Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker

 SAINT JOSEPH THE WORKER

1 MAY

Today as the World celebrates Labor Day, the Church also remembers Saint Joseph the Worker. Saint Joseph was the foster father of our Lord Jesus Christ, refer to the Gospel of Matthew 1: 18-25.

He was a man of integrity and of great heart.

He taught the Lord Jesus real human life and He also taught us the importance of fulfilling our answer to every task we are assigned.

In 1870 Holy Father Pius IX proclaimed Saint Joseph as Patron saint and Holy Father Benedict XV also declared Saint Joseph to be the Protector of the Workers.

In 1955 Holy Father Pius XII officially sanctioned the festival to coincide with the International Workers' Day.

Reflection:

This life of Saint Joseph the Worker teaches us to value legitimate work as the basis and dignity of every human being in the eyes of men because unemployment is against the precepts and will of GOD, GOD himself also worked, refer to the book of Genesis about creation we read that GOD worked read Genesis 1: 1 -.The Apostle Paul in one of his sermons or writings to emphasize the importance of work and said that he who does not work should not eat.

We are invited today to be people to do and appreciate our legitimate work in order to be able to run our daily lives otherwise it would be a great sin to live without working.

These Saints are also remembered for today's date

St. Marculf

St. Aceolus

St. Acius

St. Aldebrandus

St. Amator

St. andeolus

St. Arigius

St. Asaph

St. Augustus Schoffler

St. Benedict of Szkalka

St. Bertha of Kent

St. Bertha of Val d'Or

St. Brieuc

St. Buriana

St. Ceallach

St. Cominus

St. Evermarus

St. Grata

St. Isidora

St. John-Louis Bonnard

St. Orentius

Sts. Orentius and Patientia

St. Panacea

St. Peregrine Laziosi

St. Riccardo Pampuri

St. Theodard

St. Ultan

Saint Joseph, Saints and Blessed pray to GOD that we may be people who appreciate our legitimate work for the well-being of the Family, the Community, the Church and the Nation as a whole. 

Do you find yourself in need of prayer looking for work? We offer this prayer to St. Joseph for Employment in the hope it might provide some relief and comfort to those of you caught in this position.

As we enter the month of May with the memorial of St Joseph the Worker on May 1st, let us turn to Saint Joseph to teach us the awareness of the presence of God in all circumstances. Of course, we also think of the Blessed Virgin Mary to whom we lovingly dedicate the month of May. Jesus is truth and Mary is trust!

A PRAYER TO ST. JOSEPH FOR EMPLOYMENT

Dear Saint Joseph, you were yourself once faced with the responsibility of providing the necessities of life for Jesus and Mary. Look down with fatherly compassion upon me in my anxiety with my present inability to support my family. Please help me find gainful employment very soon, so that this great burden of concern will be lifted from my heart and that I am soon able to provide for those whom God has entrusted to my care. Help me guard against discouragement, so that I may emerge from this trial spiritually enriched and with even greater blessings from God. Amen.

Prayer To Saint Joseph By Pope Leo XIII

 

Prayer to St. Joseph after the Rosary

In Catholic traditions, Joseph is regarded as the patron saint of workers and is associated with various feast days. He is also patron of the unborn children, fathers, travelers, immigrants, and a happy death.

This prayer to Saint Joseph—spouse of the Virgin Mary, foster father of Jesus, and patron saint of the universal Church—was composed by Pope Leo XIII in his 1889 encyclical, Quamquam pluries. He asked that it be added to the end of the Rosary, especially during the month of October, which is dedicated to the Rosary. It may be said after the customary Salve Regina and concluding prayer, and may also be used to conclude other Marian devotions.


Year of Saint Joseph.

The prayer is ordinarily enriched with a partial indulgence (Handbook of Indulgences, conc. 19). During the Year of Saint Joseph, however—which lasts from December 8, 2020 to December 8, 2021—the use of this prayer has been included among those enriched with a plenary indulgence (see Decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary issued Dec. 8, 2020, section E). It may be said on any day of the Year of Saint Joseph, but especially on his various feast days or other devotional days dedicated to St. Joseph:
December 27, 2020, the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
March 19, 2021, the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary
May 1, 2021, the Optional Memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker
the nineteenth day of each month
every Wednesday, the traditional day of the week for devotions to Saint Joseph
"St. Joseph Sunday" and suitable days of other liturgical rites in the Eastern Catholic Churches


Prayer to Saint Joseph

To you, O blessed Joseph,
do we come in our tribulation,
and having implored the help of your most holy Spouse,
we confidently invoke your patronage also.

Through that charity which bound you
to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God
and through the paternal love
with which you embraced the Child Jesus,
we humbly beg you graciously to regard the inheritance
which Jesus Christ has purchased by his Blood,
and with your power and strength to aid us in our necessities.

O most watchful guardian of the Holy Family,
defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ;
O most loving father, ward off from us
every contagion of error and corrupting influence;
O our most mighty protector, be kind to us
and from heaven assist us in our struggle
with the power of darkness.

As once you rescued the Child Jesus from deadly peril,
so now protect God's Holy Church
from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity;
shield, too, each one of us by your constant protection,
so that, supported by your example and your aid,
we may be able to live piously, to die in holiness,
and to obtain eternal happiness in heaven.

Amen.

Reflection:

To capture the devotion to Saint Joseph within the Catholic liturgy, in 1870, Pope Pius IX declared Saint Joseph the patron of the universal Church. In 1955, Pope Pius XII added the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker. This silent saint, who was given the noble task of caring and watching over the Virgin Mary and Jesus, now cares for and watches over the Church and models for all the dignity of human work.