Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., has issued a diocesan-wide dispensation from the Lenten obligation of abstinence from meat on Friday, March 19, 2021, in honor of the Solemn Feast of St. Joseph, Spouse of Mary, during this special “Year of St. Joseph.” 

He encourages the faithful of the Diocese of Trenton who wish to take advantage of this dispensation, if possible, to transfer the Lenten abstinence from meat to another day that week, to attend Mass on March 19  OR to do some special act of penance instead.

A message from Bishop David M. O'Connell, C.M., on the Feast of St. Joseph

If it were not for the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Lord Jesus Christ, and her “yes” to God, the world would have never heard of Joseph, the “carpenter of Nazareth.” And, yet, this man of whom the Holy Scriptures say so very little is the Universal Patron of the Catholic Church.

This title, first given to St. Joseph 150 years ago (December 8, 1870) by Blessed Pope Pius IX, prompted our Holy Father Pope Francis to declare on December 8, 2020 an entire year dedicated to his memory.

But what do we know about St. Joseph?  Early in Matthew’s Gospel, the “Infancy Narratives” introduce Joseph, son of Jacob, as “the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah (Matthew 1: 16).” The following brief story tells of Mary pledged to be married to Joseph but “found to be pregnant
through the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18).”  Now Joseph was a “righteous man, unwilling to expose her to shame so he decided to divorce her quietly (Mathew 1:19).”  God intervened in a dream through an angel, revealing his divine intention, and Joseph “did as the angel had commanded him and took Mary into his home as his wife (Matthew 1:20-24).”  This passage calls to mind the notions of honor and commitment as they apply to Joseph.

Matthew next presents Joseph, again responding to an angel of the Lord in a dream, taking Mother and Child “to the Land of Israel, to the region of Galilee” and settling “in a town called Nazareth so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, ‘he shall be called a Nazorean’ (Matthew 2:13-15;23).”  Here Joseph demonstrates his care for the Holy Family through obedience.  Jesus is later identified as “the carpenter’s son (Matthew 13:55).”

Luke’s Gospel version of the “Infancy Narratives” portrays “Joseph, of the House of David” engaged to Mary (Luke 1:27) traveling with his pregnant wife “from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem” since that was his lineage and Caesar Augustus had ordered a census of the whole world be taken (Luke 2:1; 4-5). It was during that trip, while in Bethlehem, that the Child Jesus was born (Luke 2:6-7).  It was there that the shepherds first witnessed the Holy Family (Luke 2:16-17).  This passage reveals Joseph’s fortitude and perseverance.

Faithful to the Law of Moses, Joseph took Mary and Jesus to Jerusalem for the prescribed ritual consecration of the Child when they encountered the holy man Simeon in the temple who praised God and exclaimed, “My eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel (Luke 2:25-32).”  Luke writes that “the Child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him (Luke 2:33).” Joseph was a faithful religious man who was open to the will of God.

CONTINUE READING ST. JOSEPH: GUARDIAN OF THE REDEEMER AND HIS CHURCH HERE.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST OF BISHOP O'CONNELL'S 
SAINT JOSEPH: GUARDIAN OF THE REDEEMER AND HIS CHURCH

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A message from Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M.

His Holiness Pope Francis has used the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary to declare the year ahead, beginning Dec. 8, the “Year of St. Joseph,” her blessed spouse and the foster-father of the Lord Jesus.  

In an apostolic letter released today entitled “Patris corde” (“With a Father’s Heart”), marking the 150th anniversary of the declaration of St. Joseph as “Patron of the Universal Church” by Blessed Pope Pius IX, Pope Francis indicated that the “aim of this apostolic letter is to increase our love for this great saint, to encourage us to implore his intercession and to imitate his virtue and his zeal.”  
The Holy Father noted that “after Mary, the Mother of God, no saint is mentioned more frequently in the papal magisterium than Joseph, her spouse.  My predecessors reflected on the message contained in the limited information handed down by the Gospels in order to appreciate his central role in the history of salvation.”

Commenting on the apostolic letter, the Vatican News Office explained that “The Holy Father wrote “Patris corde” against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, which, he says, has helped us see more clearly the importance of “ordinary” people who, though far from the limelight, exercise patience and offer hope every day. In this, they resemble Saint Joseph, “the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence,” who nonetheless played “an incomparable role in the history of salvation.”

Throughout the document, the Holy Father describes Saint Joseph as a beloved father, a tender and loving father, an obedient father, an accepting father; a father who is creatively courageous, a working father, a father in the shadows.

The full text of the apostolic letter may be found here.

READ MORE OF BISHOP O'CONNELL'S MESSAGE "With a Father's Heart" HERE. 

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In his December 8, 2020 declaration of a “Year of St. Joseph” to mark the 150th anniversary of St. Joseph’s title as “Patron of the Universal Church,” Pope Francis has encouraged Catholics throughout the world to join him in praying this prayer:

Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer, 
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 
To you God entrusted his only Son; 
in you Mary placed her trust; 
with you Christ became man.
Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father 
and guide us in the path of life. 
Obtain for us grace, mercy,
and courage, 
and defend us from every evil.  Amen.

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Other traditional prayers from the Church’s rich spiritual treasury are also recommended for our consideration:

 
Year of St. Joseph Prayer

To you, O blessed Joseph, do we come in our tribulation, and having implored the help of your most holy Spouse, we confidently invoke your patronage also.
Through that charity which bound you to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God and through the paternal love with which you embraced the Child Jesus, we humbly beg you graciously to regard the inheritance
which Jesus Christ has purchased by his Blood, and with your power and strength to aid us in our necessities.

O most watchful guardian of the Holy Family, defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ;

O most loving father, ward off from us every contagion of error and corrupting influence;

O our most mighty protector, be kind to us and from heaven assist us in our struggle
with the power of darkness.

As once you rescued the Child Jesus from deadly peril, so now protect God’s Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity; shield, too, each one of us by your constant protection, so that, supported by your example and your aid, we may be able to live piously, to die in holiness, and to obtain eternal happiness in heaven.
Amen.

Daily Novena Prayer to St. Joseph

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, do 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 experienced here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of fathers. 

O Saint Joseph, I never weary of contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Hold Him close in my name and kiss His fine head from me and ask Him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, patron of departing souls, pray for me. Amen. 

Consecration to St. Joseph 

O dearest St. Joseph, I consecrate myself to thy honor and give myself to thee, that thou mayest always be my father, my protector, and my guide in the way of salvation.

Obtain for me a great purity of heart and a fervent love of the interior life. After thine example, may I do all my actions for the greater glory of God, in union with the Divine Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

And do thou, O Blessed St. Joseph, pray for me that I may share in the peace and joy of thy holy death Amen.

Prayer Before Eucharistic Adoration of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Tabernacle,
Invoking St. Joseph

Dear Jesus, we believe that You are here, truly present in the Blessed Sacrament: that You see us, that You hear us. We adore You with profound reverence. We beg pardon for our sins and the grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. 

Our Immaculate Mother, St. Joseph our Patron, our guardian angels, our patron saints, intercede for us during this time of prayer and adoration. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen. 
 

Litany of St. Joseph

Let us pray:

God, in your ineffable providence you were pleased to choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of your most holy Mother; grant, we beg you, that we may be worthy to have him for our intercessor in heaven whom on earth we venerate as our Protector: You who live and reign forever and ever.  
 

St. Joseph, pray for us.