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Day Seven
Patron of Workers
Saint Joseph, you devoted your time
at Nazareth to the work of a carpenter.
It was the Will of God
that you and your foster-Son
should spend your days together in manual labor.
What a beautiful example you set
for the working classes!
It was especially for the poor,
who compose the greater part of mankind,
that Jesus came upon earth,
for in the synagogue of Nazareth,
He read the words of Isaiah
and referred them to Himself:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because He has anointed Me
to bring good news to the poor..." (Luke 4:18).
It was God's Will
that you should be occupied with work
common to poor people,
that in this way Jesus Himself
might ennoble it by inheriting it from you,
His foster-father,
and by freely embracing it.
Thus our Lord teaches us that
for the humbler class of workmen,
He has in store His richest graces,
provided they live content
in the place God's Providence has assigned them,
and remain poor in spirit for He said,
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3).
The kind of work to which
you devoted your time in the workshop of Nazareth
offered you many occasions of practicing humility.
You were privileged to see each day
the example of humility which Jesus practiced
a virtue most pleasing to Him.
He chose for His earthly surroundings
not the courts of princes
nor the halls of the learned,
but a little workshop of Nazareth.
Here you shared for many years
the humble and hidden toiling of the God-Man.
What a touching example
for the worker of today!
While your hands were occupied with manual work,
your mind was turned to God in prayer.
From the Divine Master,
who worked along with you,
you learned to work
in the presence of God
in the spirit of prayer,
for as He worked He adored His Father
and recommended the welfare of the world to Him,
Jesus also instructed you
in the wonderful truths of grace and virtue,
for you were in close contact with Him
who said of Himself,
"I am the Way and the Truth and the Life."
As you were working at your trade,
you were reminded of the greatness and majesty of God,
who, as a most wise Architect,
formed this vast universe
with wonderful skill
and limitless power.
The light of divine faith
that filled your mind,
did not grow dim when you saw
Jesus working as a carpenter.
You firmly believed that
the saintly Youth
working beside you was truly
God's own Son.
Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege
of being able to work side by side with Jesus
in the carpenter shop of Nazareth.
As a token of your own gratitude to God,
obtain for me the grace
to respect the dignity of labor
and ever to be content with
the position in life, however lowly,
in which it may please Divine Providence to place me.
Teach me to work for God
and with God in the spirit of humility and prayer,
as you did, so that I may offer my toil
in union with the sacrifice of Jesus
in the Mass as a reparation for my sins,
and gain rich merit for heaven.
Novena Prayer
*(prayer to be said at the end of each day's devotion)
Saint Joseph, I, your unworthy child, greet you.
You are the faithful protector and intercessor
of all who love and venerate you.
You know that I have
special confidence in you
and that, after Jesus and Mary,
I place all my hope of salvation in you,
for you are especially powerful with God
and will never abandon your faithful servants.
Therefore I humbly invoke you
and commend myself,
with all who are dear to me
and all that belong to me,
to your intercession.
I beg of you,
by your love for Jesus and Mary,
not to abandon me during life
and to assist me at the hour of my death.
Glorious Saint Joseph,
spouse of the Immaculate Virgin,
obtain for me a pure, humble,
charitable mind, and perfect resignation
to the divine Will.
Be my guide, my father,
and my model through life
that I may merit to die
as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary.
Loving Saint Joseph,
faithful follower of Jesus Christ,
I raise my heart to you
to implore your powerful intercession
in obtaining from the Divine Heart of Jesus
all the graces necessary for my spiritual
and temporal welfare,
particularly the grace of a happy death,
and the special grace I now implore:
(Mention your request)
Guardian of the Word Incarnate,
I feel confident that your prayers
in my behalf will be
graciously heard before the throne of God. Amen.
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