Saint JOSEPH...

Prayer to Saint Joseph

O Joseph, tell David, who was the ancestor of the Man-God, the wonders your eyes have seen: you saw the Child pressed against the Holy Virgin's bosom; you worshipped him with the Magi; you gave glory to God with the shepherds, obeying the voice of the angel.

Ask the Christ God to save our souls. You, Joseph, held in your arms the God before whom the immense heavenly powers tremble, after the Blessed Virgin gave birth. At that moment you received your consecration. This is why we honor you.

Your soul was obedient to the divine precept; you were filled with a purity without equal and deserved to receive the most pure and immaculate one among women as your wife. You were the guardian of the Virgin, at the time she herself deserved to become the tabernacle of the Creator ... The One who shaped the sky, the land and the sea with his Word has been called the Son of the carpenter, your Son, O admirable Joseph!

You have been called the father of One who is without beginning and who glorified you as the minister of the mystery which surpasses all understanding... "Bless the Lord, all the Lord's creation: praise and glorify him for ever!" (Deut 3:57).


Menaion, Greek Liturgy, tr. Dom Gueranger, Liturgical Year, Lent, March 19