A prayer to obtain a special favour through the intercession of St. Joseph, published by St. Joseph’s Oratory here in Montreal :
To Obtain A Special Favour
O Blessed Saint Joseph, tender-hearted father, faithful guardian of Jesus, chaste spouse of the Mother of God, I pray to you to join with me in praising God the Father through His divine Son who died on the cross and rose again to give us sinners new life. Through the holy Name of Jesus, pray with us that we may obtain from the eternal Father the favour we ask for…
We have been unfaithful to the unfailing love of God the Father; beg of Jesus mercy for us his brothers. Amid the splendours of God’s loving presence, do not forget the sorrows of those who suffer, those who pray, those who weep. By your prayers and those of your most holy Spouse, our Blessed Lady, may the love of Jesus answer our call of confident hope. Amen.
St. Joseph of Mount Royal - Pray for us!
. . . A prayer from the booklet of a Novena to St. Joseph , which is also published by St. Joseph’s Oratory here in Montreal. This next prayer is used for the second day of the novena, but it is good to pray it anytime, because we all need hope.
Saint Joseph , Model of Hope
During your life St. Joseph, you were a man of hope. Like the people of Israel, you shared the hope of one day seeing the redemption of mankind accomplished. And so it was, that in your very home, united to you as a son to his father, lived the Messiah. This was a sign of the goodness and fidelity of the Lord. Thus God showed himself faithful to his promises, and new horizons of hope were opened up for mankind.
That you hoped for salvation for Mary and yourself cannot but be so, since you welcomed God himself into your life. In the unforseeable events which came up, such as the hardships involved in the very birth of Jesus, and the flight into Egypt, your only strength was the unshakeable hope you had in the goodness, power, and fidelity of the Lord.
Without a doubt, this explains the peaceful serenity which radiated from your home. You knew that no matter what happened to you, God would have the last word.
Saint Joseph, may we learn to hope as you did. We are too often passive in the face of our daily responsibilities. Time after time we fail to carry out our promises. Yesterday we promised to give ourselves to others and today we are caught up in petty meanness ; we promised to love with all our heart and today we have difficulty in loving others fully ; we promised to bring about good and today we are faced with our own limitations.
How often we become discouraged. Consciously or not, we sometimes put hope in the background and say; “What’s the good of it all ?”
Saint Joseph, teach us to hope against all obstacles ; evil can never overcome the person who looks to God. Beyond all the weaknesses that exist there is always the creator’s fidelity. We count on him alone. For us there is only one way to live and that is, to hope. May this hope transform us, giving us assurance and strength in our day by day life.
Amen.
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