Morris ClarkAs we draw near to the glorious Feast of Saint Joseph, the heart of the Church turns with special affection toward her most chaste spouse and protector. Pope Leo XIII declared that “as Almighty God appointed Joseph, son of the patriarch Jacob, to superintend the supply of corn for the whole of Egypt and save the people from famine, so He chose Joseph to be the provider for His only-begotten Son’s mortal life”.
St. Teresa of Avila, that great Doctor of the Church, assures us of his powerful intercession: “I do not remember even now that I have ever asked anything of him which he has failed to grant… To other saints, Our Lord seems to have given power to succor us in some of our necessities; but this glorious saint, I know by experience, succors us in them all”.
Whether you are commemorating the Solemnity of St. Joseph on March 19th, the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1st, or simply seeking to deepen your devotion to the foster father of Our Lord, this collection of 40 prayers will serve as a spiritual treasury. Here you will find ancient litanies, novena prayers, aspirations, and intercessions covering every aspect of life and death.
The Testimony of the Saints
Before we begin our prayers, let us recall the words of St. Joseph himself to St. Faustina. In July 1937, when she was quite ill, St. Joseph appeared to her and urged her to have a constant devotion to him. He looked at her with great kindness and promised her his special help and protection. He requested that she recite three prayers each day: the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be, along with the Memorare . Let us take this counsel to heart as we approach him.
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The Litany of Saint Joseph
This litany was approved by Pope St. Pius X and remains one of the Church’s official prayers, to which a partial indulgence is attached for its devout recitation .
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
St. Joseph, pray for us.
Illustrious son of David, pray for us.
Light of patriarchs, pray for us.
Spouse of the Mother of God, pray for us.
Chaste guardian of the Virgin, pray for us.
Foster father of the Son of God, pray for us.
Watchful defender of Christ, pray for us.
Head of the Holy Family, pray for us.
Joseph most just, pray for us.
Joseph most chaste, pray for us.
Joseph most prudent, pray for us.
Joseph most valiant, pray for us.
Joseph most obedient, pray for us.
Joseph most faithful, pray for us.
Mirror of patience, pray for us.
Lover of poverty, pray for us.
Model of workmen, pray for us.
Glory of home life, pray for us.
Guardian of virgins, pray for us.
Pillar of families, pray for us.
Solace of the afflicted, pray for us.
Hope of the sick, pray for us.
Patron of the dying, pray for us.
Terror of demons, pray for us.
Protector of Holy Church, pray for us.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord!
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord!
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us!
℣. He made him the lord of His household,
℟. And prince over all His possessions.
Let Us Pray:
O God, Who in Thine ineffable Providence didst vouchsafe to choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of Thy most holy Mother, grant, we beseech Thee, that he whom we venerate as our protector on earth may be our intercessor in Heaven. Who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.
The Memorare to Saint Joseph
Just as we have the beloved Memorare to Our Lady, so too does the Church offer a Memorare to her most chaste spouse .
14. The Memorare to St. Joseph
Remember, O most chaste spouse of the Virgin Mary, that never has it been known that anyone who asked for your help and sought your intercession was left unaided. Full of confidence in your power, I hasten to you, and beg your protection. Listen, O foster-father of the Redeemer, to my humble prayer, and in your goodness hear and answer me. Amen.
Prayers for Protection
St. Joseph, who protected the Holy Family from the fury of Herod and guided them safely to Egypt, is a powerful intercessor for our own protection .
15. Prayer to St. Joseph for Protection
O 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. O 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.
O 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 departing souls — pray for me. Amen.
16. To You, O Blessed Joseph (Ad Te, Beate Joseph)
Composed by Pope Leo XIII and added to his encyclical Quamquam Pluries. A partial indulgence is attached to its devout recitation .
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 propitious to us and from heaven assist us in our struggle with the power of darkness; and, 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 holily, and to obtain eternal happiness in heaven. Amen.
The Nine-Day Novena to St. Joseph
This novena may be prayed at any time, but especially in the nine days leading up to March 19th. Each day focuses on a different virtue or title of St. Joseph.
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How to Pray the Novena:
For each day, begin with the opening invocation, read the meditation, state your intention, and conclude with an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.
Opening Invocation (for all days):
Saint Joseph, you are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate you. You know that I have confidence in you and that, after Jesus and Mary, I come to you as an example for holiness, for you are especially close with God. Therefore, I humbly commend myself, with all who are dear to me and all that belong to me, to your intercession. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, not to abandon me during life and to assist me at the hour of my death.
Glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, pray for me to have a pure, humble, charitable mind, and perfect resignation to the divine Will. Be my guide, my father, and my model through life that I may die as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary.
17. Day One: St. Joseph Most Just
Loving Saint Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, I raise my heart to you to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the Divine Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death, and the special grace I now implore: (Mention your request). Guardian of the Word Incarnate, I feel confident that your prayers on my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God. St. Joseph Most Just, Pray for us! Amen.
18. Day Two: St. Joseph Most Prudent
(Repeat the opening invocation, then add:)
Loving Saint Joseph… (as above, concluding with) St. Joseph Most Prudent, Pray for us! Amen.
19. Day Three: St. Joseph Most Loving Husband
Loving Saint Joseph… St. Joseph Most Loving Husband, Pray for us! Amen.
20. Day Four: St. Joseph Most Strong
Loving Saint Joseph… St. Joseph Most Strong, Pray for us! Amen.
21. Day Five: St. Joseph Most Obedient
Loving Saint Joseph… St. Joseph Most Obedient, Pray for us! Amen.
22. Day Six: St. Joseph Most Faithful
Loving Saint Joseph… St. Joseph Most Faithful, Pray for us! Amen.
23. Day Seven: St. Joseph, Pillar of Families
Loving Saint Joseph… St. Joseph, Pillar of Families, Pray for us! Amen.
24. Day Eight: St. Joseph, Model of Workmen
Loving Saint Joseph… St. Joseph, Model of Workmen, Pray for us! Amen.
25. Day Nine: St. Joseph, Patron of the Dying
Loving Saint Joseph… St. Joseph, Patron of the Dying, Pray for us! Amen.
Traditional Novena of St. Joseph
The following ancient prayers are drawn from traditional Catholic manuals. They may be said as a three-day novena or incorporated into a longer devotion.
26. On the First Day: For Spiritual Birth
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. Amen.
27. On the Second Day: For Acquiescence to God’s Will
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.
28. On the Third Day: For Fruitfulness in Good Works
Omnipotent God, at whose command every tree produces fruit of its kind! Grant, through the intercession of St. Joseph, that I may produce worthy fruits of penance, and bring forth abundantly the fruits of good works. May the tree of my soul feel the influence of thy divine grace, that being solidly rooted in humility, and constantly watered by thy heavenly dew, I may bring forth fruit in abundance, and may at last, by the axe of death, be cut down and transplanted to the everlasting joys of thy heavenly paradise. Through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Prayers for Specific Needs
29. Prayer to St. Joseph for a Special Favor
O blessed Joseph, faithful foster father of Jesus! With childlike confidence I present myself before thee and beg thy compassionate intercession and support in this, my present necessity. (Name your petition.)
I firmly believe that thou art most powerful near the throne of God, who chose thee for the foster father of his well-beloved Son, Jesus Christ. O blessed Saint, who saved that treasure of heaven, with his virginal mother, from the fury of his enemies, who with untiring industry supplied his earthly wants and with paternal care accompanied and protected him in all the journeys of his childhood, take me also, for the love of Jesus, as thy child. Assist me in my present difficulty with thy prayers before God. The infinite goodness of our Savior, who loved and honored thee as his father upon earth, cannot refuse thee any request now in heaven. Amen.
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30. Prayer to St. Joseph for Your Family
O St. Joseph, foster father of Our Lord and faithful spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we commend our family to your intercession today. Watch over our home as you watched over the Holy Family of Nazareth. Protect us from all harm and discord. Obtain for us the grace to love one another as God loves us, to forgive one another as Christ forgives us, and to serve one another in humility and patience. May our family, like yours, be a domestic church where Jesus is always at the center. Amen.
31. Prayer Before Work to St. Joseph the Worker
Composed by Pope St. Pius X .
O Glorious Saint Joseph, model of all those who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work in a spirit of penance for the expiation of my many sins; to work conscientiously, putting the call of duty above my natural inclinations; to work with thankfulness and joy, considering it an honor to employ and develop by means of labor the gifts received from God; to work with order, peace, moderation, and patience, never shrinking from weariness and trials; to work above all with purity of intention and detachment from self, keeping unceasingly before my eyes death and the account that I must give of time lost, talents unused, good omitted, and vain complacency in success, so fatal to the work of God.
All for Jesus, all through Mary, all after thy example, O Patriarch, Saint Joseph. Such shall be my watchword in life and in death. Amen.
32. Prayer to St. Joseph for a Holy Death
O Blessed Joseph, who yielded up thy last breath in the arms of Jesus and Mary, obtain for me, I beseech thee, the grace of a holy death. May I, like thee, depart this life attended by my heavenly Mother and my loving Savior. Protect me in the hour of my agony from the assaults of the enemy, and lead me safely into the joys of eternity. St. Joseph, patron of the dying, pray for me. Amen.
33. Prayer to St. Joseph for the Unborn (Patron of the Unborn)
O St. Joseph, after your most holy spouse, our Blessed Mother, you were the first to take into your arms and heart the baby Jesus. From the first time you gazed upon him and held him, your heart and soul were forever bonded to him. You caressed the Holy Child with fatherly love and affection, and you committed yourself always to love, protect, and care for this Son.
Look now with similar love and affection upon every unborn child threatened by danger. Intercede for mothers facing difficult pregnancies, for fathers filled with fear, and for all who contemplate the terrible act of abortion. As God the Father entrusted the care of His most precious Son into your most loving and confident hands, so too do we entrust into your fatherly care all unborn children. Protect them and bring them safely to birth, that they may one day praise God with us in heaven. Amen.
34. Prayer to St. Joseph, Defender of Life
Dearest Saint Joseph, at the word of an angel, you lovingly took Mary into your home. As God’s humble servant, you guided the Holy Family on the road to Bethlehem, welcomed Jesus as your own son in the shelter of a manger, and fled far from your homeland for the safety of both Mother and Child.
We praise God that as their faithful protector, you never hesitated to sacrifice for those entrusted to you. May your example inspire us also to welcome, cherish, and safeguard God’s most precious gift of life. Help us to faithfully commit ourselves to the service and defense of human life—especially where it is vulnerable or threatened. Obtain for us the grace to do the will of God in all things. Amen.
Short Aspirations and Praises
The Church encourages the frequent use of short prayers, or aspirations, to maintain a spirit of devotion throughout the day. Here are six aspirations to St. Joseph.
35. St. Joseph, foster father of our Lord Jesus Christ, pray for me.
36. St. Joseph, most chaste spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, pray for me.
37. St. Joseph, patron of the universal Church, pray for us.
38. St. Joseph, terror of demons, protect us.
39. St. Joseph, model of workmen, intercede for all who labor.
40. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul.
A Prayer for St. Joseph’s Blessing
Conclude your devotions with this beautiful petition for his fatherly blessing.
Bless me, O dearly beloved father, St. Joseph; bless my body and my soul; bless my resolutions, my words and deeds, all my actions and omissions, my every step; bless all that I possess, all my interior and exterior goods, that all may redound to the greater honor of God. Bless me for time and eternity, and preserve me from every sin. Obtain for me the grace to make atonement for all my sins by love and contrition here on earth, so that after my last breath I may, without delay, prostrate at thy feet and return thee thanks in heaven for all the love and goodness thou, O dearest father, hast shown me here below. Amen.
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Conclusion
As we come to the end of this treasury of 40 prayers, we are reminded of the timeless counsel given to the people of Egypt during a time of great famine. When the crops failed and the storehouses of the world ran dry, the Pharaoh gave a simple, life-saving command to the starving multitudes: “Go to Joseph” (Genesis 41:55).
This ancient cry echoes through the centuries and resounds in our own hearts today. For just as that Egyptian Joseph stored up grain for the bodies of the people, so too does our spiritual father, St. Joseph, store up graces for our souls. He stands ready, not with earthly wheat, but with the Bread of Life Himself, whom he held in his arms and carried through the dangers of this world.
In an age of confusion, when the family is under attack and the faith is often ridiculed, we need a father. In a time of moral decay, when purity seems impossible and sin abounds, we need a protector. In the shadow of our own death, when the enemy seeks to snatch our souls, we need a patron who is the Terror of Demons and the Hope of the Dying.
St. Joseph is all of these and more.
He is the Mirror of Patience for those who suffer in silence.
He is the Comfort of the Afflicted for those who weep in the night.
He is the Model of Workmen for those who labor without recognition.
He is the Pillar of Families for homes that are crumbling under pressure.
Let us not be like those who ignore the storehouse in the time of plenty, only to starve in the time of need. The storehouse of St. Joseph’s intercession is open. The graces he obtained by walking with Jesus and Mary are inexhaustible. He asks only one thing of us: that we come to him with the confidence of a little child.
St. Teresa of Avila assures us that we will not be disappointed. St. Francis de Sales chose him as the patron of his religious order. St. Thomas Aquinas sought his counsel in every difficulty. The great saints knew a secret that the world has forgotten: Joseph is the short road to Jesus.
As you go forth from this time of prayer, carry these aspirations in your heart. Whisper them during the day. Turn to him in the moment of temptation. Call upon him in the quiet of the night.
And when your own hour comes—that final hour which we all must face—may you find, as he did, that you are not alone. May Jesus be at your side, and Mary near your heart, and may St. Joseph, the Patron of a Happy Death, lead you safely across the threshold from this valley of tears to the everlasting glory of paradise.
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St. Joseph, most faithful, pray for us.
St. Joseph, terror of demons, defend us.
St. Joseph, hope of the sick, comfort us.
St. Joseph, patron of the dying, intercede for us now and at the hour of our death.
Go to Joseph, and do whatever he tells you—for he will always lead you to Jesus.
Morris Clark
