Catholic Fire

Gospel: Matthew 1:18 - 24 When the angel says, "For that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit", he is underlining the fact that she obeyed the will of God, and that her relationship with Joseph remains the same. It is not she who chose to be Mother of God -- God chose this for her, and she accepted it. The angel, therefore, allows Joseph to receive Mary and to love her in a new way but which is nonetheless in continuity with His first love for her.... "She shall bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus." Each of these words from the angel carries weight and allows us to understand the role that God is giving to Joseph. Naming a new-born child is something that comes under the authority of the father, and in doing this the father acts as God's instrument; for, to name a tiny child is surely to point him already in a certain direction. And we are told how Joseph is to name the child: "You shall call His name, Jesus, for it is He who shal...

Gospel: Mt 1: 18 - 25 God did not push Joseph aside, but he did test his heart to see how far his magnanimity would go, just how far he would be faithful. Being ready to start over from scratch requires a radical purification - being ready to say to God that we are ready to do His will as He Himself wants it to be done and not according to our little plans. Joseph had already made plans when he met Mary. With his human prudence in the depths of his heart, did he not dream of something great and wonderful? It was necessary for all of this to be swept away in order for him to be poor. It is not possible to be the husband of Mary and the father of Jesus except in great poverty. Joseph's heart was broken, but there was no revolt against God within him. With a great spirit of poverty he accepted all that he had been left out. Joseph accepted it all because he believed in the will of the Father was greater than anything else. Here we touch on the depth of Joseph's soul: in...

Please join me in praying the following prayer for my dh and for all those who are in need of full-time employment at this time: O Glorious Patriarch St. Joseph, whose power can render possible even things which are impossible, come to my aid in my present trouble and distress. Take under thy protection the important and difficult affairs which I entrust to thee, that they may end happily. Pause - petition My beloved Father, all my confidence is in thee. Let it not be said that I invoked thee in vain; and since though art able to obtain everything before Jesus and Mary, show me that thy goodness equals thy power. Amen. This can be used as novena prayer, too.

You can find the novena prayers here.

Go here for the novena prayers.

Go here for the novena prayers.

Go here for the novena prayers.

Prayer To Saint Joseph for Workers Joseph, by the work of your hands and the sweat of your brow, you supported Jesus and Mary, and had the Son of God as your fellow worker. Teach me to work as you did, with patience and perseverance, for God and for those whom God has given me to support. Teach me to see in my fellow workers the Christ who desires to be in them, that I may always be charitable and forbearing towards all. Grant me to look upon work with the eyes of faith, so that I shall recognize in it my share in God's own creative activity and in Christ's work of our redemption, and so take pride in it. When it is pleasant and productive, remind me to give thanks to God for it. And when it is burdensome, teach me to offer it to God, in reparation for my sins and the sins of the world. Novena Prayer O good father Joseph! I beg you, by all your sufferings, sorrows and joys, to obtain for me what I ask. (Here name your petition). Obtain for all those who have asked my prayers, e...

O blessed Joseph, faithful guardian of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, protector of thy chaste spouse, the Virgin Mother of God, I choose thee this day to be my special patron and advocate and I firmly resolve to honor thee all the days of my life. Therefore I humbly beseech thee to receive me as thy client, to instruct me in every doubt, to comfort me in every affliction, to obtain for me and for all the knowledge and love of the Heart of Jesus, and finally to defend and protect me at the hour of my death. You'll find some excellent recipes for today's feast of St. Joseph here as well as some interesting customs. For St. Joseph prayers, go here.

Joseph, the husband of our Lady, foster-father of our Lord, guardian of the Holy Family, is honored liturgically on March 19 as patron of the universal Church. The memorial of St. Joseph the Worker is on May 1. This quiet, just, humble man, protector of families and patron of fathers, is also invoked for a happy death. Most of our reliable information on St. Joseph is contained in the first two chapters of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Here we discover that Joseph was of royal descent from David, that the family was from Bethlehem in Judea and that Joseph, who was a builder, had moved from Bethlehem to Nazareth in Galilee. Joseph was engaged to Mary and upon learning that she was pregnant; he had plans to divorce her. Described in Matthew as a righteous man, he intended to dismiss her quietly. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream to tell him, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she ...

Feast of St. Joseph Novena Dates March 10-18 Feast Day March 19 O good father Joseph! I beg you, by all your sufferings, sorrows and joys, to obtain for me what I ask. (Here name your petition). Obtain for all those who have asked my prayers, everything that is useful to them in the plan of God. Be near to me in my last moments, that I may eternally sing the praises of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Amen. (Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be) Today, Saturday, is the Eighth Day of the Novena. I wasn't able to put up the 7th Day as my server was down.

Feast of St. Joseph Novena Dates March 10-18 Feast Day March 19 O good father Joseph! I beg you, by all your sufferings, sorrows and joys, to obtain for me what I ask. (Here name your petition). Obtain for all those who have asked my prayers, everything that is useful to them in the plan of God. Be near to me in my last moments, that I may eternally sing the praises of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Amen. (Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be)

Feast of St. Joseph Novena Dates March 10-18 Feast Day March 19 O good father Joseph! I beg you, by all your sufferings, sorrows and joys, to obtain for me what I ask. (Here name your petition). Obtain for all those who have asked my prayers, everything that is useful to them in the plan of God. Be near to me in my last moments, that I may eternally sing the praises of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Amen. (Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be)

Feast of St. Joseph Novena Dates March 10-18 Feast Day March 19 O good father Joseph! I beg you, by all your sufferings, sorrows and joys, to obtain for me what I ask. (Here name your petition). Obtain for all those who have asked my prayers, everything that is useful to them in the plan of God. Be near to me in my last moments, that I may eternally sing the praises of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Amen. (Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be)

Feast of St. Joseph Novena Dates March 10-18 Feast Day March 19 O good father Joseph! I beg you, by all your sufferings, sorrows and joys, to obtain for me what I ask. (Here name your petition). Obtain for all those who have asked my prayers, everything that is useful to them in the plan of God. Be near to me in my last moments, that I may eternally sing the praises of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Amen. (Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be)

Feast of St. Joseph Novena Dates March 10-18 Feast Day March 19 O good father Joseph! I beg you, by all your sufferings, sorrows and joys, to obtain for me what I ask. (Here name your petition). Obtain for all those who have asked my prayers, everything that is useful to them in the plan of God. Be near to me in my last moments, that I may eternally sing the praises of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Amen. (Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be)

Feast of St. Joseph Novena Dates March 10-18 Feast Day March 19 O good father Joseph! I beg you, by all your sufferings, sorrows and joys, to obtain for me what I ask. (Here name your petition). Obtain for all those who have asked my prayers, everything that is useful to them in the plan of God. Be near to me in my last moments, that I may eternally sing the praises of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Amen. (Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be)