[Arch]confraternity of the Cord of St. Joseph

[smach]

If one wanted to join a Confraternity of the Cord–specifically of St. Joseph–what is required. Is there an application process like joining the KofC, or can one simply start observing the obligations?

 

[Battle_Warrior]

If one wanted to join a Confraternity of the Cord–specifically of St. Joseph–what is required. Is there an application process like joining the KofC, or can one simply start observing the obligations?

I was wondering the same thing…I bought a St. Joseph cord last year and I haven’t started wearing it because I was not sure if I had to be enrolled and/or just have it blessed.

 

[Alexander_Roman]

Any priest may bless the Cord of St Joseph according to this formula:

Priest’s Blessing of a Cincture
The priest, vested in surplice and white stole, says:

V: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
R: Who made heaven and earth.
V: The Lord be with you.
R: May He also be with you.
V: Let us pray.
Lord Jesus Christ, who inculcated the counsel and love of virginity, and gave the precept of chastity, we appeal to Thy kindness, asking that Thou bless and hallow this cincture as a token of purity. Let all who gird themselves with it as a safeguard of chastity be enabled, by the prayers of Saint Joseph, spouse of Thy holy Mother, to practice that continence which is so pleasing to Thee, and to live in obedience to Thy commandments. May they also obtain pardon of their sins, health in mind and body, and flnally attain everlasting life. We ask this of Thee who lives and reigns with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, forever and ever.
R: Amen.
V: Let us pray.
Almighty and everlasting God, grant, we pray, that those who revere the inviolate virginity of the most pure Virgin Mary and of Saint Joseph, her spouse, may by their prayers be pure in mind and body; through Christ our Lord.
R: Amen
Let us pray.
Almighty and everlasting God, who committed the boy Jesus and the most pure Mary, ever a Virgin, to the care of the chaste man Saint Joseph, we humbly entreat Thee that those who are girded with this cincture in honour of Saint Joseph and under his patronage may, by Thy help and his prayers, persevere in holy chastity for all time; through Christ our Lord.
R: Amen.
Let us pray.
God, the lover and restorer of innocence, we pray that Thy faithful who are to wear this cincture may, by the prayers of Saint Joseph, spouse of Thy holy Mother, have their loins girded and hold burning lamps in their hands, and thus be likened to men who wait for their Lord when He shall return for a wedding, that when He comes and knocks they may open to Him, and be found worthy of being taken into everlasting joys; through Thee who lives and reigns forever and ever.
R: Amen
Then the priest puts incense into the censer, sprinkles the cincture with holy water, and says:

Sprinkle me with hyssop, Lord, and I shall be clean of sin. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
After this he incenses the cincture, and continues:

V: Save Thy servants.
R: Who trust in Thee, my God.
V: Lord, send them aid from Thy holy place.
R: And watch over them from Sion.
V: Lord, heed my prayer.
R: And let my cry be heard by Thee.
V: The Lord be with you.
R: May He also be with you.
Let us pray.
O God of mercy, God of goodness, Thou art pleased with all good things, and without whom no good work is begun, no good work is finished; kindly hear our prayers, and defend Thy faithful, who are to wear this blessed cincture in honour of Saint Joseph and under his protection, from the snares of this world and all its lusts. Help them to persist in their holy resolution and to obtain pardon of their sins, and thus merit to be numbered amongst Thy elect; through Christ our Lord.
R: Amen.