# The Catholic Prayer Book and Manual of Meditations/Novena of St. Joseph

Novena of St. Joseph.
Say each day one of the following prayers, with three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys:
ON THE FIRST DAY.
BLESSED St. Joseph, chosen to be the guardian of Jesus, the protector and consoler of Mary! make powerful intercession for me, that my pious resolutions may not prove abortive; that I may be born to an interior and spiritual life; that I may have such an increase of sanctity, so ardent a love of purity, so great a conviction of my own vileness, so clear a light of the emptiness and vanity of worldly grandeur, as to esteem and relish only things that are eternal: Through our Lord Jesus Christ, etc.
ON THE SECOND DAY.
OMNIPOTENT Creator, whose unerring providence adds joy every moment to the angels in heaven, and to the saints upon earth! I most humbly beg, through the intercession of St. Joseph, that I may cheerfully acquiesce and rejoice in everything that comes from thy fatherly hand: that I may be vigorous in executing thy divine will, and glorify thee in my present state. Grant me the true spirit of mortification, to subdue my stubborn passions, to satisfy for what is past, and to be a preservative from future dangers. Grant that by purity of intention, the meanest of my actions may be acceptable to thee, as was the mite of the poor widow, which was put into the treasury of the temple: Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
ON THE THIRD DAY.
OMNIPOTENT God, at whose command every tree produces fruit of its kind! grant, through the ​intercession of Mary and Joseph, that I may serve thee faithfully in the state in which thou hast placed me. I firmly believe all thou hast revealed: protect me, lest I should be found among the number of those foolish virgins, who carried lamps without oil. Assist me with thy powerful grace, that I may be humble, charitable, and chaste; and not be like the barren fig tree, fit only to become fuel for eternal flames. This grace I implore through the infinite merits of Jesus, my Saviour. Amen.
ON THE FOURTH DAY.
HOLY Ghost, God of all comfort! If thou seest it expedient for the security of my salvation that I should be oppressed with tribulation, permit me not to fall. Infinite power! bear me up; thou knowest my weakness. Favour me with thy grace, that I may be compassionate towards my neighbour, and govern myself with the same spirit of lenity and charity as if the case were my own. I deplore my censorious temper, and resolve to be upon my guard. I return thee thanks for inspiring me with the resolution of becoming better; but of myself I am not able to persevere in my good intentions. I beg thy assistance, that I may fulfil what thou commandest; and then, dear Lord, command what thou pleasest. Afflict me with such crosses as I can endure, that I may discharge at least a part of the great debt due to the divine justice. Grant, through the intercession of St. Joseph, that after my temporal trials, whether exterior or interior, I may find that permanent joy with which thou renderest Him and His Immaculate Spouse eternally happy: Through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, &c.
ON THE FIFTH DAY.
O INFINITE God! how truly may it be said of me, The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib, but thou knowest not thy Lord. I admire thy love and charity! I am ashamed of my tepidity and ingratitude. Infinite goodness! I come too late to love thee, but although it be the eleventh hour, bestow on me the promised reward: be to me a Saviour. Thou hast died for me, let me partake of thy eternal charity. Grant that, through the intercession of St. Joseph, my good resolutions may be perfected. I also beg that when I entertain thee in the most Blessed Sacrament, I may be favoured with the same sentiments of adoration, love and thanksgiving that St. Joseph experienced when he received thee from Simeon, to restore thee to thy blessed Mother. Amen.
ON THE SIXTH DAY.
JESUS, my Maker and my Master, without whose merciful assistance I walk in darkness and perish! I most humbly beg, through the intercession of St. Joseph, that thou wilt grant me grace to escape from the servitude of sin, under which I have so long groaned, in order that I may enjoy the liberty of thy faithful servants. I have frequently experienced thy goodness, and I know thy power; my trust is in both. O! grant me constancy to despise the allurements of the world, and to remain undaunted under afflicting terrors. My dear Redeemer, I have too often lost thee by sin; I have willingly and wilfully parted with thee, to follow my corrupt inclinations. O God! who didst come to seek sinners, take pity on me who am the greatest. Thou art now pleased ​to bless me with such a true sense of my former offences, that I grieve not so much for the fear of punishment, as for the misfortune of having offended thee, the centre of all goodness.
I steadfastly purpose, through thy grace, to seek thee seriously, by the reformation of my life, that I may find thee in the heavenly Jerusalem, reigning with the Father and Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.
ON THE SEVENTH DAY.
OMNIPOTENT God, who didst descend from heaven to bring fire on the earth! inflame my frozen heart, that I may imitate the virtues of St. Joseph. As a poor wretch at the gate of some noble and generous prince, expecting an alms, so I appear before thee, wounded in all my senses by sin, and imploring charity in my great distress. I grieve for what has passed, not because I fear, but because I love. Nothing has succeeded with me, because I never consulted thee as 1 ought: I hope, O Lord! that I do not come too late. I beg, through the intercession of St. Joseph, that I may avoid evil and do good; that I may leave the broad way of iniquity and walk in the narrow road that leads to eternal happiness; that I may consecrate the remaining days of my short life to thy honour, and attain the end for which I was created: to admire, praise, and love thee for ever and ever. Amen.
On the Eighth day.
O MOST glorious Patriarch, my dear Patron! blessed are the eyes that see what you now see. Through the infinite merits of Christ, and by your powerful intercession, I hope, with holy Job, that in my flesh I shall see God my Saviour. Stretch out, in ​favour of your, unworthy client, those happy arms that so often bore the Son of God, and provided for him. Petition that I may live, as I wish to die, always in the divine, favour. I humbly implore you to entreat your immaculate Spouse to unite her supplications with yours, that I may be of the blessed number of the elect. I most sincerely desire that you may be present at the dreadful hour of my death, and that the last words uttered by my parting breath may be, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
Thy mercy is above all thy works, O most Holy Trinity! I now appeal from the tribunal of thy justice, and prostrate myself before the throne of thy mercy, to obtain the pardon of my sins, and grace to persevere in keeping thy commandments to the end of my life. Who livest and reignest one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
ON THE NINTH DAY.
HOLY St. Joseph, you who are that good and faithful servant to whom God committed the care of his family: whom he appointed guardian and protector of the life of Jesus Christ, the comfort and support of his holy Mother, and the depository of his great design of the redemption of mankind; you who had the happiness of living with Jesus and Mary, and of dying in their arms; chaste spouse of the Mother of God: model and patron of pure souls, humble, patient, and reserved; be moved with the confidence we place in your intercession, and accept with kindness this testimony of our devotion.
We give thanks to God for the signal favour he hath been pleased to confer on you, and we conjure him, through your intercession, to enable us to imitate your virtues. Pray for us, then, O great ​saint; and by that love which you had for Jesus and Mary, and by the love which they had for you, obtain for us the incomparable happiness of living and dying in the love of Jesus and Mary. Amen.