As mentioned previously, March is dedicated to St. Joseph.
March 19th is the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To prepare for this special feast, I want to share a novena.
Begin: March 11
End: March 19
Or start the novena any day you can.
You can begin the novena by stating your personal intentions.
Each day begins with a prayer specific for that day.
Each day ends with the same two prayers: Memorare to St. Joseph and Prayer to St. Joseph.
The text for each day is below the photo.
Memorare to St. Joseph
Remember, most pure spouse of Mary, ever Virgin, my loving protector, Saint Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to your protection or asked for your aid without obtaining relief. Confiding, therefore, in your goodness, I come before you and humbly implore you. Despise not my petitions, foster-father of the Redeemer, but graciously receive them. Amen.
Prayer to St. Joseph
(The Prayer that Never Fails)
Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so prompt, so strong, before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires. Oh, St. 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 engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most Loving of Fathers. Oh, St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine Head for me and ask Him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departed souls – pray for me. Amen. *
* This prayer was found in the fiftieth year of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In 1505 it was sent from the Pope to Emperor Charles, when he was going into battle. Whoever shall read this prayer or hear it, or keep it about themselves, shall never die a sudden death or be drowned, nor shall poison take effect on them; neither shall they fall into the hands of the enemy, or shall be burned in any fire or shall be overpowered in any battle. Say for nine mornings in a row for anything you may desire. It has never been known to fail. Imprimatur: September 25, 1950 Hugh C. Boyle, Bishop of Pittsburgh
Novena to St. Joseph
DAY 1
Holy patron, thee saluting
Here we meet, with hearts sincere;
Blest St. Joseph, all uniting
Call on thee to hear our prayer.
O great St. Joseph, with feelings of unlimited confidence, we beg you to bless this novena that we begin in your honor. “You are never invoked in vain” says the seraphic St. Theresa of Jesus. Be you then to me what you have been to that spouse of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and graciously hear me as you did her. Amen.
+ Memorare to St. Joseph
+ Prayer to St. Joseph
DAY 2
Thou who faithfully attended
Him whom heav’n and earth adore;
Who with pious care defended Mary,
Virgin ever pure.
O blessed Saint Joseph, tenderhearted father, faithful guardian of Jesus, chaste spouse of the Mother of God, we pray and beseech you to offer to God the Father, His divine son, bathed in blood on the Cross for sinners, and through the thrice holy name of Jesus obtain for us of the eternal Father the favors for which we implore your intercession. Amid the splendors of eternity, forget not the sorrows of those who pray, those who weep; stay the almighty arm which smites us, that by your prayers and those of your most holy spouse, the Heart of Jesus may be moved to pity and to pardon. Amen.
+ Memorare to St. Joseph
+ Prayer to St. Joseph
DAY 3
May our fervent pray’rs ascending
Move thee for our souls plead;
May thy smile of peace descending,
Benedictions on us shed.
Blessed St. Joseph, enkindle in our cold hearts a spark of your charity. May God be always the first and only object of our affections. Keep our souls always in sanctifying grace and, if we should be so unhappy as to lose it, give us the strength to recover it immediately by a sincere repentance. Help us to such a love of our God as will always keep us united to Him. O glorious St. Joseph, through the love you bear to Jesus Christ and for the glory of His name, hear our prayers and obtain our petitions. Amen.
+ Memorare to St. Joseph
+ Prayer to St. Joseph
DAY 4
Through this life, O watch around us!
Fill with love our ev’ry breath,
And, when parting fear surrounds us,
Guide us through the toils of death.
Saint Joseph, pride of Heaven, unfailing hope for our lives, and support of those on earth, graciously accept our prayer of praise. You were appointed spouse of the chaste Virgin by the Creator of the world. He willed that you be called “father” of the Word and serve as agent of our salvation. May the triune God who bestowed upon you heavenly honors, be praised forever. And may He grant us through your merits the joy of a blessed life and a favorable answer to our petition. Amen.
+ Memorare to St. Joseph
+ Prayer to St. Joseph
DAY 5
Happy saint, in bliss adoring Jesus,
Savior of humankind,
Hear thy children thee imploring,
May we thy protection find.
O holy St. Joseph, what a lesson your life is for us, ever so eager to appear so anxious to display before the eyes of men the graces that we owe entirely to the liberality of God. In addition to the special favor for which we plead in this novena, grant that we may attribute to God the glory of all things, that we may love the humble and hidden life, that we may not desire any other position than the one given us by Providence and that we may always be a docile instrument in the hands of God. Amen.
+ Memorare to St. Joseph
+ Prayer to St. Joseph
DAY 6
A just man honord from above,
A silent man, a man of love,
St. Joseph served the Lord alone
On exile’s road, in fam’ly home.
O glorious Saint Joseph, appointed by the Eternal Father as the guardian and protector of the life of Jesus Christ, the comfort and support of His Holy Mother, and the instrument in His great design for the redemption of mankind; you who had the happiness of living with Jesus and Mary, and of dying in their arms, be moved with confidence we place in you, and procure for us from the Almighty, the particular favors which we humbly ask through your intercession. Amen.
+ Memorare to St. Joseph
+ Prayer to St. Joseph
DAY 7
A man who acted on the word,
He carried out what he had heard:
He took the Mother and her Child
From scorner’s stone and tyrant wild.
Oh faithful and prudent Saint Joseph, watch over our weakness and our inexperience; obtain for us that prudence which reminds us of our end, which directs our paths and which protects us from every danger. Pray for us, then, O great Saint, and by your love for Jesus and Mary, and by their love for you, obtain for us the favors we ask in this novena. Amen.
+ Memorare to St. Joseph
+ Prayer to St. Joseph
DAY 8
A man of faith, a man of trust,
He bore whatever loss he must
To keep the Mother and her Son
Until his life’s great work was done.
O blessed Joseph, to whom it was given not only to see and to hear that God whom many kings longed to see and saw not; to hear and heard not; but also to carry Him in your arms, to embrace Him, to clothe Him, and to guard and defend Him, come to our assistance and intercede with Him to look favorably on our present petition. Amen.
+ Memorare to St. Joseph
+ Prayer to St. Joseph
DAY 9
We praise you, God of majesty,
One holy threefold Mystery;
Be Father, Son, and Spirit blest
By all who share in evening’s rest.
O good Saint Joseph, help us to be like you, gentle to those whose weakness leans on us; help us to give to those who seek our aid, succor that they may journey unafraid. Give us your faith, that we may see the right shining above the victories of might. Give us your hope that we may stand secure, untouched by doubting, steadfast to endure. Give us your love that as the years increase an understanding heart may bring us peace. Give us your purity that the hour of death finds us untouched by evil’s breath. Give us your love of labor that we shirk no lot in life that calls us for honest work. Give us your love of poverty so that we live contented, let wealth come or go. Give us your courage that we may be strong; give us your meekness to confess our sins. Give us your patience that we may possess the kingdom of our souls without distress. Help us, dear Saint, to live that when life ends we pass with you to Jesus and His friends. O Glorious Saint Joseph, hear our prayers and obtain our petitions. Amen.
+ Memorare to St. Joseph
+ Prayer to St. Joseph
The text of this pamphlet was created by Fr. David Ducote for use at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, La Place, Louisiana in observance of the year of St. Joseph.
Novena intentions were taken from the website Ascension Press.
One Small Rose 