St. Joseph has become one of my favorite saints over the past year. I’ve spent a lot of time contemplating the decision he made to become the stepfather of Christ and the amount of faith and sacrifice in that decision. I probably wouldn’t have started this if it were not for an entry about St. Joseph in Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s The World’s First Love:

 

But when one searches for the reasons why Christian art should have pictured Joseph as aged, we discover that it was in order to better safeguard the virginity of Mary. Somehow, the assumption had crept in that senility was a better protector of virginity than adolescence. Art thus unconsciously made Joseph a spouse chaste and pure by age rather than virtue…To make Joseph appear pure only because his flesh had aged is like glorifying a mountain stream that has dried.

 

The Church will not ordain a man to the priesthood who has not his vital powers. She wants men who have something to tame, rather than those who are tame because they have no energy to be wild. It should be no different with God.

 

Joseph was probably a young man, strong, virile, athletic, handsome, chaste, and disciplined; the kind of man one sees sometimes shepherding sheep, or piloting a plane, or working at a carpenter’s bench. Instead of being a man incapable of love, he must have been on fire with love….Instead, then, of being dried fruit to be served on the table of the king, he was rather a blossom filled with promise and power. He was not in the evening of life, but in its morning, bubbling over with energy, strength, and controlled passion.

 

 

this article discovered here

 

 

Joseph, the husband of our Lady, foster-father of our Lord, guardian of the Holy Family, is honored liturgically on March 19 as patron of the universal Church. The memorial of St. Joseph the Worker is on May 1. This quiet, just, humble man, protector of families and patron of fathers, is also invoked for a happy death.

 

Most of our reliable information on St. Joseph is contained in the first two chapters of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Here we discover that Joseph was of royal descent from David, that the family was from Bethlehem in Judea and that Joseph, who was a builder, had moved from Bethlehem to Nazareth in Galilee.

 

Joseph was engaged to Mary and upon learning that she was pregnant; he had plans to divorce her. Described in Matthew as a righteous man, he intended to dismiss her quietly. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream to tell him, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).

 

“When Joseph woke from sleep he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.” (Matthew 1:24).

What a strong man of faith Joseph was! How he must have suffered, not knowing the secret of Mary’s incarnation. Of course, she could not tell him - he would not have understood. “It was a mystery beyond the capacity of the human intellect and the possibilities of human language.” (Pope John Paul II, The Holy Father’s homily during the celebration of Mass on the Feast of St. Joseph, at the L. Liberati Stadium. Vatican, March 1981.)

 

Joseph reveals to us the dignity of human fatherhood. As Pope John Paul II reminds us: “The family rests on the dignity of human fatherhood — on the responsibility of the man, husband and father, as also on his work. Joseph of Nazareth bears witness to this for us.”

 

“The unity of the family, its stability, is one of the fundamental blessings of man and of society. At the basis of family unity there is the indissolubility of marriage — if man, if society seek the ways that deprive marriage of its indissolubility and the family of its unity and stability, then they cut off, as it were, the very root of its health, and deprive themselves of one of the fundamental goods on which human life is built.” (Pope John Paul II, March 1981)

 

Message from John Paul II to Men:

 

“Dear Brothers! May that voice which Joseph of Nazareth heard during that decisive night of his life always reach you, in particular when the danger of the destruction of the family looms up. “Do not fear to persevere”! “Do not give up”! Behave as that just man did.”

 

“Fatherhood is responsibility for life: for the life first conceived in the woman’s womb and then born, in order that a new man, who is blood of your blood and flesh of your flesh, may be revealed. God who says: “do not abandon the woman, your wife”, says at the same time: “receive the life conceived in her”! Just as he said to Joseph of Nazareth, although Joseph was not the blood father of him who was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary.

 

“God says to every man: ‘accept the life conceived of you! Do not allow it to be suppressed!’ God says this with the voice of his commandments, with the voice of the Church. But he says so above all with the voice of conscience. The voice of human conscience. This voice is univocal, in spite of everything that is done to prevent people from listening to it and to stifle it, despite everything that is done, that is, so that man and woman will not listen to this simple and clear voice of conscience.”

 

“Men of work, men of hard work know this simple voice of conscience. What they feel most deeply is precisely that bond which unites work and the family. Work is for the family, since work is for man (and not vice versa) — and precisely the family, first and above all the family, is the specific place of man. It is the environment in which he is conceived, is born and matures, the environment for which he assumes the most serious responsibility, in which he fulfills himself daily, the environment of his earthly happiness and human hope.

 

And so today, on St. Joseph’s day, knowing the hearts of the workers, their honesty and responsibility, I express the conviction that precisely they will assure and consolidate these two fundamental goods of man and society: the unity of the family and respect for the life conceived under the mother’s heart. “

 

(Pope John Paul II, The Holy Father’s homily during the celebration of Mass on the Feast of St. Joseph, at the L. Liberati Stadium. Vatican, March 1981.)

 

this article discovered here

 

St. Francis De Sales says: We do not often enough remember our dead, our faithful departed. Thus the Church, like a good mother, recalls to us the thought of the dead when we have forgotten them, and therefore she consecrates the month of November to the memory of the dead.

 

This pious and salutary practice of praying for an entire month for the dead takes its rise from the earliest ages of the Church. The custom of mourning thirty days for the dead existed amongst the Jews. The practice of saying thirty Masses on thirty consecutive days was established by St. Gregory, and Innocent XI enriched it with indulgences.

 

God has made known to me, says the venerable sister Marie Denise de Martignat, that a devotion to the death of St. Joseph obtains many graces for those who are agonizing, and that, as St. Joseph did not at once pass into heaven - because Jesus Christ had not opened its gates - but descended into Limbo, it is a most useful devotion for the agonizing, and for the souls in Purgatory, to offer to God the resignation of St. Joseph when he was dying and about to leave Jesus and Mary in this world, and to honor the holy patience of this great Saint waiting calmly in Limbo until Easter day, when Jesus Christ, risen and glorious, released him. And if St. Joseph consoles the souls in Purgatory, none will be so dear to him as those who were devout to him in life, and zealous in spreading a devotion to him.

 

From Le Propagateur de la Devotion a Saint Joseph.

 

this article discovered here

 

 

There are small relics of Our Lady’s veil and the cloak worn by St. Joseph. They can be viewed HERE on the web, an external link.

 

This novena in honor of Saint Joseph’s is called the Holy Cloak of St. Joseph, a particular and special way to merit the patronage of this great Saint while also rendering honor to him.

 

It is to be recited on thirty consecutive days in memory of the thirty years St. Joseph spent in the company of Jesus Christ, Son of God. If for some reason you cannot recite the prayer on a particular day, you may make up for it by reciting it on the 30th day as many times as the recitation was missed.

 

The extraordinary graces obtained by this prayer are innumerable. In fact, St. Theresa said: “If you really want to believe in it, prove it to yourself by reciting the Novena and you will be finally convinced.”

 

It is most efficacious to say a prayer for the Souls in Purgatory.

 

With the same solicitude that we help dry the tears of the suffering souls, so to can we hope that St. Joseph will help dry our tears in our necessities. In this way, St. Joseph’s Holy Cloak will spread itself over us and will serve as a shield against all those dangers which beset us so that we may all one day, with the grace of God, obtain eternal salvation.

 

Our Lord and Our Lady invite us to love and honor and pray to St. Joseph:

 

Jesus himself said to St. Margaret, “I wish that every day you offer special prayers to My mother and St. Joseph, My most sweet guardian.”

 

The Blessed Mother said to the Venerable Dagreda, “You must see to it that you continually increase your love and devotion to this great Saint. In all your necessities, you must avail yourself of his protection, under all circumstances you must encourage as many people as possible toward this devotion . . . for indeed, whatever my devoted spouse requests in Heaven, the Almighty God will grant on Earth.”

 

 

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give Thee my heart and my soul.

 

Recite the Glory Be 3 times to our Heavenly Father in thanksgiving for having exalted St. Joseph to a position of such exceptional dignity.

 

 

I.

O Glorious Patriarch St. Joseph, I humbly prostrate myself before Thee. I beg the Lord Jesus, thine Immaculate Spouse, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the Angels and Saints in the Heavenly Court, to join me in this devotion. I offer thee this precious cloak, while pledging my sincerest faith and devotion. I promise to do all in my power to honor thee throughout my lifetime to prove my love for thee.

 

Help me, St. Joseph. Assist me now and throughout my lifetime, but especially at the moment of my death, as thou wert assisted by Jesus and Mary, that I may join thee one day in Heaven and there honor thee for all eternity. Amen.

 

II.

O Glorious Patriarch St. Joseph, prostrate, before thee and thy Divine Son, Jesus, I offer thee, with heartfelt devotion, this precious treasury of prayers, being ever mindful of the numerous virtues which adorned thy sacred person. In thee, O Glorious Patriarch, was fulfilled the dream of thy precursor the first Joseph, who indeed seemed to have been sent by God to prepare the way for thy presence on this Earth. In fact, not only wert thou surrounded by the shining splendor of the rays of the Divine Sun, Jesus, but thou wert splendidly reflected in the brilliant light of the mystic moon, the Blessed Virgin Mary. O Glorious Patriarch, if the example of the ancient Jacob, who personally went to congratulate his favorite son, who was exalted on the throne of Egypt, served to bring all his progeny there, should not the example of Jesus and Mary, who honored thee with their greatest respect and trust, serve to bring me, thy devoted servant, to present thee with this precious cloak in thy honor.

 

Grant, O Great St. Joseph, that the Almighty God may turn a benevolent glance toward me. As the ancient Joseph did not reject his guilty and cruel brothers, but rather accepted them with love and protected and saved them from hunger and death, I beseech thee, O Glorious Patriarch, through thine intercession, grant that the Lord may never abandon me in this exiled valley of sorrows. Grant that He may always number me as one of thy devoted servants who dost live serenely under the patronage of thy Holy Cloak. Grant that I may live always within the protection of this patronage, every day of my life and particularly at that moment when I draw my dying breath.

 

 

I.

Hail O Glorious St. Joseph, thou who art entrusted with the priceless treasures of Heaven and Earth and foster-father of Him Who doth nourish all the creatures of the universe. Thou art, after Mary, the Saint most worthy of our love and devotion. Thou alone, above all the Saints, wert chosen for that supreme honor of rearing, guiding, nourishing and even embracing the Messiah, Whom so many kings and prophets would have so desired to behold.

 

St. Joseph, save my soul and obtain for me from the Divine Mercy of God that petition for which I humbly pray. And for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, grant a great comfort from their pain.

 

Recite the Glory Be 3 times to our Heavenly Father in thanksgiving for having exalted St. Joseph to a position of such exceptional dignity.

 

II.

O powerful St. Joseph, thou wert proclaimed the Patron of the Universal Church, therefore, I invoke thee, above all the other Saints, as the greatest protector of the afflicted, and I offer countless blessings to thy most generous heart, always ready to help in any need.

 

To thee, O Glorious St. Joseph, come the widows, the orphans, the abandoned, the afflicted, the oppressed. There is no sorrow, heartache or anguish which thou hast not consoled. Deign, I beseech thee, to use on my behalf those gifts which God hast given thee, until I too shall be granted the answer to my petition And thou, Holy Souls in Purgatory, pray to St. Joseph for me.

 

Recite the Glory Be 3 times to our Heavenly Father in thanksgiving for having exalted St. Joseph to a position of such exceptional dignity.

 

III.

Countless are those who have prayed to thee before me and have received comfort and peace, graces and favors. My heart, so sad and sorrowful, cannot find rest in the midst of this trial which besets me. O Glorious St. Joseph, thou knowest all my needs even before I set them forth in prayer. Thou knowest how important this petition is for me. I prostrate myself before thee as I sigh under the heavy weight of the problem which confronts me.

 

There is no human heart in which I can confide my sorrow; and even if I should find a compassionate creature who would be willing to assist me, still he would be unable to help me. Only thou can help me in my sorrow, St. Joseph, and I beg thee to hear my plea.

 

Has not St. Theresa left it written in her dialogues that the world may always know “Whatever you ask of St. Joseph, you shall receive.”

 

O St. Joseph, comforter of the afflicted, have pity on my sorrow and pity on those Poor Souls who place so much hope in their prayers to thee.

 

Recite the Glory Be 3 times to our Heavenly Father in thanksgiving for having exalted St. Joseph to a position of such exceptional dignity.

 

IV.

O Sublime Patriarch St. Joseph, because of thy perfect obedience to God, thou mayest intercede for me.

For thy holy life full of grace and merit, hear my prayer.

For thy most sweet name, help me. For your most holy tears, comfort me.

For thy seven sorrows, intercede for me. For your seven joys, console me.

From all harm of body and soul, deliver me. From all danger and disaster, save me.

Assist me with thy powerful intercession and seek for me, through thy power and mercy, all that is necessary for my salvation and particularly the favor of which I now stand in such great need.

 

Recite the Glory Be 3 times to our Heavenly Father in thanksgiving for having exalted St. Joseph to a position of such exceptional dignity.

 

V.

O Glorious St. Joseph, countless are the graces and favors which thou hast obtained for afflicted souls. Illness of every nature, those who are oppressed, persecuted, betrayed, bereft of all human comfort, even those in need of their life bread—–all who imploreth thy powerful intercession are comforted in their affliction.

 

Do not permit, O dearest St. Joseph, that I alone be the only one of all who hast appealed to thee, to be denied this petition which I so earnestly beg of thee. Show thy kindness and generosity even to me, that I may cry out in thanksgiving, “Eternal glory to our Holy Patriarch St. Joseph, my great protector on Earth and the defender of the Holy Souls in Purgatory.”

 

Recite the Glory Be 3 times to our Heavenly Father in thanksgiving for having exalted St. Joseph to a position of such exceptional dignity.

 

VI.

Eternal Father, Who art in Heaven, through the merits of Jesus and Mary, I beg Thee to grant my petition. In the name of Jesus and Mary I prostrate myself before Thy Divine presence and I beseech Thee to accept my hopeful plea to persevere in my prayers that I may be numbered among the throngs of those who live under the patronage of St. Joseph.

 

Extend Thy blessing on this precious treasury of prayers which I today offer to him as a pledge of my devotion.

 

Recite the Glory Be 3 times to our Heavenly Father in thanksgiving for having exalted St. Joseph to a position of such exceptional dignity.

 

 

St. Joseph, pray that Jesus may come into my soul and sanctify me.

St. Joseph, pray that Jesus may come into my heart and inspire it with charity.

St. Joseph, pray that Jesus may come into my mind and enlighten it.

St. Joseph, pray that Jesus may guide my will and strengthen it.

St. Joseph, pray that Jesus may direct my thoughts and purify them.

St. Joseph, pray that Jesus may guide my desires and direct them.

St. Joseph, pray that Jesus may look upon my deeds and extend His blessings.

St. Joseph, pray that Jesus may inflame me with love for Him.

 

St. Joseph, request for me from Jesus the imitation of thy virtues.

St. Joseph, request for me from Jesus true humility of spirit.

St. Joseph, request for me from Jesus meekness of heart.

St. Joseph, request for me from Jesus peace of soul.

St. Joseph, request for me from Jesus a holy fear of the Lord.

St. Joseph, request for me from Jesus a desire for perfection.

St. Joseph, request for me from Jesus a gentleness of heart.

St. Joseph, request for me from Jesus a pure and charitable heart.

St. Joseph, request for me from Jesus the wisdom of faith.

St. Joseph, request for me from Jesus His blessing of perseverance in my good deeds.

St. Joseph, request for me from Jesus the strength to carry my crosses.

St. Joseph, request for me from Jesus a disdain for the material goods of this world.

St. Joseph, request for me from Jesus the grace to always walk on the narrow path toward Heaven.

St. Joseph, request for me from Jesus the grace to avoid all occasion of sin.

St. Joseph, request for me from Jesus a holy desire for eternal bliss.

St. Joseph, request for me from Jesus the grace of final perseverance.

 

St. Joseph, do not abandon me.

St. Joseph, pray that my heart may never cease to love thee and that my lips may ever praise thee.

St. Joseph, for the love thou didst bear for Jesus, grant that I may learn to love Him.

St. Joseph, graciously accept me as thy devoted servant.

St. Joseph, I give myself to thee; accept my pleas and hear my prayers.

St. Joseph, do not abandon me at the hour of my death.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give Thee my heart and my soul.

 

Recite the Glory Be 3 times, etc.

 

 

I.

Remember O most chaste spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, my good protector St. Joseph, that never was it known that anyone who didst come to thy protection, and sought thine intercession was left unaided. Confidently I prostrate myself before thee and fervently beg for thy powerful intervention. O foster-Father of our dear Redeemer, despise not my petition, but in thy mercy, hear and answer me. Amen.

 

II.

Glorious St. Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and virginal father of Jesus, look upon me and watch over me; lead me on the path of sanctifying grace; take heed of the urgent needs which I now beg thee to envelop within the folds of thy fatherly cloak. Dismiss those obstacles and difficulties standing in the way of my prayer and grant that the happy answer to my petition may serve for the greater glory of God and my eternal salvation.

 

As a pledge of my undying gratitude, I promise to spread the word of thy glory whilst offering thanks to the Lord for having so blest thy power and might in Heaven and on earth.

 

 

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us.

 

Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

 

God the Father of Heaven,

Have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world,

Have mercy on us.

God the Holy Spirit,

Have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, One God,

Have mercy on us.

 

Holy Mary, pray for us.

 

Saint Joseph, pray for us.

Illustrious son of David, pray for us.

Light of the patriarchs, pray for us.

Spouse of the Mother of God, pray for us.

Chaste guardian of the Virgin, pray for us.

Foster-father of the Son of God, pray for us.

Watchful defender of Christ, pray for us.

Head of the Holy Family, pray for us.

 

Joseph most just, pray for us.

Joseph most chaste, pray for us.

Joseph most prudent, pray for us.

Joseph most valiant, pray for us.

Joseph most obedient, pray for us.

Joseph most faithful, pray for us.

 

Mirror of patience, pray for us.

Lover of poverty, pray for us.

Model of workmen, pray for us.

Glory of domestic life, pray for us.

Guardian of virgins, pray for us.

Pillar of families, pray for us.

Solace of the afflicted, pray for us.

Hope of the sick, pray for us.

Patron of the dying, pray for us.

Terror of demons, pray for us.

Protector of Holy Church, pray for us.

 

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,

Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,

Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,

Have mercy on us.

 

V. He made him the lord of His household,

R. And prince over all His possessions.

 

Let Us Pray.

 

O God, Who in Thine ineffable providence didst choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of Thy most Holy Mother, grant that as we venerate him as our protector on earth, we may deserve to have him as our intercessor in Heaven, Thou Who livest and reignest forever and ever. R. Amen.

 

 

O Glorious Patriarch St. Joseph, thou who wert chosen by God above all men to be the earthly head of the most holy of families, I beseech thee to accept me within the folds of thy holy cloak, that thou mayest become the guardian and custodian of my soul.

 

From this moment on, I choose thee as my father, my protector, my counselor, my patron and I beseech thee to place in thy custody my body, my soul, all that I am, all that I possess, my life and my death.

 

Look upon me as one of thy children; defend me from the treachery of my enemies, invisible or otherwise, assist me at all times in all my necessities; console me in the bitterness of my life, and especially at the hour of my death. Say but one word for me to the Divine Redeemer Whom thou wert deemed worthy to hold in thine arms, and to the Blessed Virgin Mary, thy most chaste spouse. Request for me those blessings which will lead me to salvation. Include me amongst those who art most dear to thee and I shall set forth to prove myself worthy of thy special patronage. Amen.

 

 

To thee do we cry in our tribulations, O Blessed Saint Joseph, as we confidently invoke thy patronage, after that of thy most holy spouse, the Blessed Virgin Mary.

 

By that sacred bond of devotion which linked thee to the Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God, and for the fatherly love thou didst lavish on the child Jesus, we beg thee to cast a glance on those heavenly gifts which the Divine Redeemer hast obtained for all mankind through His Precious Blood and through thy power and mercy, help us in our needs.

 

O holy protector of the holy family, protect us children of the Lord Jesus Christ; keep far from us the errors and evils which corrupt the world; assist us from Heaven in our struggles against the powers of darkness. And as thou once didst protect the Divine Child from the cruel edict of Herod, now defend the Church and keep it safe from all dangers and threats; spread over all of us thy holy patronage so that by following thine example and aided by thy spiritual guidance, we may all aspire to a virtuous life, look to a holy death and secure for ourselves the blessing of eternal happiness in Heaven. Amen.

 

To obtain this booklet, call Divine Mercy Publications [Florida]:

 

1 [954]  927-9057

 

or write:

 

Divine Mercy Publications

POB 22-0152

Hollywood, FL 33022

USA

 

this prayer discovered here

 

 

O St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires. O, St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord, so that, having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers. O, St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you, and Jesus asleep in your arms. I dare not approach Him while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me, and ask Him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for us.

 

Make this prayer known everywhere.

 

Imprimatur

Most Rev. George W. Ahr

Bishop of Trenton

 

Shared by Victoria Spalding:

 

Most people don’t realize that the war started on March 19th, St. Joseph’s Feast day. Who better then to pray to???

 

Recently, while searching for ways to obtain more copies of the prayer to distribute to my son in Iraq, I came across this article on Dr. Joseph Evers, MD. I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Evers this week, and he told me that the prayer to St. Joseph was the best prayer against terrorism there is, because it promises protection against poison, which would include also poisonous gas. Dr. Evers has already sent 20,000 prayer cards to Iraq.

 

Please help distribute this article and this prayer. I can also testify to the intervention of this prayer, as my uncle told me he was also saved from drowning through its recitation.

 

St. Joseph, pray for us! Amen!

 

By Mary Frances McCarthy

Herald Staff Writer

(From the issue of 10/14/04)

 

He can protect you from drowning, fire, sudden death and the enemy. No, he’s not Superman, he’s the earthly father of Our Lord.

 

St. Joseph is the patron saint of many things — the universal Church, fathers, carpenters, social justice and a peaceful, happy death.

 

Being named after him, Joseph Evers, a member of St. John Parish in McLean, has always had a particular devotion to St. Joseph. He began praying a prayer for protection to the saint many years ago and over time he began to realize the power of this prayer.

 

Evers was vacationing in Puerto Rico with his wife about 12 years ago when the two of them were caught in a rip tide while wading in the ocean. Being poor swimmers, it was all Evers could do to hold on to his wife and fight with all his energy to not be dragged out to sea. Later, he remembered one of St. Joseph’s promises — “whoever shall read this prayer … shall never die a sudden death or be drowned.”

 

After the events of Sept. 11, 2001, “it fully hit me,” Evers said. Those who read, hear or even simply carry the card with them are promised protection from sudden death, drowning, poison, fire, the enemy and will be kept safe in battle. With terrorism alert levels rising, anthrax scares and more and more troops being deployed overseas, Evers saw this prayer to St. Joseph as a perfect anti-terrorism prayer.

 

The pediatrician started handing out copies of St. Joseph’s prayer to patients and their parents at his practice.

 

“With faith, this thing really works,” Evers said about the prayer. Since he began sharing the prayer, stories have been coming back to him of the many ways St. Joseph has touched people’s lives. From near misses in car accidents, to helping parents having trouble connecting with their children, many people, some of them even falling away from the Church before receiving this prayer, are thanking St. Joseph for his protection, and thanking Evers for teaching them about this saint.

 

A mother of one of his patients called Evers and asked if he could make copies of the prayer to send with a friend of hers down to an Air Force base in Florida where troops were being deployed to Iraq. Evers printed and hand-laminated as many cards as he could for this first shipment.

 

Soon after, he asked a fellow parishioner, Kate Britton Giaimo, for help with the printing. Giaimo and her husband are in the restaurant industry and had ties with a printer in Maryland. The printer agreed to print the prayer cards at cost, and a picture of St. Joseph was added to the reverse side of the card. Two weeks after they went to the printer, Evers and Giaimo had another 15,000 cards printed. They sent 13,000 to Navy Capt. Phillip E. Gwaltney, command chaplain at Camp MacDill Air Force Base in Florida who said, “Get me more.”

 

To get the resources to do this, Giaimo and Evers approached their pastor, Father Edward Hathaway, and with his permission formed a St. Joseph’s Workers group. They passed out prayer cards and collected prayers after Masses one weekend in June and raised enough money to print another 20,000 cards.

 

Their goal is to get the prayer cards to military troops, firemen, policemen, emergency workers and pilots and their friends and families.

 

“This prayer is for anyone in harm’s way,” Evers said, “and today, there is no one who isn’t.”

 

To receive a prayer card, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Dr. Joseph Evers, 6711 Whittier Ave., McLean, Va. 22101. For more than one card include enough postage to cover return mailing.

 

To make a tax-deductible contribution toward the printing of more cards, send a check to St. John Church, 6420 Linway Terrace, McLean, Va. 22101. Write “St. Joseph’s Workers” on the memo line. Each 15 cents collected will pay for one prayer card.

 

 

O St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires. O St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord, so that, having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers. O St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms. I dare not approach Him while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me, and ask Him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for us.

 

The cord of St. Joseph originated in Antwerp, Belgium in 1657. A sister of the Order of St. Augustine had fallen seriously ill and was in the immanent danger of death. She petitioned St. Joseph to cure her and as a sign of devotion to St. Joseph, she placed around her waist a cord that had been blessed and knotted seven times (for the seven joys and seven sorrows of St. Joseph). While wearing this cord and praying earnestly, the sister found herself instantly cured.

 

This miracle was only the first of many for those who wore the cord of St. Joseph and asked for his aid in temporal and spiritual necessities. Pope Pius IX enriched the cord with indulgences. (There are none directly attached to it today as far as I know.) In particular the following four benefits are promised: preservation or recovery of chastity, St. Joseph’s special protection, his assistance at the hour of death, and the grace of final perseverance.

 

GLORIA Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Sorrows	Joys
1. Dubium Sancti Ioseph Ioseph autem vir eius cum esset iustus, et nollet eam traducere, voluit occulte dimittere eam. (Matthew 1:19)       1. The doubt of St. Joseph Whereupon Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing publically to expose her, was minded to put her away privately. (Matthew 1:19)	1. Nuntius Angeli Haec autem eo cogitante, ecce angelus Domini apparuit in somnis ei, dicens: Ioseph fili David, noli timere accipere Mariam coniugem tuam: quod enim in ea natum est, de Spiritu Sancto est. (Matthew 1:20)   1. The message of the Angel But while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the LORD appeared to him in his sleep, saying; Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. (Matthew 1:20)
2. Natalis Iesu in paupertate Et peperit filium suum primogenitum et pannis eum involvit et reclinavit eum in praesepio quia non erat eis locus in diversorio. (Luke 2:7)   2. The birth of Jesus in poverty And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him up in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger because; there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7)	2. Natalis Salvatoris Et peperit filium suum primogenitum. (Lc 2:7)       2. The birth of the Savior And she brought forth her firstborn son … (Luke 2:7)
3. Circumcisio Iesu Et postquam consummati sunt dies octo ut circumcideretur vocatum est nomen eius Iesus quod vocatum est ab angelo priusquam in utero conciperetur. (Luke 2:21)   3. The circumcision And after eight days were accomplished, that the child should be circumcised, his name was called JESUS, which was called by the angel, before he was conceived in the womb. (Luke 2:21)	3. Nomen sanctum Iesu Et non cognoscebat eam donec peperit filium suum primogenitum et vocavit nomen eius Iesum. (Matthew 1:25) 3. The holy name of Jesus And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS. (Matthew 1:25)
4. Ruina multorum Et benedixit illis Symeon et dixit ad Mariam matrem eius ecce positus est hic in ruinam et resurrectionem multorum in Israhel et in signum cui contradicetur. (Luke 2:34)   4. That many would be lost And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother: Behold, this child is set for the fall and rise of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be contradicted. (Luke 2:34)	4. Resurrectio multorum Et benedixit illis Symeon et dixit ad Mariam matrem eius ecce positus est hic in ruinam et resurrectionem multorum in Israhel et in signum cui contradicetur. (Lc 2:34)   4. The rise of many And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother: Behold, this child is set for the fall and rise of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be contradicted. (Luke 2:34)
5. Fuga in Aegyptum … ecce angelus Domini apparuit in somnis Ioseph dicens surge et accipe puerum et matrem eius et fuge in Aegyptum et esto ibi usque dum dicam tibi futurum est enim ut Herodes quaerat puerum ad perdendum eum. Qui consurgens accepit puerum et matrem eius nocte et recessit in Aegyptum. (Matthew 2:13-14)   5. The flight into Egypt …behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph saying; Arise, and take the child and his mother, and fly into Egypt; and be there until I tell thee: For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the child to destroy him. He arose, and took the child and his mother by night, and retired into Egypt. (Matthew 2:13-14)	5. Onus Aegypti … ecce Dominus ascendet super nubem levem et ingredietur Aegyptum et movebuntur simulacra Aegypti a facie eius et cor Aegypti tabescet in medio eius. (Isaiah 19:1)       5. The overthrow of idols Behold, the LORD will ascend upon a swift cloud, and will enter into Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst thereof. (Isaiah 19:1)
6. Reditus in patriam Audiens autem quod Archelaus regnaret in Iudaea pro Herode patre suo timuit illo ire et admonitus in somnis secessit in partes Galilaeae. (Matthew 2:22) 6. The return from Egypt But hearing that Archelaus reigned in Judaea in the place of Herod his father, he was afraid to go thither: and being warned in his sleep retired into the quarters of Galilee. (Matthew 2:22)	6. Vita in Nazareth Et ut perfecerunt omnia secundum legem Domini reversi sunt in Galilaeam in civitatem suam Nazareth. (Luke 2:39)   6. Life with Mary and Jesus And after they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth. (Luke 2:39)
7. Amittens Iesum in templo Et non invenientes regressi sunt in Hierusalem requirentes eum. (Lc 2:45)     7. Losing Jesus in the temple And not finding him, they returned into Jerusalem, seeking him. (Luke 2:45)	7. Inveniens Iesum in templo Et factum est post triduum invenerunt illum in templo sedentem in medio doctorum audientem illos et interrogantem. (Lc 2:46)   7. Finding Jesus in the temple And it came to pass, that, after three days, they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, hearing them, and asking them questions. (Luke 2:46)

VIRGINUM custos et pater, sancte Ioseph, cuius fideli custodiae ipsa Innocentia Christus Iesus et Virgo virginum Maria commissa fuit; te per hoc utrumque carissimum pignus Iesum et Mariam obsecro et obtestor, ut me, ab omni immunditia praeservatum, mente incontaminata, puro corde et casto corpore Iesu et Mariae semper facias castissime famulari. Amen

 

GUARDIAN of virgins, and holy father Joseph, to whose faithful custody Christ Jesus, Innocence itself, and Mary, Virgin of virgins, were committed; I pray and beseech thee, by these dear pledges, Jesus and Mary, that, being preserved from all uncleanness, I may with spotless mind, pure heart, and chaste body, ever serve Jesus and Mary most chastely all the days of my life. Amen

 

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