Tag: St Joseph

Adding the name of St Joseph to the Eucharistic Prayer

St Joseph with child.jpg

The Prefect and Secretary of Congregation for Divine Worship have prepared a decree, Paternas vices (Prot. N. 215/11/L), indicating that in praying Eucharistic prayers II-IV, the priest is to insert the name of Saint Joseph. The decree states: “henceforth” and “… by virtue of the faculties granted by the Supreme Pontiff FRANCIS, is pleased to decree that the name of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary is henceforth to be added to Eucharistic Prayers II, III, IV….”

Blessed John XXIII added the name of Saint Joseph to the Roman Canon in 1962.

At this point, no effective date has been determined for usage (See CIC 8). However, the cover letter from the USCCB General Secretary mentions that it is to be done “as soon as possible.” There is, however, a significant question as to when the priest can legitimately make the change in the Eucharistic Prayer.

The Latin:

II: “ut cum beáta Dei Genetríce Vírgine María, beáto Ioseph, eius Sponso, beátis Apóstolis”
III: “cum beatissíma Vírgine, Dei Genetríce, María, cum beáto Ioseph, eius Sponso, cum beátis Apóstolis”
IV: “cum beáta Vírgine, Dei Genetríce, María, cum beáto Ioseph, eius Sponso, cum Apóstolis”

The English:

II: that with the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with Blessed Joseph, her Spouse, with the blessed Apostles

III: with the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with blessed Joseph, her Spouse, with your blessed Apostles and glorious Martyrs

IV: with the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God with blessed Joseph, her Spouse, and with your Apostles

The Spanish:

II: con María, la Virgen Madre de Dios, su esposo san José, los apóstoles y…

III: con María, la Virgen Madre de Dios, su esposo san José, los apóstoles y los mártires…

IV: con María, la Vigen Madre de Dios, con su esposo san José, con los apóstoles y los santos…

Ite ad Ioseph

 

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Saint Joseph, Husband of Mary

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O Glorious Patriarch Saint Joseph, protector of the Holy Family and its consoler in adversity, I recommend to your pastoral care the Universal Church, and in a more especial manner the sons and daughters of Saint Benedict.

Obtain for the spiritual family of Saint Benedict his virtues of obedience, humility and self-denial. Infuse into their hearts his spirit of prayer and of holy joy, his love of solitude and of labor, his zeal for the salvation of souls, his tender and childlike devotion to the Queen of the Rosary.

Obtain for them O Great Saint Joseph, the gift above all gifts, a true knowledge and love of Jesus Christ, so that like you they may merit the happiness of bearing him in their arms by their labors for his glory. Obtain for them the grace to resign in their hearts unreservedly to his keeping, and to strive earnestly and prudently to make him known to the world as its merciful and loving Savior.

On the feast of Saint Joseph there’s a horizon of hope, horizon of God, Petrine ministry of Francis inaugurated

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HOMILY OF POPE FRANCIS

INAUGURATION OF THE
PETRINE MINISTRY

ST PETER’S SQUARE
19 March 2013


Dear Brothers and Sisters, I thank the Lord that I can celebrate this Holy Mass for the inauguration of my Petrine ministry on the solemnity of Saint Joseph, the spouse of the Virgin Mary and the patron of the universal Church. It is a significant coincidence, and it is also the name-day of my venerable predecessor: we are close to him with our prayers, full of affection and gratitude.

I offer a warm greeting to my brother cardinals and bishops, the priests, deacons, men and women religious, and all the lay faithful. I thank the representatives of the other Churches and ecclesial Communities, as well as the representatives of the Jewish community and the other religious communities, for their presence. My cordial greetings go to the Heads of State and Government, the members of the official Delegations from many countries throughout the world, and the Diplomatic Corps.

In the Gospel we heard that “Joseph did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took Mary as his wife” (Mt 1:24). These words already point to the mission which God entrusts to Joseph: he is to be the custos, the protector. The protector of whom? Of Mary and Jesus; but this protection is then extended to the Church, as Blessed John Paul II pointed out: “Just as Saint Joseph took loving care of Mary and gladly dedicated himself to Jesus Christ’s upbringing, he likewise watches over and protects Christ’s Mystical Body, the Church, of which the Virgin Mary is the exemplar and model” (Redemptoris Custos, 1).

Continue reading On the feast of Saint Joseph there’s a horizon of hope, horizon of God, Petrine ministry of Francis inaugurated

Saint Joseph the Work: the model of holiness through working

St Jospeh working.jpeg

Work is often treated as a four letter word; something to be avoided. Understanding what the value of work is today is rather complex due to the ideology we’ve been subjected to since at least the 19th century as a result of industrialism, Communism and Socialism. 


One of the many beautiful things John Paul II wrote about is the human person and how the person is meant to thrive, not just exist. His ideas about what and who the person is understood in what he taught about subjectivity, meaning that there is “the ground on which the dynamic relation, or rather inter-relation, between the person and the action is actualized. The failure to recognize man´s subjectivity would deprive us of the level on which can be grasped all the aspects of this interrelation.”

Continue reading Saint Joseph the Work: the model of holiness through working

Saint Joseph, our model


St Joseph & Infant JA Escalante.jpgToday is a Solemnity in the Church with the feast of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
 
The Church prays:
 
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.
 
A magnificent prayer to pay attention to during lectio.
 
“Today is the day to celebrate fatherhood. To be a father is not an easy challenge – there are many difficulties that go with it. We can look to St. Joseph, who quietly – as I would say, one of the ‘silent fathers’ – handled whatever needed to be handled…it is important [that fathers] pray for discernment, to pray for patience, to pray for these qualities, which can make one a good father.”
 
Fr. Moses Hamungole
Head of Vatican Radio’s
English for Africa service
 
Several people and organizations to pray for today: my father, Edward Joseph, Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph), Brother Joseph at Portsmouth Abbey, the Cistercian abbey of Saint Joseph (Spencer, MA), the Archdiocese of Hartford (the Cathedral of Saint Joseph), the Dominican Province of Saint Joseph, and several other friends named Joseph. Let’s not also forget the Universal Church is under St Joseph, whose patronage she is.

In Saint Joseph we look to the future with confidence & courage, total trust in God’s mercy, Pope says

St Joseph & Jesus.jpgIn the Season of Advent there are so many people to emulate: Jesus, Mary, the martyrs, various other saints, and Joseph in particular. Saint Joseph factors into Catholicism so much that one can reasonably ask, Can any good Catholic not pay attention to Saint Joseph? Obviously not. I took as my oblation name with the Benedictine oblates “Meinrad-Joseph” primarily because of the virtues of Saint Meinrad and for the devotion shown by Joseph for Jesus; in taking the name Meinrad-Joseph I honor my father, Edward Joseph.

The Pope spoke on Sunday at the Angelus on the great foster father of Jesus and the patron saint against doubt, cabinetmakers, Canada, carpenters, China, confectioners, craftsmen, dying people, engineers, families, fathers, happy death, holy death, house hunters, Korea, laborers, Mexico, New France, people in doubt, Peru, pioneers, protector of the Church, social justice, travelers, Universal Church, Vatican II, Viet Nam, workers, working people. AND now the Pope adds pastors to this list under Saint Joseph’s care.

At Sunday’s Angelus Pope Benedict XVI had this to say about Saint Joseph:

On this fourth Sunday of Advent the Gospel of St. Matthew tells us how the birth of Jesus came about, taking the perspective of St. Joseph. He was the betrothed of Mary, who, “before they lived together, was found to be with child by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18). The Son of God, realizing an ancient prophecy (cf. Isaiah 7:14), became man in the womb of a virgin, and such a mystery simultaneously manifests the love, wisdom and power of God on behalf of humanity wounded by sin. St. Joseph is presented as a “just man” (Matthew 1:19), faithful to God’s law, ready to do his will. On account of this he enters into the mystery of the Incarnation after an angel of the Lord appears to him in a dream and tells him: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife with you. In fact the child that has been conceived in her comes from the Holy Spirit; she will give birth to a son and you will call him Jesus: he in fact will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21). Forgetting the thought of repudiating Mary in secret, he takes her in because his eyes now see the work of God in her.

St. Ambrose comments that “in Joseph there was amiability and the figure of a just man to make the quality of his witness more worthy” (Exp. Ev. sec. Lucam II, 5: CCL 14,32-33). “He,” Ambrose continues, “could not have contaminated the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Mother of the Lord, the fruitful womb of the mystery” (ibid. II, 6: CCL 14, 33). Although he had been concerned, Joseph “did as the angel of the Lord ordered him,” certain of doing the right thing. Also giving the name “Jesus” to that child who rules the entire universe, he enters into the ranks of the faithful and humble servants, like the angels and prophets, like the martyrs and the apostles — in the words of ancient eastern hymns. St. Joseph proclaims the wonders of the Lord, witnessing Mary’s virginity, the gratuitous deed of God, and caring for the earthly life of the Messiah. So, we venerate the legal father of Jesus (Code of Canon Law, 532), because the new man takes form in him, who looks to the future with confidence and courage, does not follow his own project, but entrusts himself totally to the infinite mercy of him who fulfills the prophecies and inaugurates the season of salvation.

Dear friends, to St. Joseph, universal patron of the Church, I would like to entrust all pastors, exhorting them to offer “to faithful Christians and the whole world the humble and daily proposal of the words of Christ” (Letter Proclaiming the Year for Priests). May our life be evermore conformed to the person of Jesus, precisely because “the one who is himself the Word takes on a body, he comes from God as a man and draws the whole of man’s being to himself, bearing it into the Word of God” (Jesus of Nazareth, San Francisco, 2008, 334). Let us invoke the Virgin Mary with confidence, the one who is full of grace, “adorned by God,” so that at Christmas, which is already near, our eyes may open and see Jesus, and the heart rejoice in this wondrous encounter of love.

Saint Joseph the Worker

Holy Family at Table JMosaert.jpgGod, creator of the world, placed man upon the earth to till it and to keep it, alleluia.

O God, the creator of all things, Who imposed on man the law of work; grant in Thy goodness that, by the example of Saint Joseph and under his patronage, we may accomplish the work that Thou commands us to do and attain the reward  that Thou has promised us.
Saint Joseph, patron of workers, pray for us.

To you, O blessed Joseph (Ad te, beate Ioseph)

Thumbnail image for San Jose El Greco.jpgTo you, O Blessed Joseph, we have recourse in our affliction, and having implored the help of your most holy Spouse, we seek with confidence thy patronage also. By that affection wherewith you were united to the Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God; by the fatherly love with which you did embrace the Child Jesus, we humbly beseech you to look down with gracious eye upon that inheritance which Jesus Christ purchased for us by His Blood, and to help us in our need by your powerful intercession.


Defend, O you 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, O you our most valiant defender, in this conflict with the powers of darkness. And even as of old you did 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, so that imitating thy example and strengthened by your help, we may live a holy life, die a happy death, and attain to everlasting bliss in heaven. Amen.

A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who invoke Saint Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with a duly approved prayer (e.g., Ad te, beate Ioseph).

Novena to Saint Joseph

March 19 is the solemnity of the Saint Joseph, husband of Blessed Virgin Mary. Time has gotten away from me and I am only now able to post a set of novena prayers to Saint Joseph. This solemn feast is a special feast and one that should not get away from us because of Saint Joseph’s special care for the Church and personally for each one of us. While the days prior to the feast won’t constitute nine days of prayer, perhaps this year we could begin the novena on the feast itself and next year start on March 10. These prayers were sent to me a kind Canadian reader of the Communio blog.

St Joseph young.jpg

The daily novena prayer Saint Joseph

Remember, most
pure spouse of Mary, ever Virgin, my loving protector, Saint Joseph, that no
one ever had recourse to your protection or asked for your aid without
obtaining relief. Confiding, therefore, in your goodness, I come before you and
humbly implore you. Despise not my petitions, foster-father of the Redeemer,
but graciously receive them. Amen

Day 1

O Saint
Joseph, Pillar of Families! Foster Father of Jesus, protect our families from
the sufferings of separation and divorce. Be a lighthouse for fathers and
father-figures alike, so that they may lead virtuous lives and be good role models
to our children. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be [these three prayers are to be said each day after the novena prayer]

Day 2

O Saint Joseph, Guardian of Virgins! Loving, chaste
spouse of our Blessed Mother, protect the chastity of marriages so that our
children may grow up in strong united families. We also ask you to protect the virginity
of the youth so that they may be spared from unnecessary sufferings, and to
help those living the consecrated life to be ever more faithful to their
vocations. Amen.

Day 3

O Saint Joseph, Patron of the Unborn! Your faith was necessary
to bring about the glory of the incarnation. Teach us all to have unbending confidence
in the promises of Christ. May we submit ourselves wholeheartedly to His will
and trust that His providence will see us through in difficult moments. Amen.

Day 4

O
Saint Joseph, Terror of Demons! Help us defeat our untamed passions, imaginations
and memories. Teach us to listen to the voice of our Father in the silence of
our hearts, and give us the strength to have dominion over our senses. In times
of weakness, may we closely depend on our intellect and will, and most importantly
the graces generously given to us through prayer by our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.

Day 5

O Saint Joseph, Hope of the sick and the dying. Heal us from our bodily ills,
emotional troubles and worldly fears.  Be with us in times of frailty, and
comfort us with hope in eternal life. May our hearts be anchored in Jesus every
day of our lives and may we never be separated from him. Amen.

Day 6

O Saint Joseph,
Patron of the Church! Protect the intentions of our Holy Father Pope Benedict
XVI, our Cardinals, Bishops, priests and all religious who work faithfully to
shepherd the people. Keep them away from temptation, and deliver them from all
unholy and corrupting influences. May our Church remain free from all contagion
of error and be constantly reinvigorated by the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Day 7

O Saint
Joseph, Patron of Workers! Comfort us during the desolation of unemployment,
and bring compassion into our hearts during times of prosperity. Teach us the
right paths and the right words, so that we may be able to meet our temporal
needs. We also ask that you keep our hearts aflame with the Word of God, that
we may always be conscious that our need for daily bread is not restricted to
bread alone, but Jesus in the Eucharist. Amen.

Day 8

O Saint Joseph, Lover of
Poverty! Solace of the wretched! Be our friend in time of suffering, and help
us appreciate the virtues we can harvest through struggle and sacrifice. Keep
us away from the snares of pride and self-importance. Let us remember the
poverty of our Lord so that we can dutifully imitate his life in humility and
obedience. Amen.

Day 9

O Saint Joseph, humble, poor, and obedient servant of the God
the Father! We praise you participation in the glory of the Incarnation, as faster
father of Jesus Christ and most chaste spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Keep
us all close to your heart, and may the faithful works of Blessed Brother André
continue to bring glory to God for years to come. May all those who seek your
intercession and his be met with expedient relief or consolation. Amen.