PAPA NOVENA TO SAINT JOSEPH
DAY 02
OPENING PRAYER
O Saint Joseph dear,
Protector be near.
I devote myself
To your loving care.
Nothing do I have
As worthy a gift
But only myself:
I give you my life,
My eyes and my heart,
My ears and my lips,
My soul and my mind,
All I am and own.
From now on till death,
Take it for yourself.
O Holy Joseph,
You took the Virgin,
Mary and her Son,
the Unborn Jesus,
the Eternal Word,
Savior of the World,
Into your own home.
Take me in as well.
Let me stay and dwell
In your family
As your child and serf
To the Eucharist.
O Most Chaste Joseph,
You did guard, protect
The Sacred pur'ty
For our Blest Lady;
The Holy Silence
For Her Son, Jesus.
Do protect and guard
My soul in silence
My heart in stillness
My mind in meekness
My body in cleanness.
Make me so zealous
Loving inner life
Living pure and chaste
That I only gaze
His Most Holy Face
Your own Son, Jesus.
Dear Father Joseph,
Terror of Demons,
On hearing your name,
They tremble in shame,
Running to escape!
Save me from their traps
All their temptations,
All their wiles and tricks.
Let me not upset
Jesus, your own Son,
Mary, ever bless'd.
Help me to fulfill
The will of the Lord
In humble service.
In meekness, you did.
O Saint Joseph dear,
Protector be near
My hour of death,
Help me breathe my last
Calling out the Name
Jesus Christ, my Lord
My Savior, My God. Amen.
Husband of Fortitude: Humility
“As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. ‘Joseph, son of David,’ the angel said, ‘do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.” – (Matthew 1:20)
Case in point: why did the angel tell Joseph, "not to be afraid" unless he was. But why was he afraid of taking Mary as his wife What price did he have to pay? Was it his dignity as a man or his integrity as a husband?
Mary by virtue of the Biblical betrothal law was already his wife, but Joseph still had to make the decision to be her husband. Taking in Mary and her unborn Baby means sacrifice. All the blame and shame will be placed on his head. A true man can take that in silence. But his fear was not that. He was afraid of not being able to protect the Virgin and her Baby from being hurt by the people and public shame. Still the angel says, "Do not be afraid."
Imagine that. Joseph already made the hard decision to divorce his Virgin wife whom he loved dearly, in silence. It breaks his heart to do so but that was the best option he could imagine. Why the best? He wanted to remove himself from the scene in order to allow the true father of the unborn Baby to take over his place. So the true Father of the Baby did come and claim the child. Come He did. But not out. Instead He came into the life of Joseph in a dream. The true Father literally invaded the inner life Joseph, in his dream.
What changed the mind of Joseph was a dream! It was a dream that made Joseph a true man. That dream made him a husband and a father. Whose husband and whose father? The husband of the Mother of God and the father of the Son of God, the Savior of the cosmos. Imagine that.
It takes tremendous faith, courage and humility to obey what the true Father has to say to you in a dream.
What does that mean to you?
Your reflection.
Stop! Stay still for six seconds. Take a deep breath... say slowly:
JE-SUS....
The Saints on St. Joseph
“We wonder why the Gospel makes so little mention of St. Joseph. But did it not say everything when it taught us that he was the husband of Mary?” ~ Blessed William Joseph Chaminade
“St. Joseph did not do extraordinary things, but rather by the constant practice of ordinary and common virtues, he attained that sanctity which elevates him above all the other saints.”~ St. Joseph Marello
“St. Joseph is the proof that in order to be a good and genuine follower of Jesus Christ, there is no need of great things — it is enough to have the common, simple and human virtues, but they need to be true and authentic.” ~ Pope St. Paul VI
Our Father...
St. Joseph: Husband of Fortitude.
Teach us to be humble (3X)
