PATRON OF FAMILIES:
Saint Joseph, I venerate you as the gentle head of the Holy Family. The Holy Family was the scene of your
life's work in its origin, in its guidance, in its protection, in your labor for Jesus and Mary, and even
in your death in their arms. You lived, moved, and acted in the loving company of Jesus and Mary. The
inspired writer describes your life at Nazareth in only a few words: "And (Jesus) went down with them and
came to Nazareth, and was subject to them" (Luke, 2:51). Yet these words tell of your high vocation here on
earth, and the abundance of graces which filled your soul during those years spent in Nazareth.
Your family life at Nazareth was all radiant with the light of divine charity. There was an intimate union
of heart and mind among the members of your Holy Family. There could not have been a closer bond than that
uniting you to Jesus, your foster-Son and to Mary, your most loving wife. Jesus chose to fulfill toward
you, His foster-father, all the duties of a faithful son, showing you every mark of honor and affection due
to a parent. And Mary showed you all the signs of respect and love of a devoted wife. You responded to this
love and veneration from Jesus and Mary with feelings of deepest love and respect. You had for Jesus a
true fatherly love, enkindled and kept aglow in your heart by the Holy Spirit. And you could not cease to
admire the workings of grace in Mary's soul, and this admiration caused the holy love which you had
consecrated to her on the day of your wedding grow stronger every day.
God has made you a heavenly patron of family life because you sanctified yourself as head of the Holy
Family and thus by your beautiful example sanctified family life. How peacefully and happily the Holy
Family rested under the care of your fatherly rule, even in the midst of trials. You were the protector,
counselor, and consolation of the Holy Family in every need. And just as you were the model of piety, so
you gave us by your zeal, your earnestness and devout trust in God's providence, and especially by your
love, the example of labor according to the Will of God. You cherished all the experiences common to family
life and the sacred memories of the life, sufferings, and joys in the company of Jesus and Mary. Therefore
the family is dear to you as the work of God, and it is of the highest importance in your eyes to promote
the honor of God and the well-being of man. In your loving fatherliness and unfailing intercession you are
the patron and intercessor of families, and you deserve a place in every home.
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.
I also pray for all Christian families. Your help is needed in our day when God's enemy has directed his
attack against the family in order to desecrate and destroy it. In the face of these evils, as patron of
families, be pleased to help; and as of old, you arose to save the Child and His Mother, so today arise to
protect the sanctity of the home. Make our homes sanctuaries of prayer, of love, of patient sacrifice, and
of work. May they be modeled after your own at Nazareth. Remain with us with Jesus and Mary, so that by
your help we may obey the commandments of God and of the Church; receive the holy sacraments of God and of
the Church; live a life of prayer; and foster religious instruction in our homes. Grant that we may be
reunited in God's Kingdom and eternally live in the company of the Holy Family in heaven.
NOVENA PRAYER
ovena
