19/3: Happy Feast of Saint Joseph…
Dear St Joseph, pure and gentle,
guardian of the Saviour child,
Treading, with the virgin mother,
Egypt’s deserts rough and wild.
Dear St Joseph, spouse of Mary,
blest above all saints on high,
When the death shades round us gather,
teach, O teach us how to die,
teach, O teach us how to die.
He who rested on thy bosom
is by countless saints adored,
Prostrate angels in his presence
sing hosannahs to their Lord.
Dear St Joseph, spouse of Mary,
blest above all saints on high,
When the death shades round us gather,
teach, O teach us how to die,
teach, O teach us how to die.
Now to thee, no gift refusing,
Jesus stoops to hear thy prayer;
Then, dear saint, from thy fair dwelling,
give to us a father’s care.
Dear St Joseph, spouse of Mary,
blest above all saints on high,
When the death shades round us gather,
teach, O teach us how to die,
teach, O teach us how to die.
Dear St Joseph, kind and loving,
stretch to us a helping hand;
guide us through life’s toils and sorrows
safely to the distant land.
Dear St Joseph, spouse of Mary,
blest above all saints on high,
When the death shades round us gather,
teach, O teach us how to die,
teach, O teach us how to die.
Comment:
St Joseph is a very powerful saint indeed, so if you’ve experienced his powerful intercession, share your story with us, here.
Publish, too, your favourite prayers and hymns to this great saint.
Happy Feast of St Joseph, everyone!
Comments (20)
I wouldn’t even know how to begin! Dear St. Joseph, a wonderful, wonderful saint. And, you all might remember, we called our new house, St. Joseph.
Helen,
Yes, I remember that you called your new house St Joseph – are you pleased that you made that choice? I remember there was quite a list provided by our bloggers for you to mull over. Have you any interesting evidence, that you can share here, to show that you made the right choice?
Dear Bloggers,
I wish you all a holy and happy feast of Saint Joseph.
Lionel,
Same to you!
I know we’re a bit early this year, but we can never give too much devotion to St Joseph!
This video is about the miraculous staircase – I won’t spoil it by going into the story (although I’m sure we’ve had it on this blog before) – an amazing story. Enjoy!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvid_KnFq7s&w=854&h=480%5D
It is absolutely magnificent!
Yes, Lionel, that’s a marvellous miracle story. Young people love it, playing detective to work out the identity of the carpenter. Beautiful!
My son in law, who loves St. Joseph, has been diagnosed with cancer and will have surgery tomorrow on St. Joseph’s Feast Day. They are going to remove his kidney and they don’t know what else. Please pray to St. Joseph for him. Thank you.
Mary Anne,
I will certainly keep your son-in-law in my prayers today.
The Catholic Church shouldn’t be ‘so careful’ about spreading stories of the supernatural. St. John says in the Bible that jesus performed so many miracles that if they were all written down in books that the would would not be large enough to hold all the books. What a shame to be ashamed that the Catholic Church is the most powerful supernatural force for good in the world. I almost want to say ‘shame on you who are ashamed of that’ This stair case is just one grand miracle. Don’t you just love it?
Please pray for the soul of Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien. The news of his death has just been reported. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-43455753
May he rest in peace.
Further to my post above, reporting the death of Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien, the formal Media Press release from the Catholic Media Office gives a little more information – notably, the fact that the Cardinal died at 1.am this morning – that is to say, on this beautiful Feast of St Joseph. That is greatly comforting, surely, although a little sad that attention is not drawn to this edifying detail in the press release…
MEDIA RELEASE
Monday, 19 March 2018
Death Notice
Archbishop Emeritus Keith Patrick Cardinal O’Brien (1938-2018) RIP
At 1am on Monday 19 March 2018, His Eminence Keith Patrick Cardinal O’Brien, Archbishop Emeritus of St Andrews & Edinburgh, died at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Newcastle-upon-Tyne surrounded by family and friends and fortified by the rites of Holy Church. RIP. He was 80 years old.
Commenting upon the news, Archbishop Leo Cushley of St Andrews & Edinburgh said:
“In life, Cardinal O’Brien may have divided opinion – in death, however, I think all can be united in praying for the repose of his soul, for comfort for his grieving family and that support and solace be given to those whom he offended, hurt and let down. May he rest in peace.”
ENDS
It’s actually lovely news that the Cardinal has died on the Feast of St Joseph, Patron Saint of a happy death! It should encourage us all, I think, given the public profile of his life and his sins.
May he rest in peace.
I found a prayer to St Joseph, prayed by St Therese of Lisieux but didn’t copy the link to the website as it is full of strange books about “positive energy”. I’ve copied the prayer:
O Glorious St. Joseph, Behold I Choose Thee Today For My Special Patron In Life And At The Hour Of My Death.
Preserve And Increase In Me The Spirit Of Prayer And Fervor In The Service Of God.
Remove Far From Me Every Kind Of Sin;
Obtain For Me That My Death May Not Come Upon Me Unawares,
But That I May Have Time To Confess My Sins Sacramentally And To Bewail Them With A Most Perfect Understanding And A Most Sincere And Perfect Contrition, In Order That I May Breathe Forth My Soul Into The Hands Of Jesus And Mary. Amen.
A happy feast of St Joseph to everyone at Catholic Truth.
A very happy St Joseph’s day to one and all.
I agree about the Cardinal’s death. It is very comforting indeed. It gives hope to us all that no matter how bad or public our sins, we can still attain a happy death, with the Last Rites to fortify us, able to confess and repent our sins just before we meet God. What would we do without our glorious Catholic faith, I cannot imagine.
Happy Feast of St Joseph everyone.
May Cardinal O’Brien rest in peace. It is a kind suggestion from Editor that we should pray for him and I will be sure to do so.
I had read that he had declined after suffering a fall where he sustained a head injury.
I met the Cardinal on two occasions and found him a jovial and likable man. That is how I mainly remember him, as opposed to his leaving office in disgrace.
One of the occasions was on a visit to a dockyard, where he had come along to support the charity “Apostleship of The Sea”.
He was given a luminous orange jacket to wear (for safety reasons) and I remember him wondering aloud (tongue-in-cheek) about what they would make of him in Northern Ireland (where he was born) to be wearing such a colour.
He had two bad knees and was in obvious discomfort to be negotiating the rough ground in the docks, but he didn’t complain and just got on with things. He even managed to struggle up a ramshackle gangplank (no mean feat) to visit some Catholic seafarers and say mass for them on the ship.
He had brought some picture cards (featuring his own image) to give to the visiting seafarers as a memento of his visit. One of the men – from the Philippines – joked that, when the Cardinal died, the picture he had been given would essentially become a relic (!). I wonder if he still has the picture?
Gabriel Syme,
That’s funny about the orange jacket – it’s good that the cardinal had a sense of humour. RIP.
I wonder if anyone might recommend a specific novena to St Joseph which I might use?
I had been looking for a little pocket book of novenas (including St Joseph).
I found some books online, compiled by (American) Fr Lawrence Lovasik* – he also created some good children’s books – but i think he was more a “conservative V2 catholic” rather than a traditional priest?
Any advice would be appreciated.
*Interestingly, Fr Lovasik’s brother Leo was killed aged 21 during ww2. He was part of an American B-24 Bomber crew which sadly crashed during practice in the UK, killing all 9 crew.
Gabriel Syme,
I think the most famous novena to St Joseph is the short one given on this website
https://www.thoughtco.com/ancient-prayer-to-saint-joseph-542879
In the absence of the card itself, you might simply print off that short prayer and keep it on your person.
I’ll ask around to see if anyone has a spare card. I gave mine away a while back and haven’t replaced it, but if I can remember to whom I gave it, I’ll demand it back and give it to you. How’s that for charity 😀
Thank you to everyone who contributed to this thread. See you back here, next year, God willing!
Comments are closed.