O Holy St. Joseph

O Holy Joseph,

     Today on your glorious Feast, I honor you as worker, spouse and father.  I kneel before you in awe of your exceptional tasks, that of Virgin-Father of our Savior, Chaste Spouse of our Blessed Mother, and Protector and Provider for both.  
     Your abundance of grace surpasses that of all angelic hosts.  You are enflamed with love that blazes more brightly and powerfully than that of other human beings, with the exception of Mary.

+          +          +

     Your heart suffered with the hearts of Jesus and Mary.  Yours was a silent suffering, for it was your God-given vocation to shield, as long as God willed, the Mother and Son from the malice and hatred of men.
     Your most painful sorrow was to know beforehand their Passion, while knowing that you would not be there to console them.  Their future suffering was ever-present to you, and became your daily cross.
     In this way, through compassion for the sufferings of Jesus and Mary, you cooperated in the salvation of the world. 
     Thus you make known to us the Trinity's desire to be adored, honored, and loved.

+          +          +

     You bring to us the purity of your life, and the obedient humility that crowned it.
     Through you, my earthly fatherhood, and all human fatherhood, is blessed.  For the Eternal Father chose to represent His perfect Fatherhood through you.  And through you He will continue to do so until the end of time. 
     Your spiritual fatherhood extends to all of God's children. Together with Mary you watch over us with great love and compassion.
     I, as an earthly father, come to you to learn obedience and authority: to God as the Church reveals Him, and to the laws of the land insofar as they do not go against God or neighbor.
     Yours was perfect obedience to the Divine Will, as it was made known to you by the Law and the Prophets.  To be careless in the things of God displeases Him and will be punished in the next world.  
     I will, with God's help, imitate your great purity of life, and your deep respect for your Immaculate Spouse.  May I and all fathers be examples of holiness to our wives, children and fellow men.
     All fatherhood is from God. You show me that fatherhood must once again take its rightful place among men.

+          +          +

     Holy Joseph, your heart is pure, as if flames were pouring from it with a lily in the midst.  Your heart is always near the cross, the cross of the Passion of Jesus.  It is ever before you, and causes you intense suffering.

     You want me and all fathers to come to your heart, so that we may learn true union with God's will.

     God calls all men to honor you in union with Jesus and Mary.

     When we do that, there will be peace on earth, goodwill to men.

+          +          +

     The privilege of being chosen by God to be the father of His Son was yours alone.  No human honor, except the honor that the Lord bestowed on Mary, was ever, or ever will be, as sublime.  

     So I honor you in your unique fatherhood.  May all fatherhood be blessed through you.  

     You were king in your little home in Nazareth, for you sheltered within it the Prince of Peace and the Queen of Heaven.  They looked to you for protection and sustenance, and you did not fail them.  

     You received from them the deepest love and reverence, for in you they saw Him Whose place you took over them.

     May the heads of families be loved and respected, and in return be true fathers and protectors to those under their care.

     In honoring your fatherhood, O Joseph, I honor Jesus and Mary.  

     The Divine Trinity has, in a sense, placed into human keeping the peace of the world.  The imitation of the Holy Family, the imitation of the values you practiced in your home in Nazareth, is the path for all of us to the peace that comes from God alone, a peace that no one else can give.

+          +          +

     O glorious Joseph, it's as if you are standing over the world, praying with eyes raised in ecstasy, with your hands in a position similar to that of a priest during Holy Mass. 

     Though you died young, you have rare maturity combined with great strength.  Your face is strong and purposeful, softened by a deep, gentle serenity.  The Holy Spirit hovers about you.  God gives you a gold crown and a gold scepter, for you are worthy of them. 

+          +          +

     The Church and the Holy Father need have no fear, for you are their protector.  As God chose you to be the guardian of His Son, so God chose you to be the guardian of the mystical Body of Christ, and of its earthly head.   

     You are also the protector of the home, just as you were the protector of Jesus and Mary while on earth.  

     Teach me to love you more, and through you to love my family more.  Do so through my love of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament.  For it was with unsurpassed love that you loved the Savior when you first held him in your arms, and all the time you were with Him and Mary your whole life.

+          +          +

     O holy Joseph, give all of us peace with your presence at our deaths, and conduct us safely into the presence of Jesus and Mary.  

     Until then, give us more of your wisdom, strength, patience and humility, which are so pleasing to God.

     I pray in Jesus' name.  Amen.