Year of St. Joseph and Prayers That Are Needed
We are well in to the Year of St. Joseph as proclaimed by Pope Francis. I think this is a very special opportunity to find time to meditate on such a marvelous saint about whom we know very little. That may be the case but his “silence” says so much as you can find in the writings of many theologians. There are also many St. Joseph prayers you can find that may have special meaning to you.
I decided to spend more time in prayer to this saint and just to ask for his strength, wisdom and patience as the craziness of what is going on in our world has not let up and I’m afraid we’re going to see much more of it. We need St. Joseph’s help to overcome the problems so many people are facing, especially in trying to keep their faith and to remain calm.
One of the prayers I’m using for the first time is the Seven Sundays Devotion to St. Joseph. This coming Sunday will be #5.
I keep this mini icon of St. Joseph the Worker on my desk as a constant reminder to think about him and perhaps utter a short prayer. When I am having trouble figuring out what to do with my business and my work I turn to St. Joseph and think about what his days and years taking care of Jesus and Mary might have been like and how he handled his business and work. He made it through some very tough times too.
I like this excerpt about St. Joseph: “He protects those who revere him and accompanies them on their journey through this life — just as he protected and accompanied Jesus when he was growing up. As you get to know him, you discover that the holy patriarch is also a master of the interior life — for he teaches us to know Jesus and share our life with him, and to realize that we are part of God’s family. St Joseph can teach us these lessons, because he is an ordinary man, a family man, a worker who earned his living by manual labour — all of which has great significance and is a source of happiness for us.”
St. Josemaria Escriva
Christ is Passing By, no. 39