Potpourri!: Novena to St. Joseph

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Saturday, March 19, 2011

Novena in Honor of St. Joseph: NINTH DAY

(Disclaimer: I am NOT taking credits for this. The text herein come from a 40-page novena booklet I purchased from St. Paul Bookstore where no author was indicated. Undertaking the novena has enabled me to come across these beautiful reflections which I would like to share. It is hence my hope that another soul might find inspiration from the virtues exemplified by the life of. St. Joseph)

NOTE: These are the text in their entirety. Emphasis were supplied by me. Please click on images for better/ clearer view.

DETACHMENT--

"What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and suffer the loss of his own soul?"

DETACHMENT meant for St. Joseph that he could center his thoughts and affections on things Divine. Detachment meant for St. Joseph that he was not enulfed in worldly affairs, that after his work in the carpenter shop, he could have the rest of the time for thoughts and conversations on things Divine. He was detached from riches because of his poverty which he loved; he was detached from honors because of his humility which saved him the agony and tribulation of those who aspire to hear the applause of men. He was detached, beacuse of his chastity from those more terrific temptations against purity.

Detachment from earthly affairs kept St. Joseph with his interests in Heaven, and his exile on earth was simply a precious enjoyment of the celestial joys reserved for those who do the will of God in this life.

REFLECTION

What of your detachment from things of this earth? Are you regulating your life so thatg you can truly say that your thoughts are centered upon things Divine? Are you engulfed in pleasures that never satisfy? Are you keen to hear your praises sung knowing that those flatteries cause afterall, more pain than joy? Are you ambitious, knowing that ambition makes us uneasy, makes us dissatisfied with oput rpesent state and simply drives us from one condition to another as a storm might blow a small piece of paper from place to place? Are you detached, at least in the sense that you value hevenly treasures more than worldly awards? Are you detached in that you canm concentrate upon your eternal destriny using earthly things in proportion as you need them, yetnever allowing yourself to become a slave of honors, of ambition, of vanity, of the more base sins that our nature is heir to? Are you detached so that if God called you as He called the rich young man, "Come follow Me," you could, as the apostles, "leave all things" and realize your vocation, if such were your good fortune?

Prayer

O St. Joseph, make me understand the excellence of poverty. Grant that I may enter into the interior dispositions which animated thee in regard to that virtue. Disclose to me the snarest of riches, the dangers which are attached to them, the solicitude which they engender.

Make me understand how much God favors us, when He refuses us riches, since He furnishes us a precious occasion to detach us from ourselves and from creatures, and to increase our merit for Heaven. Amen.

Novena in Honor of St. Joseph: EIGHTH DAY

NOTE: These are the text in their entirety. Emphasis were supplied by me. Please click on images for better/ clearer view.

OBEDIENCE

"The sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me." (-John 10,27)

OBEDIENCE was an integral part of the life of the foster-father of Jesus. When the angel informed him as to the real condition of the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph was obedient and did not fear to take Mary as his wife. When the law ordered that Mary, the expectant Mother, be brought a long distance to be enrolled in a census, St. Joseph obeyed. When again the angel told St. Joseph to conduct the young mother and the new born Child to Egypt and remain there, though it involved two long years away from home, St. Joseph was obedient.

And same virtue of obedience was so manifested in the life of Jesus Who accepted the commands of Joseph, who accepted the counsels of the Blessed Mother. St. Joseph saw this obedience of the Divine Child to creature and his own love of this virtue was deepened. St. Joseph saw Christ from the first moment obedient to the law of nature; he saw Christ obedient to His parents and he knew that Christ was to be obedient unto death, even unto the death of the Cross.

REFLECTION
Of your obedience, it is not merely formal but is it wholehearted? Do you accept the commands of your superiors and follow them out to the best of your ability? Do you encourage this virtue in others, in the young especially, so as to better prepare them for life, to make their characters more receptive to the influence of grace? Are you obedient to your parents, knowing that God has placed them over you, appreciating, too, that they have given you your life, have sacrificed much for you, have prayed and hoped that you would be true and faithful? In your obligations to the Church, are you obedient, following the precepts, the warnings and counsels to avoid serious sin? Are you obedient to the graces God may be giving you, perhaps the inestimable grace of a vocation of being a priest, brother or sister?

Prayer

O St. Joseph so faithful to display in thy conduct the o0bedience of Jesus and Mary, obtain for me this important virtue.
Obtain for me a perfect docility of heart to accomplish the will of God, and that of those who replaces Him. Inspire me by your example, to obey, with promptness and generosity; obtain for me above all, the grace to obey without murmuring, without reasoning upon the orders given me, in spite of every pretext, and with an entire immolation of my own will. Amen.

Novena in Honor of St. Joseph: SEVENTH DAY

NOTE: These are the text in their entirety. Emphasis were supplied by me. Please click on images for better/ clearer view.

Novena in Honor of St. Joseph: SIXTH DAY

NOTE: These are the text in their entirety. Emphasis were supplied by me. Please click on images for better/clearer view.

Novena in Honor of St. Joseph: FIFTH DAY

NOTE: These are the text in their entirety. Emphasis were supplied by me. Please click on images for better/clearer view.

Novena in Honor of St. Joseph: FOURTH DAY

NOTE: These are the text in their entirety. Emphasis were supplied by me. Please click on images for better/ clearer view.

Novena in Honor of St. Joseph: THIRD DAY

NOTE: These are the text in their entirety. Emphasis were supplied by me.

CHARITY--

"He loved God that made him."

-Ecc. 47,10

"By this shall all men know that you are My disciples.

if you have love, love one for another." - John 15,35

Novena in Honor of St. Joseph: SECOND DAY

NOTE: These are the text in their entirety. Emphasis were supplied by me.

HOPE--

"Blessed is the man whose trust is in the name of the Lord."

(Ps. 39,5)

HOPE is one o the greatest ornaments in the galaxy of Christian virtues. It means that we place ourselves in the hands of God, that we trust Him to watch over us and guide us and protect our interests.

St. Joseph had this trust in God, this supernatural hope in an eminent degree. he hoped for the grace to do the will of God; he hoped for the necessary helps to fulfill his mission; he hoped for the light necessary to guide him in his terrific difficulties.

By attaching his thoughts and desires and aspirations to God, he detached himself from earthly things, the affections of the hour, the interests that pass away quickly. Every holy thought though witnessed by no human being, is seen by the all-seeing eye of God. Regardless of the world's praise or blame, we may hope to receive our just reward.

REFLECTION

What of your hope? Do you ever get despondent and wish to die? Do you shudder when you consider the number of people who ion these days commit suicide? Do you realize that for those who are in their right mind and who take their lives there can be but one result when their souls appear before the judgment seat of God, and that is eternal hell?

In your daily work, do you lose hope, getting discontented and spreading this disease to your companions? Do you, to paraphrase St. Augustine, "work as though all depended upon yourself and hope as though all depended upon God?"

Prayer

O St. Joseph, do thou cause the gift of Christian hope to descend into my heart. May it enlighten me, console me, defend me. May it detach me from the earth so as to elevate my thoughts and affections towards Heaven. May it henceforward inspire my whole conduct and give me tyhe right to die like thee saying, "Lord, I have hoped in Thee. I shall not be confounded!"

Novena in Honor of St. Joseph: FIRST DAY

NOTE: These are the text in their entirety. Emphasis were supplied by me. Please click on the pictures for bigger and clearer text.

TO MAKE A NOVENA
(1) Recite the following prayers on nine consecutive days or on nine consecutive Wednesdays.

(2) Try to receive Holy Communion at least once during the novena.

(3) Perform some act of mortification or self-denial for every day of the novena.

FIRST DAY

Faith

"The just man liveth by Faith." (St. Paul)

St. Joseph was certainly a just man. He had been chosen of all men in this world to be the protector of the Mother of God. He has been chosen because His faith was strong and it required unwavering faith and courage to believe in the virginity of Mary when she was with child. It required Faith during the flight into Egypt when the God Child fled before the rage of a king who sought to kill Him. And Nazareth required Faith when Joseph was forced to work and eke out a poor living for the young mother and Child.

St. Joseph, in the gospel story, is called the "just man." But what oceans of praise are contained therein when one realizes that such is not simply the judgment of men but the unerring verdict of the Holy Ghost.

Reflection:

What of your faith? Is it strong, undoubting and built upon a firm foundation? Have you a realization of the fact that even in our natural lives, we live by faith, trusting the judgment, the honesty and ability of that Christ's promise, "I will be with you all days, even unto the consummation of the world" implies that the Church is being divinely guided and directed? Is your faith built upon a firm foundation, a foundation of knowing of what the Catholic Church teaches and a love of that knowledge which forbids you to read dangerous books, to listen to those who attack the faith, knowing that as a babe is not given strong food until such time as it reaches manhood, so too, until you are well grounded in the Faith, you cannot meet objections unless you know your Faith?

Say to St. Joseph:

Prayer

O great Saint, model of the just living by faith,

revive that virtue in our souls.

May it be the principle, the motive,

the aim of all my actions;

my consolation and my strength in the trials of life,

and the source of abundant merit for everlasting life.

Amen.

Novena in Honor of St. Joseph

NOTE: These are the text in their entirety. Emphasis were supplied by me.

from Page 2

Saint Joseph

Pages might be penned and chapters written to advocate devotion to St. Joseph. Whole volumes might be contributed and libraries put to use to gather and classify the favors, answers to prayers and spiritual rewards that have come through the intercession of St. Joseph. It is helpful to realize this further buried conviction: Christ Jesus was obedient to St. Joseph from that cold Christmas eve until the day when, int he arms of the Boy Christ, St. Joseph returned his soul to God; and as Christ was obedient to His father on earth, so too, in heaven, Christ listens to the suggestions of St. Joseph.

But as we scan the literature that has centered about the foster-father of the Divine Babe, there is no greater tribute, it seems, than the few lines penned by St. Teresa. It is not only as a mystic that St. Teresa has come down to us in the pages of history; it is only as the "saint of common sense" as she has been called, that St. Teresa of Avila is known to us. It is not only as a great woman called by many the greatest woman to tread this earth (after the Blessed Mother) in the Christian era. It seems that St. Teresa in her marvelous work of establishing new monasteries was somewhat reckless. This may be so to human eyes.

One thing is clear, that St. Teresa has always had so many plans, so many projects to launch. And this too is true of individuals and societies today that try to do the work of the Lord. Perhaps it is a blessing in disguise but the fact remains that individuals are continually restricted in their work for God by lack of the material means to erect eternal enterprises.

Wisely did St. Teresa place under St. Joseph's special patronage all the Carmelite convents she founded. To a great number she gave his won name. Other Religious Orders in the Church similarly ought to honor St. Joseph.

Now realizing the work of St. Teresa, we have the following tribute from her that richly tells its own story. Her words speak eloquently. One cannot read them without thinking hope.

"I took St. Joseph for my patron and advocate, and I recommend myself unceasingly to His protection. I do not remember ever to have asked anything of him that I did not obtain.

It seems as though God gives to other saints the grace to assist us in some certain necessity; but according to my experience, St. Joseph assists us in every want. Our Lord wishing to make us understand that, as He was obedient to His foster-father here upon earth, so He now can refuse him no request in heaven. Many persons who have invoked him by advice have experienced this truth, and the number of his clients increases daily and corroborate what I declare.

I would decide to persuade everyone to honor so great a Saint, so frequently have I been shown the powerful influence he possesses with God. I have never met anyone who had true devotion to him, who did not advance rapidly in the path of virtue, because he mightily aids all who recommend themselves to his intercession.

For several years past I have asked a special favor at his festival, and it has always been granted: if the request was not judicious, he had denied it for my greater god. I implore those who do not credit this to make the trial for themselves. Let him who has no guide in the way of prayer take this great Patriarch for his director. HE will not go astray."