that through our devout prayers they may obtain the pardon which they have always desired.
Saint Joseph [the carpenter] prayed: In my life, O Lord, is at an end; if the moment has come for me to go forth from this world, send unto me Michael the Prince of thine Angels. May he remain beside me that my poor soul may go out of this suffering body in peace, without pain or fear.
(from an Arabian History of Saint Joseph, before the 4th century)