PRAYERS TO ST. JOSEPH
FOR RESIGNATION TO GOD'S WILL
Great Saint Joseph, to whose will the Savior subjected Himself, obtain for me the grace to subject myself in all things to the Will of God. Through the merits you obtained when in the darkness of night you obeyed the commands of the angel without any objection, obtain for me, that nothing may detain me from fulfilling the Will of God with complete resignation. In the stable and in the flight to Egypt, you recommended yourself and those dearest to you to Divine Providence; thus grant to me also the grace to resign myself to the Will of God in discouragement and despondence, in health and in sickness, in happiness and in misfortune. Obtain for me the grace that nothing may disturb my tranquility of soul with which I hope obediently to go the way of Divine Providence. Amen.
FOR THE SANCTIFICATION OF OUR LABOR
Glorious Saint Joseph, model of all who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work in the spirit of penance for the expiation of my many sins and to work faithfully by placing the love of duty above my own desires. Help me to work with gratitude and joy. Let me consider it an honor to use and develop by labor the gifts received from God. Aid me to work with order, peace, moderation and patience, without ever avoiding weariness and trials. Help me to work, above all, for the glory of God and not for any selfish reason; and always to keep before my eyes not only death but also the account I must give of time lost, of talents wasted, of good omitted, and of pride in success, so baneful to the work of God. All for Jesus, all through Mary, all after your example, O Patriarch Joseph! This will be my motto in life and in death. Amen. (St. Pius X)
FOR THE CONVERSION OF A SINNER
Joseph most just, I earnestly commend to you the salvation of a soul dear to me and redeemed by Jesus through the shedding of His Blood. Great Saint, you know how unhappy are those who have banished the Savior from their heart, and how direly exposed these sinners are to eternal loss. I beg of you therefore to beckon this wayward soul away from the path of perdition. Enlighten this sinner, speak a forceful language to his heart; call back this prodigal son to his father's embrace. Do not desist from your urgings till finally you have opened for him the gates of heaven, where he shall bless you everlastingly for the bliss to which you will have led him. Amen.
FOR A HAPPY DEATH
Glorious Saint Joseph, whom I contemplate dying between Jesus and Mary, obtain for me, as well as for all those who are dear to me, the grace of leading a life like yours so that we may die, like you, the death of the just, assisted in our last struggle by our divine Saviour and His holy Mother. Saint Joseph, holy patron of a good death, I implore you to help me at the moment when Jesus, my Judge, will call me to appear in His presence. When my eyes shall be ready to close to the light of the world, when my tongue shall be able only with difficulty to repeat the names of Jesus and Mary, come to me. Come to present my soul to God, Who wished to be as a son to you, and obtain that the sentence He will pronounce over me may make me a partaker of the glory you enjoy in heaven. Amen.
IN FINANCIAL STRAITS
Admirable Saint Joseph, by that poverty in which you always lived in spite of your royal birth, praising and thanking God with all your heart for being found worthy to suffer much for Him, and working patiently to obtain a livelihood for Jesus and Mary, I humbly beg the assistance of your prayers that I may be delivered from the straits to which I am reduced; or, if that is not for my salvation, obtain for me the grace to suffer this poverty in patience. Amen.
IN AFFLICTION
Great Saint Joseph, I approach you to ask heavenly consolation, strength and fortitude, to carry the tribulations which God has sent me. In the company of the Divine Child and His Mother the Queen of Martyrs, you have learned to have compassion on the afflicted. Their heart taught you to be compassionate and be moved by the sight of suffering. Therefore I come to pour out my afflicted heart into your compassionate heart. It is true, I should have received a greater trial for all my sins, a much greater punishment from God, but my weakness is too great and my virtue too weak for me to bear without your help and assistance even the burden of this affliction. O kind Saint Joseph, I beg of you to obtain for me from Jesus, help in my sufferings, especially the virtue of patience and resignation to the Will of God. Teach me to deplore my sins and atone for them through the sufferings sent to me by God and eventually to obtain the consolations and joys of the eternal mansions. Amen.
IN SICKNESS
Merciful Saint Joseph, the omnipotence of Jesus is in your hands. Nothing is impossible to you. You have but a word to say and our beloved invalid will be cured. O comforter of those who invoke you with confidence, do not reject our plea. The sick have a special right to your tender compassion. Alleviate, we beseech you, the pains of the one we recommend to you. Obtain for him the grace to sanctify his sufferings through patience and total submission to God's holy Will. But moreover, crown your benefactions by granting him a cure, along with the grace of leading a saintly life wholly pleasing to God. O beloved Saint Joseph, let not our prayers rise in vain, but deign, by this additional favor, increase our confidence in you and our gratitude towards Divine Goodness. Amen.
A MOTHER'S PRAYER FOR HER CHILDREN
O glorious Saint Joseph, to you God committed the care of His only begotten Son in the many dangers of this world. Behold I approach you and beg you to take the children God has given me under your special protection. Through holy Baptism they became children of God and of His holy Church. I consecrate them to you today that through this consecration they may become your foster-children. Guard them, guide their steps in life, form their hearts after the Heart of Jesus and Mary. Saint Joseph, who experienced the tribulations and uneasiness of a father and mother when the Child Jesus was lost, have pity on me and accept my offering and protect my dear children for time and eternity. May you be their father and counsellor. Let them, like Jesus, grow in age as well as in prudence and grace before God and men. Preserve them from corruption and seduction in the world and give me the grace one day to be united with them in heaven. Amen.