St. Joseph is the only saint on earth that represents God, the Father. St. Joseph was chosen to be Jesus’ Father while on Earth. His entire life was dedicated to taking care of the Holy Family, especially Jesus! As Father Calloway (MIC) explains “Every time Jesus saw St. Joseph, heard him speak, watched him work, or witnessed his chaste love for Mary, the humanity of Jesus witnessed a perfect reflection of the Heavenly Father.” The Hail Mary and the Our Father are the two most well known prayers for Catholics. However, in recent years devotion to St. Joseph has become even more popular. The most common prayer to St. Joseph is the Memorare to St. Joseph. But did you know that there is a Hail Joseph that was written by St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort.
“Remember, O most chaste Spouse of the Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who implored your help and sought your intercession was left unassisted. Full of confidence in your power, I fly unto you, and beg your protection.
Despise not, O foster-father of the Redeemer, my humble supplication, but in your bounty, hear and answer me. Amen”.
Hail Joseph the just, wisdom is with you;
Blessed are you among men and blessed is Jesus,
The fruit of Mary, your faithful spouse.
Holy Joseph, worthy foster-father of Jesus Christ,
Pray for us sinners and
Obtain divine wisdom for us from God,
Now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
Let us not forget that St. Joseph said YES to Mary, when she was with child and decided to take her as his wife. Many suggest that St. Joseph was afraid to take Mary as his wife. In fact he was afraid of not being capable of being the father of the Son of God! He took care of all of Jesus’ needs, both physical and spiritual - teaching Jesus everything He needed to know to become a responsible adult. If you ask St. Joseph to intercede for you, he will take care of all of your needs, just as he did for his beloved son Jesus.
The Catholic tradition offers a very wide selection of prayers and novenas to St. Joseph. Many of these prayers ask St. Joseph for very specific needs. Hozana can accompany and help you discover many of the virtues of St. Joseph through its various prayer communities.
For March 19th (feast day of St. Joseph) or May 1st (St. Joseph the Worker), you can pray the annual novena to St. Joseph and be in communion with thousands of other prayers! You can even consecrate yourself to St. Joseph just as you can consecrate yourself to Mary.