Month of March
Dedicated to
St. Joseph
We can easily imagine that the foster-father of the
Infant Jesus must have been a great man in the eyes of God. His duties were
very important; they called for such a self-sacrificing character. We wish to
imitate his virtues this month; we wish to praise almighty God for all the
distinctions which He has showered upon St. Joseph; we want to belong to St.
Joseph, to be associated with him in heaven, and even now while we are still on
earth, for prayer associates us here with those whom we address above. The
saints hear our prayers by God's favor, and they reply at once. We need many
things, and so we are going to pray to St. Joseph, especially during this
month, for whatever we want. Go confidently and make out a list of your
necessities, write them down, and look over them occasionally to see whether
your petitions have been granted.
St. Joseph is all-powerful before God; whatever we
ask of him we are sure to obtain; this has been the experience of many good
Christians; it will also be your experience if you sincerely try it.
St. Joseph sanctified labor, poverty, and
privations, by bearing them with patience, humility, and resignation to the
will of God. We have many trials in life to endure, we have need of these
virtues; let us look to it that we acquire them for our own spiritual comfort.
Let us bear with patience all these trials; patience makes things bearable, for
without this virtue we would sink in despair.
The feast of St. Joseph is celebrated on the
nineteenth of March, and for this reason the month of March is dedicated to
honor, venerate, and pray to this great friend of God. The Church has in
various ways encouraged this devotion. Her devout children have taken it up, so
that we find the month of March as much dedicated to St. Joseph as the month of
May to the Blessed Virgin. Catholics hold St. Joseph in high veneration, and
deservedly so, as we will see in the following meditations on his life. They
have great confidence in his power before God, they know that he is a great
saint, and a great favorite with the Almighty. Many examples of virtue has this
loved saint given to us: his love of poverty, his assiduous labors, his
resignation to the will of God in the most trying circumstances, are practical
virtues, which we may endeavor to acquire for our own spiritual as well as
temporal welfare. The affairs of human life are such, that we often find
ourselves having to sustain hard trials, in which we need precisely those same
virtues which made him a great saint.
Let us then enter upon this month with great joy,
and continue to honor this saint, that we may love him, and become particularly
devoted to him. Let us pray especially for our eternal salvation, in which he
is greatly interested being the patron of a happy death, and then we will be
sharers, after this life, in the same glory which he enjoys in heaven.
First Day
After the adoration of the Lord, and the veneration
of the Blessed Virgin, next in order of importance comes the devotion to St.
Joseph. Among all the saints of God in heaven, there is none more powerful,
none has more claim on our confidence and love. Almighty God encourages us to
look up to St. Joseph, for to him were entrusted the greatest treasures that
the world ever saw, Jesus and Mary. Our Lord from the first moment recognized
St. Joseph as the one who took the place of His heavenly Father, and He obeyed
him in all things. Mary respected this saintly man as the head of the family,
as her spouse whom God had sent to her for her protection. She, before whom the
angels bowed in respect, willingly served St. Joseph in the necessities of this
life. The Church of God, the custodian of truth, revelation, and tradition, has
encouraged this devotion by many indulgences. St. Francis de Sales said to his
confessor on the eve of his death: “Do you not know, venerable father, that I
belong to St. Joseph?” St. Teresa called him her father and master.
Prayer
Holy St. Joseph, spouse of Mary, be mindful of me,
pray for me, watch over me. Guardian of the paradise of the new Adam, provide
for my temporal wants. Faithful guardian of the most precious of all treasures,
I beseech thee to bring this matter to a happy end, if it be for the glory of
God and the good of my soul. Amen.
Litany of St. Joseph
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Jesus hear us.
Jesus, graciously hear us.
God the Father of heaven, Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on
us.
God the Holy Ghost, Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, Have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, spouse of St. Joseph, Pray for us.
St. Joseph, confirmed in grace, Pray for us.
St. Joseph, guardian of the Word Incarnate, Pray
for us.
St. Joseph, favorite of the King of heaven, Pray
for us.
St. Joseph, ruler of the family of Jesus, Pray for
us.
St. Joseph, spouse of the ever-blessed Virgin, Pray
for us.
St. Joseph, nursing-father to the Son of God, Pray
for us.
St. Joseph, example of humility and obedience, Pray
for us.
St. Joseph, mirror of silence and resignation, Pray
for us.
St. Joseph, patron of innocence and youth, Pray for
us.
St. Joseph, exiled with Christ in Egypt, Pray for
us.
St. Joseph, intercessor for the afflicted, Pray for
us.
St. Joseph, advocate for the humble, Pray for us.
St. Joseph, model of every virtue, Pray for us.
St. Joseph, honored among men, Pray for us.
St. Joseph, union of all Christian perfection, Pray
for us.
St. Joseph, patron of the dying, Pray for us.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord!
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord!
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us, O Lord!
V. Pray for us, O holy St.
Joseph.
R. That we may be made worthy
of the promises of Christ.
Let Us Pray
Grant, O Lord, we beseech Thee, by the merits of
the spouse of Thy most holy Mother, that what our unworthiness cannot obtain
may be given us by his intercession with Thee, Who livest and reignest with God
the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.
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