NOVENA PRAYER TO ST. JOSEPH, 1st Day

FOSTER-FATHER OF JESUS

    Saint Joseph,
you were privileged to share in the mystery
of the Incarnation as the foster-father of Jesus.
Mary alone was directly connected with the fulfillment of the mystery,
in that she gave her consent to Christ’s conception
and allowed the Holy Spirit to form
the sacred humanity of Jesus from her blood.
You had a part in this mystery in an indirect manner,
by fulfilling the condition necessary for the Incarnation –
the protection of Mary’s virginity before
and during your married life with her.
You made the virginal marriage possible,
and this was a part of God’s plan, foreseen,
willed, and decreed from all eternity.

    In a more direct manner you shared in the support,
upbringing, and protection of the Divine Child as His foster-father.
For this purpose the Heavenly Father gave you a genuine heart of a father –
a heart full of love and self-sacrifice.
With the toil of your hands you were obliged
to offer protection to the Divine Child,
to procure for Him food, clothing, and a home.
You were truly the saint of the holy childhood of Jesus –
the living created providence which watched over the Christ-Child.

    When Herod sought the Child to put Him to death,
the Heavenly Father sent an angel but only as a messenger,
giving orders for the flight;
the rest He left entirely in your hands.
It was that fatherly love
which was the only refuge
that received and protected the Divine Child.
Your fatherly love carried Him through the desert
into Egypt until all enemies were removed.
Then on your arms the Child returned to Nazareth
to be nourished and provided for during many years
by the labor of your hands.
Whatever a human son owes to a human father
for all the benefits of his up-bringing and support,
Jesus owed to you,
because you were to Him a foster-father,
teacher, and protector.

    You served the Divine Child with a singular love.
God gave you a heart filled with heavenly, supernatural love –
a love far deeper and more powerful
than any natural father’s love could be.

    You served the Divine Child with great unselfishness,
without any regard to self-interest,
but not without sacrifices.
You did not toil for yourself,
but you seemed to be an instrument intended
for the benefit of others,
to be put aside as soon as it had done its word,
for you disappeared from the scene
once the childhood of Jesus had passed.

    You were the shadow of the Heavenly Father
not only as the earthly representative of the authority of the Father,
but also by means of your fatherhood –
which only appeared to be natural –
you were to hide for a while the divinity of Jesus.
What a wonderfully sublime
and divine vocation was yours –
the loving Child which you carried in your arms,
and loved and served so faithfully,
had God in Heaven as Father and was Himself God!

    Yours is a very special rank among the saints of the Kingdom of God,
because you were so much a part of the very life
of the Word of God made Man.
In your house at Nazareth
and under your care the redemption of mankind was prepared.
What you accomplished, you did for us.
You are not only a powerful and great saint in the Kingdom of God,
but a benefactor of the whole of Christendom and mankind.
Your rank in the Kingdom of God,
surpassing far in dignity and honor of all the angels,
deserves our very special veneration, love, and gratitude.

    Saint Joseph,
I thank God for your privilege
of having been chosen by God
to be the foster-father of His Divine Son.
As a token of your own gratitude to God
for this your greatest privilege,
obtain for me the grace of a very devoted love for Jesus Christ,
my God and my Savior.
Help me to serve Him with some of the self-sacrificing love
and devotion which you had while on this earth with Him.
Grant that through your intercession with Jesus, your foster-Son,
I may reach the degree of holiness God has destined for me,
and save my soul.

    Here, recite the “Novena Prayer at the beginning.”