Mass of S. Joseph

...I do, however, have the pleasure to announce a Mass of the Solemnity of S. Joseph at S. Magnus, for those who cannot attend Mass on the feast day itself on :

THURSDAY 18TH MARCH

at

6.15 pm

in

S. Magnus the Martyr, Lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6DN

(This Mass will be celebrated according to the Older Rite of the English Missal)

Votive Mass of S. Joseph

Today is Wednesday. On ferial wednesdays, it is permitted to say a Votive Mass of S. Joseph, and although I don't have the pleasure of being able to advertise such a Celebration, I will share the Mass propers from the English Missal. I don't know a great deal about the history of this Mass, or indeed about votives in general. However, it seems to me that this Mass was composed not too long before its entry into the Missal, as the scriptural material is selected from Genesis in reference to the Old Testament Joseph, merging the two "patriarchs", which I understand is a relatively late feature of devotions to S. Joseph. However, the Mass also makes reference to the "crowning" of Joseph, perhaps dating it a little earlier. I wonder if anyone could help me with that?

INTROIT. Ps. 33. Ajutor et protector

The Lord us our help and our shield: Our heart shall rejoice in him because we have hoped in his holy name. Ps. 80. Hear, O thou Shephard of Israe, thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep. V. Glory.

COLLECT.

O God, who by thy ineffable providence didst vouchsafe to choose blessed Joseph to be the spouse of thy most holy Mother: grant, we beseech thee, that we who venerate him as a protector on earth may be found worthy to have him as an intercessor in heaven: Who livest.

LESSON. Genesis xlix. 22

Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

GRADUAL. Ps. 21 Thou hast prevented him, O Lord, with the blessing of goodness: and hast set a crown of pure gold upon his head. V. He asked life of thee and thou gavest him a long life, even for ever and ever. Alleluia, Alleluia. V. Grant us, O Joseph, to lead our life in innoncency: and may it ever be safe under thy protection.

(After Septuagesima, omitting Alleluia and the Verse following, is said:)

TRACT. Ps. 112. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord: he hath great delight in his commandments. V. His seedshall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the faithful shall be blessed. V. Riches and plenteousness shall be in his house: and his rightenousness endureth for ever.

(In Eastertide, the Gradual is omitted, and in its place is said:)

Alleluia, alleluia. V. In whatsoever tribulation they shall cry unto me, I will hear them, and I will be their protector for ever. Alleluia. V. Grant us, O Joseph, to lead our life in innocency: and may it ever be safe under thy protection. Alleluia.

+ The Continuation of the holy GOSPEL according to Luke (ii.21)

At that time: It came to pass, when all the people were baptized, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph.

OFFERTORY. Ps. 147.

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem: for he hath made fast the bars of thy gates, and hath blessed they children within thee. (Alleluia.)

SECRET.

O Lord, forasmuch as we put our trust in the advocacy of the spouse of thy most holy Mother, we entreat thy mercy: that thou wouldest make our hearts to despise all earthly things, and to love thee the true God with perfect charity: Who livest.

(Preface of S. Joseph)

COMMUNION. Matt. I.

Jacob begat Joseph the Husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ (Alleluia)

POSTCOMMUNION.

We beseech thee, O Lord our God: that we whom thou hast refreshed with the fountain of the divine gift, may by thee be enabled so to rejoice in the protection of blessed Joseph; that, by his merits and intercession, we may be made partakers of thy heavenly glory. Through.

Novena to S. Joseph

Today is the traditional date to start praying the Novena to S. Joseph before his feast on the 19th. Starting today, your nine days of prayer will take you up to the vigil of the feast, which is when the party starts!

There are no shortage of novenas or novena-type devotions to S. Joseph, including the Devotion of the Holy Cloak recommended by devotees to the Divine Mercy. The Novena prayer below is recommended by tradition being found "in the 50th year of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ". In 1505, it was sent by the Pope to Emperor Charles when he was going into battle. It is said that whoever shall read this prayer or take it with them, shall never die a sudden death or be drowned, nor shall poison take effect on them; neither shall they fall into the hands of the enemy, or shall be burned in any fire or shall be overpowered in battle :

Novena Prayer

O Saint Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires.

O Saint Joseph, assist me by your powerful intercession and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, Our Lord; so that having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers.

O Saint Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me, and ask Him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath. Amen

O Saint Joseph, hear my prayers and obtain my petitions. O Saint Joseph, pray for me. (Mention your intention)

This novena prayer can be followed by : Memorare to S. Joseph Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be. And then....

Litany of S. Joseph

Lord, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Mary,
Pray for us.
Holy Joseph,
Pray for us.
Noble Son of the House of David,
Pray for us.
Light of the Patriarchs,
Pray for us.
Husband of the Mother of God,
Pray for us.
Chaste Guardian of the Virgin,
Pray for us.
Foster-father of the Son of God,
Pray for us.
Sedulous Defender of Christ,
Pray for us.
Head of the Holy Family,
Pray for us.
Joseph most just,
Pray for us.
Joseph most chaste,
Pray for us.
Joseph most prudent,
Pray for us.
Joseph most valiant,
Pray for us.
Joseph most obedient,
Pray for us.
Joseph most faithful,
Pray for us.
Mirror of patience,
Pray for us.
Lover of poverty,
Pray for us.
Model of all who labor,
Pray for us.
Glory of family life,
Pray for us.
Protector of Virgins,
Pray for us.
Pillar of families,
Pray for us.
Consolation of the afflicted,
Pray for us.
Hope of the sick,
Pray for us.
Patron of the dying,
Pray for us.
Terror of the demons,
Pray for us.
Protector of the holy Church,
Pray for us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.

He made him master of his house, and ruler of all his possesions.

O God, You were pleased to choose Saint Joseph as the husband of Mary and the guardian of your Son. Grant that, as we venerate him as our protector on earth, we may deserve to have him as our intercessor in heaven. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

Another S. Joseph Shrine

This is another home shrine for the month of S. Joseph shared by Andrew Wilce, a parishioner of S. Silas, Kentish Town. No doubt this place of prayer greatly enhances his devotions to our Patron during this month of piety.

SANCTE JOSEPH, ORA PRO NOBIS

Coptic devotion to S. Joseph

Although devotion to S. Joseph in the latter centuries of the Church's history has been more prominent in the West, it is useful to remind ourselves that it was in the East that we have our first evidence of his cult, more specifically in Christian Egypt. The first feast day of S. Joseph was reputedly kept by the Copts from the beginning of the 4th century AD, and a feast of S. Joseph the Carpenter is certainly entered, on the 20th July, in the oldest Coptic calenders known to scholars.

S. Joseph's early appearence in the devotions of Egyptian Christians is probably due to his important role in one of the Biblical narratives most cherished by the Copts: The exile of the Holy Family to Egypt. Countless popular legends have grown up around the Exile, with many monasteries, churches and shrines in Egypt positioned somewhere along the projected route taken by the Holy Family. To this day one can visit, in S. Sergius Church in Old Cairo, a grotto where the Holy Family took shelter. One can also dodge traffic on the highway through Ain Shams, a dusty modern suburb of Cairo, to sit under the paltry shade of The Virgin Mary's Tree, where the Blessed Virgin is rumoured to have stopped to feed the Divine Child. The exile has always been a popular subject for Coptic iconographers from the earliest times, and an example is above. The Holy Family entering Egypt, greeted joy by the leaping fish in the Nile, is the typical image of the Exile, with S. Joseph either leading the donkey, or walking behind the Mother and Child, who form the central image of this icon. The image also features in one of the modern iconographic mosaics which adorn the courtyard of Egypt's oldest church: the Mu'allaqah ("Suspended" church) in Old Cairo.

Coptic devotion to S. Joseph is rooted in his place in the Holy Family. It is his silence that abounds, not his words or actions. He is always there with Mary and Jesus, but never centre-stage. Let this inform your devotion to S. Joseph today:

The silence of Saint Joseph is given a special emphasis. His silence is steeped in contemplation of the mystery of God in an attitude of total availability to divine desires. It is a silence thanks to which Joseph, in unison with Mary, watches over the Word of God, known through the Sacred Scriptures, continuously comparing it with the events of the life of Jesus; a silence woven of constant prayer, a prayer of blessing of the Lord, of the adoration of His holy will and of unreserved entrustment to his providence. It is no exaggeration to think that it was precisely from his "father" Joseph that Jesus learned -- at the human level -- that steadfast interiority which is a presupposition of authentic justice.... Let us allow ourselves to be "filled" with Saint Joseph's silence! In a world that is often too noisy, that encourages neither recollection nor listening to God's voice.

Pope Benedict XVI
Angelus, December 18, 2005

(Please excuse the lack of paragraph breaks in this post. If somebody could give me a hint on how to actually make Blogger work, then please let me know. It's driving me nuts....)

S. Joseph with the Infant Christ

Another Spanish painting of S. Joseph by Murillo (1670s). This is another image popular in the 16th and 17th centuries in Spain, S. Joseph in some fatherly pose with the Divine Infant. In this case, he is normally shown as a younger man with a black beard, although here we can also see the flowering staff is still present. The younger S. Joseph is part of a programme of re-evangelising European city states by promoting the Holy Family as the ideally harmonious and ordered family unit. From Catholicculture.org :

"In 1570 Johannes Molanus, the Counter-Reformation's arbiter of religious art, demanded a clean sweep of legendary material in Christian art. Among the subjects his writings denounced were the Holy Kindred and apocryphal accounts of St. Joseph's selection as Mary's spouse. Molanus insisted that St. Joseph be depicted as young and vigorous, with the Christ child firmly under his paternal authority."

Prayer to S. Joseph for Protection

Gracious St. Joseph, protect me and my family from all evil as you did the Holy Family. Kindly keep us ever united in the love of Christ, ever fervent in imitation of the virtue of our Blessed Lady, your sinless spouse, and always faithful in devotion to you. Amen.

The Coronation of S. Joseph

Something for the second day of this month of S. Joseph. Images of the coronation of S. Joseph are a fairly late introduction to the devotional repertoire, and most were created in Spain, where devotion to San Jose developed rapidly in the period after the Council of Trent. This is Zurbaran's depiction, which reflects some images from the Proto-evangelion, such as the flowering staff, and the elderly S. Joseph. An excellent history of devotion to S. Joseph can be found here. Here's also one of the most beloved prayers to S. Joseph. Please pray it generously for me, while I suffer from an ugly rash brought on by antibiotics!!!

Memorare To Saint Joseph

Remember, O most pure spouse of Mary, and my dearly beloved guardian, St. Joseph, that never was it known that anyone who invoked your care and requested your help was left without consolation.
Inspired with this confidence, I come to you, and with all the ardor of my spirit I commend myself to you. Do not reject my prayer, O Foster Father of the Savior, but graciously receive and answer it. Amen!