Questions about St. Joseph

[Tis_Bearself]

Now, as for prayers to St. Joseph:

1. The St. Joseph Chaplet - There are various versions of St. Joseph Chaplets that people say. Here are some of them:

http://www.rosaryandchaplets.com/chaplets/st_joseph_prayer.html

How to pray the Rosary of St. Joseph

One popular devotion is the Rosary of St. Joseph that uses the regular beads of the Marian rosary, but substitutes various prayers and mysteries to honor the foster-father of Jesus.

aleteia.org

http://www.sacredheart-op.org/St. Joseph Chaplet.htm

1. The Hail Joseph:

Hail Joseph, son of David, God is with thee. Blessed art thou among men, and blessed is Our Lord Jesus Christ. Holy Joseph, Guardian of the Redeemer, pray for us and be with us now, and when we sigh our last breath. Amen.

1. An old traditional St. Joseph prayer, that is said to date back to the time of Charlemagne and protect the person praying from all kinds of physical harm. It has been said the prayer really isn’t that old. But it’s still a good prayer. It is said in many devotional groups including the approved Flame of Love devotion, and as part of some St. Joseph chaplets.

Prayer for St. Joseph's intercession before God

over 1900 years old

www.catholicnewsagency.com

1. The Pious Union of St. Joseph daily prayer. Members of the Pious Union commit to saying this prayer every day. It’s very short, which makes it easy.

O Saint Joseph, foster father of Jesus Christ and true spouse of the Virgin Mary, pray for us and for all those suffering and dying this day/ night.
O Saint Joseph, pray for us.

St. Joseph, Pray for Us!

The Pious Union of St. Joseph spreads devotion to its namesake, whose feast day is March 19. From our March 11 issue.

www.ncregister.com

1. The LItany of St. Joseph:

https://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/litanies/joseph.htm

There are some other prayers written by Popes.
Pope Leo XIII included one at the end of Quamquam pluries, his encyclical on St. Joseph.
Pope Pius X wrote a prayer to St. Joseph the Worker.

Lots of other Joseph prayers out there. MariaChristi on here pointed me to one called “St Joseph, Man of Unshakeable Hope” that I think comes from St. Joseph Oratory (the church that St. Andre Bessette had built, with St. Joseph’s help). You can find it in this past thread

March - Month of St. Joseph Spirituality

Dear Brothers and Sisters, St. Joseph has traditionally been honored during the Month of March – although we perhaps do not give him enough attention. He is often called the “forgotten” man, but like Mary our Mother, Joseph was specially chosen by God and is precious to the Lord, to Mary and to Jesus. If you have never read the Apostolic Exhortation of Pope St. John Paul II “On the Person and Mission of St. Joseph in the Life of Christ and of the Church” – you may want to read it during this Mo…

I have said all these prayers at one time or another, except the chaplets, but some other people on CAF do say the chaplets.

I hope this helps you and others to be more devoted to St. Joseph. He is really an awesome saint and I believe he is the greatest saint after Mary.

 

[phil19034]

St Joseph didn’t really have a huge role in our salvation,

I would respectfully disagree with this one comment. St. Joseph’s faith played a MAJOR role in our salvation. If he didn’t have the faith that he did, he wouldn’t have listened to the Angels’ messages and perhaps the Blessed Mother and/or our Lord would have perished.

So the role of protector and provider that St. Joseph played was a major role. Also, let’s remember that Jesus was studying to be a carpenter while He was young. Which means, St. Joseph played a major role in teaching Jesus what it meant to be a man, not just the Son of God.

God Bless

 

[powerandglory]

Thank you! That’s a lot of good information!

 

[awesomecatholic]

But Joseph did not enable the salvation. While he is important and does have a role Mary had said her yes to God. If she hadn’t salvation would not be possible,so that’s why we talk about her more.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I completely agree with you Phil.

If Joseph hadn’t been around, Mary would have likely been stoned to death for becoming pregnant out of wedlock - or for committing blasphemy if she said she was impregnated by God. If she somehow survived and gave birth to Jesus, then he would likely have been killed by Herod’s men because she could not have run away to Egypt on her own.

Never, NEVER, underestimate St. Joseph.

But Joseph did not enable the salvation. While he is important and does have a role Mary had said her yes to God. If she hadn’t salvation would not be possible,so that’s why we talk about her more.

This doesn’t even make sense. Joseph fulfilled the role in salvation history that God assigned to him. It was not the same as the role assigned to Mary, but it was important, and in addition to teaching and protecting Jesus and protecting Mary, he also connected Jesus to the Davidic line. Quibbling about which role was “more important” is missing the point that we do the task God assigns us to do.
If you want to actually know more about it I would suggest you read this pamphlet by the Knights of Columbus:

Saint Joseph: Our Father in Faith

Even though the Evangelists do not record one word spoken by Joseph of Nazareth, the Holy Spirit has inspired Christians throughout the ages to love the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary and foster father of the Son of God. Because of Saint Joseph’s relationship with Jesus and Mary, he enjoys a...

issuu.com

 

[phil19034]

But Joseph did not enable the salvation. While he is important and does have a role Mary had said her yes to God. If she hadn’t salvation would not be possible,so that’s why we talk about her more.

I would counter that argument with the following:

If St. Joseph didn’t say yes to God, Mary would have most likely been stoned to death.

Just like it took BOTH Adam and Eve to reject God in order to cause Original sin, it also took both Mary and Joseph to say yes to God in order for Jesus to be born.

God Bless

 

[twf]

St John the Baptist was born without original sin (hence we can celebrate him as a saint even when we celebrate his nativity)… filled with the Spirit even in the womb. I believe some traditions suggest he never sinned as well, but we don’t know that dogmatically as we do in the case of Our Lady. Either way, I think Our Lady’s assumption goes beyond just her sinless status. She is also the perfect type and precursor of the Church, as the Church’s mother. She shared in Her Son’s resurrection and was assumed into glory as a foretaste of the Church’s ultimate destiny.

 

[awesomecatholic]

But it is absolutely true he taught Jesus all about being a man and a good one. I do also think he is underestimated. But, I always remember Our Lady at the foot of the cross and we are not sure where St. Joseph was then.

 

[awesomecatholic]

Joseph did say yes and of course that contributed to Our Lord being born. I guess I always felt closer to Mary then I did to Joseph. I think people don’ t realize what St Joseph’s role was and that’s also why we talk about Mary so much.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

St John the Baptist was born without original sin (hence we can celebrate him as a saint even when we celebrate his nativity)… filled with the Spirit even in the womb.

Source please. This is the first time I have ever heard anybody claim that anyone other than Mary was “born without original sin”.

We do NOT celebrate the Immaculate Conception of St. John the Baptist…

Edited to add, here is a past thread where this was discussed. St. John the Baptist may have been purified in his mother’s womb…that is not the same thing as being free of original sin your whole life since he clearly had original sin if he had to be purified of it somehow after conception. It also appears that him being “born without original sin” is not an official teaching of the Church, unless you have a source to the contrary.

The "Immaculate Conception" of St. John the Baptist Apologetics

I’ve heard from numerous sources that Catholics believe St. John the Baptist was born without Original Sin (or something of the like). What is the scriptural evidence for this?

 

[phil19034]

But, I always remember Our Lady at the foot of the cross and we are not sure where St. Joseph was then.

The consensus is that St Joseph was already dead. That’s why Jesus charges St John with taking care of His mother. Because she no longer had a husband, nor any other children.

There is also a theory that says that it was necessary for Jesus to wait until after the Death of Joseph before beginning His Passion because Joseph would have most likely done everything in his power to stop the crucifixion, including attempting to break him out of jail.

Any man in St Joseph’s position would have felt it was his job to save the Messiah.

Therefore, the theory is that Christ timed His public ministry so that it ended (if not began) after St Joesph’s death.

God Bless

Ok, I’m off to Mass! Happy Holy Thursday everyone

 

[halogirl]

I think Joseph is a great model for manhood and fatherhood - quiet, unassuming and very gentle and supportive. As an introvert I respond to a quiet prayerful person like saint Joseph. He had no glory and didn’t seek it out yet he was still the earthly parent of Jesus and guided him. St Joseph pray for us

 

[twf]

I can’t point you to a dogma. Much of our faith isn’t dogmatized. The Gospel of St Luke tells us that St John was filled with the Holy Spirit even in the womb… the Catechism echoes this. By definition, one cannot he in a state of original sin if one is filled with the Holy Spirit (I.e. in a state of sanctifying grace). The Liturgy proclaims it… since ancient times the Church has celebrated St John’s nativity. The Church only celebrates saints. All other saints are commemorated only at their death.

Beyond all that… our Eastern brethren celebrate a feast of his conception… what does that say? Again not dogma, but dogmatic definitions draw upon these sorts of traditions when they are made.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Having looked it up, I found this, which is from one of the dioceses where I have regularly attended Mass.

Was John the Baptist free from original sin?

While Father Ken Doyle explains the doctrine that only Mary was conceived free from sin, he points to signs that the Baptist was freed from original sin after conception, but before birth.

catholicphilly.com

It notes that

1. It is Church teaching that ONLY the Virgin Mary was CONCEIVED without original sin. Therefore, John the Baptist and every other human was conceived with original sin.
2. There is as you say some traditional belief that John the Baptist was BORN without original sin, not CONCEIVED without original sin, based on the scripture passage you mention. Basically he would have been cleansed from his original sin in the womb.
3. However, the Church has never made a definitive declaration on this.

So, perhaps I should have said in the original post I made about this that Mary was the only person CONCEIVED without original sin, as that would have been definitely correct according to Church teaching. It seems like there is some possibility that both she and John the Baptist were BORN without original sin, although the Church has not definitively spoken to this when it comes to John the Baptist.