SAINT JOSEPH
of NAZARETH
St. Joseph is the reflection of God the Father, Guardian of God the Son, Friend of God the Holy Spirit, and Spouse of the Immaculate Handmaiden. In his youth, he prayed for the coming of the promised Messiah. In his adult life, he loved and upheld the Son of God and His blessed mother. And now, in the Heavenly Court, he intercedes for the Church before the throne of Christ. The image and story of St. Joseph has long been regulated to being a foot-note to the story of our faith. He has been “hidden” from us for so long that many in the Church fail to contemplate this man who was much beloved by God. However, within the last two centuries, recent for the Catholic Church since Her history spans over 2000 years, the Pontiffs have been more vocal in asking us to look to Joseph as a role model and intercessor. Our most recently elected Holy Father, Pope Francis, was inaugurated on March 19th – the Solemnity of St. Joseph. Since his election, he has promoted devotion to St. Joseph among the faithful – going so far as to consecrate, to him, the Vatican City State. St. Joseph’s name has also been added to all four Eucharistic Prayers of the Mass.
The book available on this site will present for your consideration the mysterious life of the carpenter of Nazareth drawing from the revelations of Church-approved mystics and saints. Included information: the identity of St. Joseph’s parents, the circumstances of his miraculous conception, his birth, his childhood years, adolescence, his relationship with the angels, his bouts with the Devil, early manhood, his espousal to Mary and their life together with Jesus, life in Egypt while in exile, the return to Nazareth, Jesus working at Joseph’s side, the cause of Joseph’s holy death, his final words to Jesus and Mary, his removal to Limbo, and the possibility of his bodily assumption into Heaven body and soul. Also, contained in these humble words are the words of the popes concerning Joseph, a collection of St. Joseph’s church-approved apparitions, prayers, his feast days, and words of the saints.
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"To Thee O Blessed Joseph" (Ad Te Beate Ioseph), the prayer behind the name of this apostolate, goes back to 1889. It was composed by Pope Leo XIII and included in his encyclical "Quam Quam Pluries" in which the pontiff encouraged the faithful to have devotion to St. Joseph. The prayer was written to implore divine by joining to the intercession of Mary that of St. Joseph, that God might send aid to His Church more promptly and generously. Pope Leo XIII gave this prayer to the Church, ordering that it be added to the conclusion of the Rosary, especially for the month of October, for all time. Many Catholics have forgotten this pious practice and it is time to bring this back to the front-lines in our prayer lives. If Leo XIII was fearful of the world's state in 1889, going so far as to attach indulgences to this prayer to encourage it's recitation, imagine how much more we need this prayer today!
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To thee, O blessed Joseph, do we come in our tribulation, and having implored the help of your most holy spouse, we confidently invoke your patronage also. Through that charity which bound you to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God and through the paternal love with which you embraced the Child Jesus, we humbly beg you graciously to regard the inheritance which Jesus Christ has purchased by His Blood, and with your power and strength to aid us in our necessities.
O most watchful Guardian of the Holy Family, defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ; O most loving father, ward off from us every contagion of error and corrupting influence; O our most mighty protector, be propitious to us and from heaven assist us in our struggle with the power of darkness; and, as once you rescued the Child Jesus from deadly peril, so now protect God's Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity; shield, too, each one of us by your constant protection, so that, supported by your example and your aid, we may be able to live piously, to die holy, and to obtain eternal happiness in Heaven. Amen.