March 19, 2004
The Feast of St. Joseph the Worker
The man who taught the Carpenter how to be, well . . . a carpenter. And the man who humbly accepted God's will and married a pregnant virgin. St. Joseph was the head of the Holy Family and the most sinful of the three! (I think many fathers probably feel this way). He is also our guide to being the perfect worker:
Prayer to Saint Joseph for the Spirit of Work
Glorious Saint Joseph, model of all who pass their life in labor, obtain for me the grace to work in a spirit of penance to atone for my many sins; to work conscientiously, putting the call of duty above my own inclinations; to work with gratitude and joy, considering it an honor to use and develop by my labor the gifts I have received from God; to work with order, peace, moderation and patience, without ever recoiling before weariness or difficulties.Help me to work, above all, with purity of intention and with detachment from self, having always before my eyes the hour of death and the accounting which I must render of time lost, talents wasted, good omitted, and vain complacency in success, which is so fatal to the work of God. All for Jesus, all for Mary, all after your example, O Patriarch Joseph! This shall be my watchword in life and in death. Amen
Remember also, no abstinence or fasting on a feast day - eat all the meat you want. ;-) Posted by Jay at March 19, 2004 10:00 AM | TrackBack
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Jay,
Thanks for this wonderful prayer. I know I could use it!
In Christ,
Dave
Jay, thanks for all your wonderful posts - I visit often. Thank you especially today for the St. Joseph prayer for workers - I found it particularly helpful in my situation!
In Christ, John
Posted by: John at March 19, 2004 12:22 PMSt. Joseph is my favorite saint.
When you strip away all the legends, the Bible does not have all that much to say about Joseph.
But the little that remains inspires me more than the life of any other saint: his compassion, his obedience, faithfulness, and humility.
I have included a link to a short summary of what the Bible has to say about Jesus. I found it truly inspirational.
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=4
Posted by: Richard Wan at March 19, 2004 3:05 PMWhat happened to Joseph? I'm not really familiar with his story--when I watched the Passion, I kept wondering... where's Joseph? I assume he must have died sometime earlier. How/when did he die?
Posted by: NOT Abercrombie Chick at March 19, 2004 8:51 PMAll we know about Joseph comes from Scripture and it isn't very revealing. Most people assume that Joseph died when Jesus was young - before Jesus' public ministry. But we don't really know how. There has always been the assumption that Joseph was significantly older than Mary, but again we have no real evidence.
God bless,
Jay
Thanks for the post Jay. On this day the church celebrates the Feast Day of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin, Patron of the Universal Church. We actually celebrate the Feast Day of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1st. Thought you might like to know.
God bless,
Maria
St.joseph was a specail person that had faith in everyone.St.joseph died when Jesus was only 3.
Please St Joseph help Michael L to find happiness in his job if it is God's will or find a better job which will bring him happiness and also for Bridie L that she will find a good little part time job St Joseph please help us
Posted by: Bridie at July 26, 2006 4:07 PM
