NOVENA TO ST. JOSEPH

1. Sign of the Cross
2. Invocation of the Holy Spirit
   V/ Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful,
   R/ And enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.
   V/ Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created,
   R/ And Thou shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray
O God, who, by the light of the Holy Spirit, didst instruct the hearts of thy faithful, grant that the by the same Holy Spirit, we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in his consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

3. Opening hymn: St. Joseph, Best of Protectors
4. Joseph, whose glory fills the Church with praises,
   Spouse of the Virgin, Jesus’ foster father,
   From the Almighty came your high vocation,
   Best of protectors.
5. Thou by the world’s Creator were appointed
   Spouse of the Virgin: thee he willed to honour
   Naming thee father of the Word and guardian
   Of our salvation.
6. When the Redeemer, whom the prophets’ chorus
   Long had predicted, lay within the manger,
   Glad was your spirit, while in adoration
   Lowly you knelt there.
7. He who as King reigns over all creation
   Feared in the deepest, worshipped in the highest
   Veiling his Godhead, humbly gave obedience
   To do your bidding.
8. We praise with fervour God the One and Triune
   Who has endowed you with his grace so bounteous;
   Oh may he grant us, hearing your petition,
   Joys everlasting!
9. Opening Prayer: Petitions for St. Joseph’s blessings
   Bless me, O dearly beloved Father, St. Joseph; bless my body and my soul; bless my resolutions, my words and deeds, all my actions and omissions, my every step; bless all that I possess, all my interior and exterior goods, that all may redound to the greater honour of God. Bless me for time and eternity, and preserve me from every sin. Obtain for me the grace to make atonement for all my sins by love and contrition here on earth, so that after my last breath I may, without delay, prostrate at thy feet to return thee thanks in Heaven for all the love and goodness thou, O dearest Father, hast shown me here below. Amen.
10. Scripture Reading and a short reflection. [At this point, St. Joseph exhorts and speaks to his children and devotees. The person giving the reflection is simply his mouth piece. The reading may come from any of these passages]:

• Mt 2:12-13 (The Angel instructs Joseph again)
• Mt 2:14-15 (Joseph woke up, took the Child and Mother and fled to Egypt)
• Mt 2:19-20 (The Angel instructs St. Joseph once more)
• Mt 2:21-23 (Joseph returns to Israel with the Child and Mother)
• Lk 2:3-5 (Joseph goes to Bethlehem to be registered with Mary)
• Lk 2:15-16 (The shepherds find Mary and Joseph with the Child)
• Lk 2:22-24 (Joseph and Mary present Jesus in the temple)
• Lk 2:28-33 (Joseph and Mary are amazed by Simeon’s revelations about Jesus)
• Lk 2:34-35 (Simeon blesses Joseph and Mary and makes a revelation to Mary)
• Lk 2:48 (Joseph and Mary find Jesus in the temple and Mary speaks to the Child)
• Lk 2:49-50 (Joseph and Mary did not understand what Jesus told them)
• Lk 2:51 (Jesus lives under the authority of Mary and Joseph)

6. Daily Novena Prayer
   Glorious St. Joseph, tender hearted father, faithful guardian of Jesus, chaste spouse of the Mother of God, we pray and beseech you to offer to God the Father, our prayer to Him through His Divine Son, who died on the cross and rose again to give us, sinners, new life. Through the holy name of Jesus, pray with us that we may obtain from the eternal Father, the favours we ask (present your petitions…). We have been unfaithful to the unfailing love of God, the Father; beg of Jesus mercy for us. Amidst the splendour of God’s loving presence, do not forget the sorrows of those who suffer, those who pray, and those who weep. By your prayers and those of your most holy spouse, Our Blessed Lady, may the love of Jesus answer our call of confident hope. Amen.

Day One of the Novena (10th day of the month)
Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of having been chosen by God to be the foster-father of His Divine Son. As a token of your own gratitude to God for this your greatest privilege, obtain for me the grace of a very devoted love for Jesus Christ, my God and my Saviour. Help me to serve Him with some of the self-sacrificing love and devotion which you had while on this earth with Him. Grant that through your intercession with Jesus, your foster-Son, I may reach the degree of holiness God has destined for me, and save my soul.

Our Father…, Hail Mary…, Glory be…
Let us pray:
O God, Who, in Thine ineffable Providence, didst vouchsafe to choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of Thy most holy Mother, grant, we beseech Thee, that he whom we venerate as our protector on earth may be our intercessor in heaven. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

St. Joseph, our glorious father, Pray for us!

Day Two of the Novena (11th day of the month)
Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of being the virginal husband of Mary. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to love Jesus with all my heart, as you did, and love Mary with some of the tenderness and loyalty with which you loved her.

Our Father…, Hail Mary…, Glory be…
Let us pray:
O God, Who, in Thine ineffable Providence, didst vouchsafe to choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of Thy most holy Mother, grant, we beseech Thee, that he whom we venerate as our protector on earth may be our intercessor in heaven. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

St. Joseph, our glorious father, Pray for us!

Day Three of the Novena (12th day of the month)
Saint Joseph, I thank God for having made you the man specially chosen by Him. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to imitate your virtues so that I too may be pleasing to the Heart of God. Help me to give myself entirely to His service and to the accomplishment of His Holy Will, that one day I may reach heaven and be eternally united to God as you are.

Our Father…, Hail Mary…, Glory be…
Let us pray:
O God, Who, in Thine ineffable Providence, didst vouchsafe to choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of Thy most holy Mother, grant, we beseech Thee, that he whom we venerate as our protector on earth may be our intercessor in heaven. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

St. Joseph, our glorious father, Pray for us!

Day Four of the Novena (13th day of the month)
Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of being God’s faithful servant. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to be a faithful servant of God as you were. Help me to share, as you did, the perfect obedience of Jesus, who came not to do His Will, but the Will of His Father; to trust in the Providence of God, knowing that if I do His Will, He will provide for all my needs of soul and body; to be calm in my trials and to leave it to our Lord to free me from them when it pleases Him to do so. And help me to imitate your generosity, for there can be no greater reward here on earth than the joy and honour of being a faithful servant of God.

Our Father…, Hail Mary…, Glory be…
Let us pray:
O God, Who, in Thine ineffable Providence, didst vouchsafe to choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of Thy most holy Mother, grant, we beseech Thee, that he whom we venerate as our protector on earth may be our intercessor in heaven. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

St. Joseph, our glorious father, Pray for us!

Day Five of the Novena (14th day of the month)
Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of being the Patron of the Church. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to live always as a worthy member of this Church, so that through it I may save my soul. Bless the priests, the religious, and the laity of the Catholic Church, that they may ever grow in God’s love and faithfulness in His service. Protect the Church from the evils of our day and from the persecution of her enemies. Through your powerful intercession may the church successfully accomplish its mission in this world —the glory of God and the salvation of souls!
Our Father…, Hail Mary…, Glory be…
Let us pray:
O God, Who, in Thine ineffable Providence, didst vouchsafe to choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of Thy most holy Mother, grant, we beseech Thee, that he whom we venerate as our protector on earth may be our intercessor in heaven. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

St. Joseph, our glorious father, Pray for us!

Day Six of the Novena (15th day of the month)
Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of living in the Holy Family and being its head. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain God’s blessing upon my own family. Make our home the kingdom of Jesus and Mary —a kingdom of peace, of joy, and love.

Our Father…, Hail Mary…, Glory be…
Let us pray:
O God, Who, in Thine ineffable Providence, didst vouchsafe to choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of Thy most holy Mother, grant, we beseech Thee, that he whom we venerate as our protector on earth may be our intercessor in heaven. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

St. Joseph, our glorious father, Pray for us!

Day Seven of the Novena (16th day of the month)
Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of being able to work side by side with Jesus in the carpenter shop of Nazareth. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to respect the dignity of labour and ever to be content with the position in life, however lowly, in which it may please Divine Providence to place me. Teach me to work for God and with God in the spirit of humility and prayer, as you did, so that I may offer my toil in union with the sacrifice of Jesus in the Mass as a reparation for my sins, and gain rich merit for heaven.

Our Father…, Hail Mary…, Glory be…
Let us pray:
O God, Who, in Thine ineffable Providence, didst vouchsafe to choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of Thy most holy Mother, grant, we beseech Thee, that he whom we venerate as our protector on earth may be our intercessor in heaven. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

St. Joseph, our glorious father, Pray for us!

Day Eight of the Novena (17th day of the month)
Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of being able to suffer for Jesus and Mary. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace to bear my suffering patiently for love of Jesus and Mary. Grant that I may unite the sufferings, works and disappointments of life with the sacrifice of Jesus in the Mass, and share like you in Mary’s spirit of sacrifice.

Our Father…, Hail Mary…, Glory be…
Let us pray:
O God, Who, in Thine ineffable Providence, didst vouchsafe to choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of Thy most holy Mother, grant, we beseech Thee, that he whom we venerate as our protector on earth may be our intercessor in heaven. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

St. Joseph, our glorious father, Pray for us!

Day Nine of the Novena (18th day of the month)
Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of being able to die in the arms of Jesus and Mary. As a token of your own gratitude to God, obtain for me the grace of a happy death. Help me to spend each day in preparation for death. May I, too, accept death in the spirit of resignation to God’s Holy Will, and die, as you did, in the arms of Jesus, strengthened by Holy Viaticum, and in the arms of Mary, with her rosary in my hand and her name on my lips!

Our Father…, Hail Mary…, Glory be…
Let us pray:
O God, Who, in Thine ineffable Providence, didst vouchsafe to choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of Thy most holy Mother, grant, we beseech Thee, that he whom we venerate as our protector on earth may be our intercessor in heaven. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

St. Joseph, our glorious father, Pray for us!

7. Memorare to St. Joseph
   (this is another memorare to St. Joseph)
   Remember, O most pure spouse of Mary, ever Virgin, my loving protector, St. Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to your protection or asked your aid without obtaining relief. Confiding, therefore, in your goodness, I come before you and humbly implore you. Despise not my petitions, Foster-father of the Redeemer, but graciously receive them. Amen.
8. Jesus, Mary and Joseph
   Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul!
   Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, assist me in my last agony!
   Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, may I breathe my soul in peace with thee!
9. We fly to thy patronage…
10. The final blessing (if a priest is present)
11. Closing hymn: Hail, holy Joseph, hail!
12. Hail, holy Joseph, hail!
    Husband of Mary, hail
    Chaste as the lily flower
    In Eden’s peaceful vale.
13. Hail, holy Joseph, hail!
    Father of Christ esteemed,
    Father be thou to those
    Thy foster Son redeemed.
14. Hail, holy Joseph, hail!
    Prince of the house of God,
    May his blest graces be
    By thy pure hands bestowed.
15. Hail, holy Joseph, hail!
    Comrade of angels, hail!
    Cheer thou the hearts that faint,
    And guide the steps that fail.
16. Mother of Jesus, bless,
    And bless, ye Saints on high,
    And meek and simple souls,
    That to Saint Joseph cry.
17. Sign of the Cross (if a priest is not there to give the final blessing).