Prayers to Saint Joseph

Joseph, Guardian of the Pure in Heart

Gentle Joseph, God is captivated by the quality of your soul.
Your entire being is focused on doing his will.
With Mary and Jesus, you answer the Holy Spirit’s call
to lay new foundations for a better world.

With one heart, we join you in saying: “Here we are, Lord,
may your will be done!
May your kingdom come nearer to us!”

Keep the hope of a new world alive in our mind.
Inspire us to speak sensitively to awaken love in hearts.

May we draw the energy for our actions
from the source of all love,
so that our faces may radiate
the freedom of the children of God.

Amen.

Joseph, Model of  Workers

Good Saint Joseph, when God wanted a family for his Son,
he looked among workers, and chose you along with Mary,
demonstrating God’s esteem for human work.

You put your heart into your work,
and you taught Jesus a livelihood.
Your vocation, along with that of others,
found new meaning with God’s inspiration.

Sustain in us the hope of finding jobs
when we are confronted
with the desolation of unemployment.
Counsel business leaders
to create an equitable division of labour
that is respectful of individual needs
and promotes human growth and happiness.

Help us to perform our work readily,
conscientiously, fairly and honestly.
Prepare our hearts to recognize your Son
in our colleagues at work.

Amen.

Joseph, Hope of the Sick

Benevolent Joseph, the Son of God was willing
to place his life in your hands.
With Mary, you cared for Him who is the force of life.
May your compassion enfold our fragility,
bringing us the comfort of the divine presence.
We join with you in prayer, crying out:
“Lord Jesus, Son of the Living God, speak a word of healing!”

Make us sensitive to the illness of those close to us,
especially the invisible torment of mental illness.
Support our efforts and grant us perseverance
in the fight against all disease.

Help us to find meaning in God’s great project for humanity,
beyond the fog created by sickness and suffering
that clouds our inner vision.
The love of God be with us,
since our hope lies with Him!

Amen.

Joseph, Protector of the Church

Caring Joseph, collaborator in God’s project for humanity,
your tenderness enfolds the newborn Church
as you enfolded your newborn son.
Just as Mary and Jesus recognize in you the protection of the Father,
so too does the community of faith place itself under your protection.
Strengthen us with the spirit that imbued the Nazarene home.

Guide our progress on the passage toward the kingdom.
Accompany us in carrying out our mission.
Help us to be lights in the world
so that the family of God
may spring forth from humanity transfigured in Christ.

Grant us the patience
to imitate God’s preference for the poor and weak.
Guide us in our pastoral activities
that our actions may be modeled on the Good News.

Amen.

Joseph, our Consolation in Suffering

Brave Joseph, one with us in our human condition,
with Mary and Jesus you were forced to become refugees,
experiencing mistrust, hunger and hostility.
You did not retaliate; you chose the way of mercy.

Your restraint broke the circle of violence.
Because of your uprightness, God’s hope in humanity continues.
Gladness is yours, for the Kingdom of God is your inheritance.

Sustain us in cultivating inner peace, joy and serenity.
Make our hands benevolent in times of war, famine and exile.
Keep us from developing a victim’s mentality,
and turn our pain into a source of growth.

In your wisdom, lead us to close all doors to bitterness,
so that, under God’s watch, we may know God’s joy.

Amen.

Joseph, Mainstay of Families

Attentive Joseph, in Mary and you,
the Word finds a nurturing environment;
thus, you form a family to receive God’s Son.

In your amiable life together,
you experience Love daily.
The unity of your hearts transforms life’s harsh lessons
into growing wisdom and grace.

Open ourselves to the Word that lives within us,
that our actions may bear witness
to our own connection to the family of God.

Sustain us in our emotional commitments,
where giving and forgiving shape our identities.
Grant us your gentleness in the things we do each day!

Amen.

Joseph, Patron Saint of the Dying

Faithful Joseph, in fulfillment of the Lord’s promise,
you peacefully leave this world in Jesus’ and Mary’s arms.
Your faith transforms death into the sowing of life.

Your heart overflows in the presence of the Lord:
hands outstretched to God, your night is filled with prayer.
Surrounded by the living,
you embark upon the great march to the Promised Land.

Open our eyes that we may glimpse the road to life
that lies beyond death.
May nothing, neither denial, anger, nor depression,
separate us from the love of God.

Strengthen our faith in God
who always finds ways of keeping us in his friendship.
Be beside us to hold our hand
when we take our first hesitant steps towards the eternal kingdom.

Amen.

Joseph, Terror of Demons

Courageous Joseph, advised by an angel,
you confront your fears of the unknown.
Your light shines brightly, penetrating the dark corners of your being.
Your fears dispersed, you rediscover your true face,
and actively participate in the divine project.
Once you helped reunite a Mother with her Child;
just so reunite a people with their God.
Together with Mary and Jesus, you dwell in the heart of God.

Help us to rediscover the solid core of our identities,
beyond all internal fears.

Counsel us so we may build a better world
to welcome the coming kingdom.

Shed your light on our inner lives,
that, freed from the grip of our anxiety,
our decisions may be founded in Love.

May the face of God shine on us!

Amen.