http://www.celebrationarts.net/images/_alpha/GreatSaintJoseph-5.mp3
| 1. Great Saint Joseph! Son of David Foster father of our Lord Spouse of Mary ever virgin Keeping o’er them watch and ward! In the stable thou didst guard them With a father’s loving care Thou by God’s command didst save them From the cruel Herod’s snare | 2. Great Saint Joseph! Son of David Spouse of Mary undefiled Guardian of the Holy Family Father of the Holy Child God presented thee with blessings Glorified thy life obscure Made thee guardian of all virgins Consolation of the poor |
| 3. Three long days in grief and anguish With His mother sweet and mild Mary Virgin didst thou wander Seeking the beloved Child In the temple thou didst find Him Oh! What joy then filled thy heart In thy sorrows, in thy gladness Grant us Joseph to have part | 4. Ornament of life domestic Model of the toiler’s day Hope of all the sick and weary In the hour of death our stay Great protector universal Of the Church we thee acclaim Hear our pray’rs O great Saint Joseph When we call upon thy name |
| 5. Clasped in Jesus’ arms and Mary’s When death gently came at last Thy pure spirit sweetly sighing From its earthly dwelling passed Dear Saint Joseph! By that passing May our death be like to thine And with Jesus, Mary, Joseph May our souls forever shine. | Amen. |
Oh St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt 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 departing souls, pray for us. Amen
Blessed St. Joseph, I consecrate myself to your honor and give myself to you, that you may always be my father, my protector and my guide in the way of salvation. Obtain for me great purity of heart and a fervent love of the interior life. After your example, may I perform my actions for the greater Glory of God, in union with the Divine Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Pray for me, Saint Joseph, that I may experience the peace and joy of your holy death. Amen.
Glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of the immaculate Virgin, obtain for me 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 merit to die as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary. Amen.
(Saint Joseph is imagined to respond:)
May the poverty of my sweet and suffering little Child be your riches. His sighs and His tears the consolation of your days. The love of His adorable Heart your earthly treasure, your all. And the clear vision of His adorable and glorified humanity be your eternal joy and recompense. Amen.
The Presentation in the Temple, Giovanni Bellini, 1460
To thee, O blessed Joseph, we have recourse in our affliction, and having implored the help of thy thrice holy Spouse, we now, with hearts filled with confidence, earnestly beg thee also to take us under thy protection.
Defend, O most watchful guardian of the Holy Family, the chosen off-spring of Jesus Christ. Keep from us, O most loving Father, all blight of error and corruption. Aid us from on high, most valiant defender, in this conflict with the powers of darkness. And even as of old thou didst rescue the Child Jesus from the peril of His life, so now defend God’s Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity. Shield us ever under thy patronage, that, following thine example and strengthened by thy help, we may live a holy life, die a happy death, and attain to everlasting bliss in Heaven. Amen. – Encyclical Quamquam Pluries, “On Devotion to St. Joseph”, Pope Leo XIII, 15 August 1889