St. Joseph, Our Spiritual Father presented by Fr. Michael Johnson Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Joseph in the Bible
Matthew 1:16-24 – betrothed to Mary, “righteous man”, “Son of David”
Matthew 2:13-19 – angel in dream, “take the child and his mother”
Matthew 13:55 – Jesus is “carpenter’s son”
Luke 1:27
Luke 2 – birth of Jesus, circumcision, presentation, obedience
Luke 3:23-24
Luke 4:22/John 1:45/John 6:42 – Jesus is “son of Joseph”
Joseph the Man
Two fathers mentioned – Heli (Luke) and Jacob (Mattthew)
Aware of and proud of family history
Educated at synagogue and apprentice at 12
Laborer
“Just man” – union of virtues
Old or young?
Fulton Sheen (The World’s First Love: Mary, Mother of God)
St. Josemaria Escriva
Mother Angelica
Flowering branch/lily
Betrothal
Example of marriage
Holy Family is “Church in miniature”
Silence – primacy of interior life
Joseph the Saint
Pope Pius IX named him Patron of the Universal Church – December 8, 1870
Patron of domestic Church St. Joseph, Our Spiritual Father presented by Fr. Michael Johnson Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Linked with patriarch Joseph
Example for all peoples to follow
Fathers – paternal solicitude and vigilance
Spouses – perfect example of love, peace, conjugal fidelity
Virgins – model and protector of virginal integrity
Laborers – no shame in labor, ennobled if done with virtue
Devotions
Consecration/Litany
Votive Masses – Wednesdays
March – St. Joseph’s Altar
Souls in purgatory
Sources:
Formed.org
Pope Leo XIII: Quamquam pluries, August 15, 1889
Pope John Paul II, Redemptoris custos, August 15, 1989
Fr. Donald H. Calloway, MIC, Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father,
2019.
Fr. Michel Gasnier, Joseph the Silent, 1960 (2017)
PRAYERS FOR A HAPPY DEATH
O Glorious St. Joseph, behold I choose thee today for my special patron in life and at the hour of my death. Preserve and increase in me the spirit of prayer and fervor in the service of God.
Remove far from me every kind of sin; obtain for me that my death may not come upon me unawares, but that I may have time to confess my sins sacramentally and to bewail them with a most perfect understanding and a most sincere and perfect contrition, in order that I may breathe forth my soul into the hands of Jesus and Mary. Amen. St. Joseph, Our Spiritual Father presented by Fr. Michael Johnson Wednesday, March 17, 2021
O Blessed Joseph, who yielded up thy last breath in the arms of Jesus and Mary, obtain for me this grace, O holy Joseph, that I may breathe forth my soul in praise, saying in spirit, if I am unable to do so in words: “Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give Thee my heart and my soul.” Amen.
St. Joseph, Our Spiritual Father presented by Fr. Michael Johnson Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Litany of St. Joseph
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
God our Father in heaven, have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us. God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us. Saint Joseph, pray for us. Noble son of the House of David, pray for us. Light of patriarchs, pray for us. Spouse of the Mother of God, pray for us. Guardian of the Virgin, pray for us. Foster father of the Son of God, pray for us. Zealous Defender of Christ, pray for us. Head of the Holy Family, pray for us.
Joseph, most chaste and just, pray for us. Joseph, most prudent and brave, pray for us. Joseph, most obedient and loyal, pray for us.
Mirror of patience, pray for us. Lover of poverty, pray for us. Model of workers, pray for us. Example to parents, pray for us. Guardian of virgins, pray for us. Pillar of families, pray for us. Comfort of the troubled, pray for us. Hope of the sick, pray for us. Patron of the dying, pray for us. Terror of demons, pray for us. Protector of the Holy Church, pray for us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
He has made him master of his household, And prince over all his possessions.
Let us pray. O God, who in your loving providence chose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of your most holy Mother, grant us the favor of having him for our intercessor in heaven whom on earth we venerate as our protector. You, who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.