In this time of tribulation and apostasy accompanied by a great crisis in the family and a crisis of fatherhood let us pray to Saint Joseph and ask him for his help and protection. St Joseph, Terror of Demons, pray for us!
America Needs Fatima
Commitment to purity
In the writings of the venerable Mary of Agreda detailed in the City of God, we read that St. Joseph was a native of Nazareth, was of comely figure and agreeable countenance, very modest and incomparably genteel in appearance. He was related to the Blessed Virgin in the third degree, made a vow of perpetual chastity at age twelve, renewed and kept it in marriage much to the delight and joy of the Most Holy Virgin who vowed the same. He was thirty-three years old at that time.
It is beautiful to note here that when the holy priest Simeon gathered all the young men of Jerusalem from the house of David at the temple to choose who would be the rightful spouse of Our Lady, he was inspired by God to give each man a dry rod.
After a period of prayer asking for the manifestation of the Divine Will, pure white lilies - the symbol of purity - blossomed from St. Joseph's staff and a white dove, most pure and brilliant, hovered over his head giving Simeon the sign that he was the chosen one.
Hence, St. Joseph is the epitome of a pure man: pure in thought, pure in heart; pure in body and soul – destined to be the most chaste spouse of Mary Most Holy conceived without sin. In face of such sublime purity and holiness, it would not be farfetched to believe that the ugly, filthy infernal spirits would cower in petrified fear in his presence.
Graces obtained through St. Joseph's intercession
Mary of Agreda's City of God:
• "First, those who invoke him shall obtain from God, by his intercession, the gift of chastity, and shall not be conquered by the temptation of the senses;
• Secondly, they shall receive particular graces to deliver them from sin;
• Thirdly, they shall obtain a true devotion to the Blessed Virgin;
• Fourthly, they shall have a good and happy death, and in that all-decisive moment be defended against the assaults of Satan;
• Fifthly, they shall be delivered when expedient for them, from bodily sufferings, and shall find help in their afflictions;
• Sixthly, if married, they shall be blessed with offspring;
• Seventhly, the demons shall have extreme dread of the glorious name of St. Joseph.
With so many graces to be obtained through his powerful intercession, let us not tarry nor hesitate in asking humbly for the protection and aid of dear St. Joseph, Terror of demons!
TO SAINT JOSEPH
O glorious St. Joseph,
to you God committed the care
of His only begotten Son
amid the many dangers of this world.
We come to you
and ask you to take under your special protection
the children God has given us.
Through holy baptism
they became children of God
and members of His holy Church.
We consecrate them to you today,
that through this consecration
they may become your foster children.
Guard them,
guide their steps in life,
form their hearts
after the hearts of Jesus and Mary.
St. Joseph,
who felt the tribulation and worry of a parent
when the child Jesus was lost,
protect our dear children for time and eternity.
May you be their father and counsellor.
Let them, like Jesus,
grow in age as well as in wisdom and grace
before God and men.
Preserve them from the corruption of his world,
and give us the grace one day to be united
with them in Heaven forever.
Amen.
Prayer for Purity
Saint Joseph, father and guardian of virgins, into whose faithful keeping were entrusted Innocence itself, Christ Jesus, and Mary, the Virgin of virgins, I pray and beseech thee through Jesus and Mary, those pledges so dear to thee, to keep me from all uncleanness, and to grant that my mind may be untainted, my heart pure and my body chaste; help me always to serve Jesus and Mary in perfect chastity. Amen.
Prayer to St. Joseph
O my beloved Saint Joseph! Adopt me as thy child; take charge of my salvation; watch over me day and night; preserve me from occasions of sin; obtain for me purity of body and soul, and the spirit of prayer, through thy intercession with Jesus. Grant me a spirit of sacrifice of humility, and self-denial; obtain for me a burning love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and a sweet tender love for Mary, my mother.
Saint Joseph, be with me in life, be with me in death, and obtain for me a favorable judgment from Jesus, my Merciful Savior. Amen
Act of Consecration to Saint Joseph
O Blessed Saint Joseph, I consecrate myself to thy honor, and give myself to thee that thou mayest always be my father, my protector, and my guide in the way of salvation. Obtain for me a great purity of heart and a fervent love of the interior life. After thy example may I do all my actions for the greater glory of God, in union with the Divine Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. And do thou, O Blessed Saint Joseph, pray for me, that I may share in the peace and joy of thy holy death. Amen.
CONSECRATION OF A CHILD TO SAINT JOSEPH
Great Saint Joseph, who wast as a father to our Divine Saviour, we offer and consecrate to thee this child. Deign to be (his) protector and (his) father. Preserve in (him) the precious treasure of innocence. Protect (him) from all dangers to body and soul, and inspire in (him) from (his) earliest days a tender love for thee, for Mary, thy immaculate Spouse, and for JESUS, thy adorable Son. May thy holy protection be with (him) throughout (his) life. Watch over all (his) ways, guide (him) in all (his) enterprises, conduct (him) always in the path of the precepts of the LORD, and deign to bring (him) at the moment of (his) death into the Heavenly Jerusalem, there eternally to sing the Divine mercies, and thy paternal bounty. Amen.
Prayer of St. Pius X to St. Joseph
O most sweet Jesus, who came into this world to give to all souls the life of your grace, and who, to preserve and increase it in them, willed to be the daily remedy of their weakness and the food for each day, we humbly beseech you, by your heart so burning with love for us, to pour your divine Spirit upon all souls in order that those who have the misfortune to be in the state of mortal sin may, returning to you, find the light of grace that they have lost. Through this same Holy Spirit, may those who are already living by this divine life devoutly approach your divine table every day when it is possible, so that, receiving each day in Holy Communion the antidote of their daily venial sins and each day sustaining in themselves the life of your grace and thus ever purifying themselves the more, they may finally come to a happy life with you. Amen.
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