Joseph's Dream, Armenian Manuscript, 13th Century
PRAYER & LITURGY
In celebration of the 150th anniversary of Pope Pius IX’s declaration of St. Joseph as the Patron of the Universal Church, Pope Francis proclaimed a special Year of St. Joseph, starting on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, December 8, 2020 through December 8, 2021.
The Holy Father has had a great devotion to St. Joseph for much of his life. He was elected on March 13, 2013 and chose the Feast of St. Joseph, six days later, for the date of his installation as Pope. He has shared the fact that he keeps a statue of the sleeping Joseph in his room and for years has daily said this 19th Century prayer to St. Joseph, from a prayerbook of the Congregation of the Sisters of Jesus and Mary.
“Glorious Patriarch Saint Joseph, whose power makes the impossible possible, come to my aid in these times of anguish and difficulty. Take under your protection the serious and troubling situations that I commend to you, that they may have a happy outcome. My beloved father, all my trust is in you. Let it not be said that I invoked you in vain, and since you can do everything with Jesus and Mary, show me that your goodness is as great as your power. Amen.”
Pope Francis reflected on this prayer in his encyclical letter, Patris Corde (With the Heart of a Father): “It expresses devotion and trust, and even poses a certain challenge to Saint Joseph.” The Holy Father was inspired to choose St. Joseph as the focus of his encyclical during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic to honor the ordinary people who are sustaining us daily: “...doctors, nurses, storekeepers and supermarket workers, cleaning personnel, caregivers, transport workers, men and women working to provide essential services and public safety, volunteers, priests, men and women religious, and so very many others.”
“Each of us can discover in Joseph—the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence—an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble. Saint Joseph reminds us that those who appear hidden or in the shadows can play an incomparable role in the history of salvation. A word of recognition and of gratitude is due to them all.”
This beautiful encyclical letter, Patris Corde, is available in thirteen languages for reading and/or downloading at the Vatican Website.
Inspiring Online Lecture Series:
ST. JOSEPH, LEAD US THROUGH LENT
St. Philip the Apostle Church in Lewisville, Texas is generously making available three lectures by theologian and author Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio, given March 8–10, 2021. The three 70 minute lectures are entitled:
Jesus, Disciple of Joseph
Joseph as the Father of Faith
Joseph, Humility and Meekness
Dr. D'Ambrosio, founder of the Crossroads Initiative and author of When the Church Was Young: Voices of the Early Fathers, is an engaging, captivating speaker. Through humor and personal anecdotes, he brings Scripture and Church history and Dogma alive.
The Mission Lectures provide a wonderful opportunity for prayer and meditation during Passiontide and Holy Week, especially this year during the Covid pandemic when physical attendance at Mass and liturgical celebrations is still limited. To watch the lectures visit the St. Philip the Apostle Church site.
Mother Abbess Lucia Kuppens' Prayers of the Faithful for the Feast of St. Joseph offered at the Abbey of Regina Laudis, May 19, 2021
St. Joseph, Our Lady of the Rock
In gratitude to Pope Francis for calling the world’s attention to the ongoing presence of the man St. Joseph in our lives, giving us a chance to get to know him better, both as a powerful intercessor and model of integrity in this critical time of emergence from the pandemic. Like St. Joseph, may we rise from sleep and encounter the unknown with creative courage, seeking to protect whatever new life has been entrusted to us, alert to dangers, but unafraid as we open our hearts and then our doors to a world in need. Let us pray to the Lord
May St. Joseph who was not afraid to take Mary into his home and with her whatever judgment might come to them both, help restore a culture that has become so quick to judge, condemn, and shame in retaliation rather than true justice based in love. Let us pray to the Lord.
May St. Joseph come to the aid of families everywhere who are suffering separation, dislocation, and loss on so many levels at this time, and may we trust that he who faced all these trials with constancy and faith will help us to attune our hearts to hear the Holy Spirit even in our dreams, directing us how to make the next step on what may seem a bewildering path. Let us pray to the Lord.
In gratitude for all men of faith who have in some way responded to the call to take the Child and His Mother and sacrificed themselves to be fathers of the lives God has sometimes unexpectedly put in their hands, to protect, watch over, care for, and love—we pray in a special way for those who have been Joseph to this community over the course of many years. Let us pray to the Lord.