Novena for the Feast of Saint Joseph ( 19 March )

Day 1
Saint Joseph Foster Father of Jesus

Saint Joseph, you were privileged to share in the mystery of the Incarnation as the foster-father of Jesus. Mary alone was directly connected with the fulfillment of the mystery, in that she gave her consent to Christ's conception and allowed the Holy Spirit to form the sacred humanity of Jesus from her blood. You had a part in this mystery in an indirect manner, by fulfilling the condition necessary for the Incarnation -- the protection of Mary's virginity before and during your married life with her. You made the virginal marriage possible, and this was a part of God's plan, foreseen, willed, and decreed from all eternity.

In a more direct manner you shared in the support, upbringing, and protection of the Divine Child as His foster-father. For this purpose the Heavenly Father gave you a genuine heart of a father -- a heart full of love and self-sacrifice. With the toil of your hands you were obliged to offer protection to the Divine Child, to procure for Him food, clothing, and a home. You were truly the saint of the holy childhood of Jesus -- the living created providence which watched over the Christ-Child.

When Herod sought the Child to put Him to death, the Heavenly Father sent an angel but only as a messenger, giving orders for the flight; the rest He left entirely in your hands. It was that fatherly love which was the only refuge that received and protected the Divine Child. Your fatherly love carried Him through the desert into Egypt until all enemies were removed. Then on your arms the Child returned to Nazareth to be nourished and provided for during many years by the labor of your hands. Whatever a human son owes to a human father for all the benefits of his up-bringing and support, Jesus owed to you, because you were to Him a foster-father, teacher, and protector.
You served the Divine Child with a singular love. God gave you a heart filled with heavenly, supernatural love -- a love far deeper and more powerful than any natural father's love could be. You served the Divine Child with great unselfishness, without any regard to self-interest, but not without sacrifices. You did not toil for yourself, but you seemed to be an instrument intended for the benefit of others, to be put aside as soon as it had done its word, for you disappeared from the scene once the childhood of Jesus had passed.
You were the shadow of the Heavenly Father not only as the earthly representative of the authority of the Father, but also by means of your fatherhood -- which only appeared to be natural -- you were to hide for a while the divinity of Jesus. What a wonderfully sublime and divine vocation was yours -- the loving Child which you carried in your arms, and loved and served so faithfully, had God in Heaven as Father and was Himself God!
Yours is a very special rank among the saints of the Kingdom of God, because you were so much a part of the very life of the Word of God made Man. In your house at Nazareth and under your care the redemption of mankind was prepared. What you accomplished, you did for us. You are not only a powerful and great saint in the Kingdom of God, but a benefactor of the whole of Christendom and mankind. Your rank in the Kingdom of God, surpassing far in dignity and honor of all the angels, deserves our very special veneration, love, and gratitude.
Saint Joseph, I thank God for your privilege of having been chosen by God to be the foster-father of His Divine Son. As a token of your own gratitude to God for this your greatest privilege, obtain for me the grace of a very devoted love for Jesus Christ, my God and my Savior. Help me to serve Him with some of the self-sacrificing love and devotion which you had while on this earth with Him. Grant that through your intercession with Jesus, your foster-Son, I may reach the degree of holiness God has destined for me, and save my soul.
Amen

Now we pray Novena prayer : *(prayer to be said at the end of each day's devotion)

Saint Joseph, I, your unworthy child, greet you. You are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate you. You know that I have special confidence in you and that, after Jesus and Mary, I place all my hope of salvation in you, for you are especially powerful with God and will never abandon your faithful servants. Therefore I humbly invoke you and 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, 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.
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 in my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God. Amen.
Memorare
Remember, most pure spouse of Mary, ever Virgin, my loving protector, Saint Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to your protection or asked for your aid without obtaining relief. Confiding, therefore, in your goodness, I come before you and humbly implore you. Despise not my petitions, foster-father of the Redeemer, but graciously receive them. Amen.

Novena for the Feast of Saint Joseph ( 19 March )

*(prayer to be said at the end of each day's devotion)
Saint Joseph, I, your unworthy child, greet You.
You are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate You.
You know that I have special confidence in You and that, after Jesus and Mary, I place all my hope of salvation in You, for You are especially powerful with God and will never abandon Your faithful servants.
Therefore I humbly invoke You and 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, obtain for me a pure, humble, charitable mind, and perfect resignation to the Fivine 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
Day One
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 in my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God. Amen.
Memorare
Remember, most pure spouse of Mary, ever Virgin, my loving protector, Saint Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to your protection or asked for your aid without obtaining relief. Confiding, therefore, in your goodness, I come before you and humbly implore you.
Despise not my petitions, foster-father of the Redeemer, but graciously receive them. Amen.

Before Saint Joseph novena

I'll pray a heartly Act of contrition for my many neglegts and weakness in my prayers , for my great fault of abandon in the middle of praying a novena . Saint Joseph forgive me , through infinite merits of Your Foster Son , our Lord and Saviour : Jesus Christ
My God, I detest all the sins of my life.
I am truly sorry that I have sinned,
because Thou art infinitely good
and sin displeases Thee.
Have mercy on me and pardon my offences.
I am resolved to avoid the occasions of sin
and never again offend Thee.Amen

Saint Joseph please receive my contrite soul and spirit , forgive and pray for me !

Tredicina ~~ valorous Saint Anthony devotion

1. O glorious St. Anthony, you who have received from God the power to raise the dead, awaken my soul from its apathy and obtain for me a fervent and holy life. Glory be to the Father
2. O wise St. Anthony, you who were light for the Holy Church as well as for the entire world through your teaching, enlighten my soul and open it for divine truth. Glory be to the Father
3. O pious Saint, always ready to help those devoted to you, help me and my family in our present needs. Glory be to the Father
4. O generous Saint, you who by accepting divine inspiration have consecrated your life to the service of God, grant that I may hear the voice of the Lord with submissiveness. Glory be to the Father
5. O St. Anthony, true lily of purity, do not permit that my soul be stained by sin but obtain for me purity of heart from our Lord. Glory be to the Father
6. O dear Saint, through whose intercession so many sick people have found health, help my soul to heal from sin and evil inclinations. Glory be to the Father
7. O St. Anthony, you who have given yourself to save your brothers, lead me through the sea of life and give me your help in order that I may reach the safe harbour of eternal salvation. Glory be to the Father
8. O compassionate St. Anthony, you who have freed so many condemned prisoners during your life, obtain for me the grace that I be freed from the bonds of sin and live in the grace of God for all eternity. Glory be to the Father
9. O holy Thaumaturge, you who have had the gift of reuniting to the body limbs that have been cut off, grant that I may never be separated from the love of God, and the unity of the Church. Glory be to the Father
10. O Saint Anthony, you who have always helped to find lost objects, grant that I may never lose God's friendship, but that I may conserve it faithfully throughout my life. Glory be to the Father
11. O patron of the poor, you who listen to those who turn to you, receive my prayer and present it to God that He might grant me His assistance. Glory be to the Father
12. O St. Anthony, you who were the untiring apostle of the word of God, grant that I may bear witness to my faith with words and deeds. Glory be to the Father
13. O most beloved St. Anthony, you who have your blessed tomb in Padua, look upon my needs, may your miraculous tongue speak to God for me, that my prayers may be heard. Glory be to the Father
Pray for us St. Anthony. Make us worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray.
Almighty and Eternal God, You who in St. Anthony of Padua have given to Your people an illustrious preacher of the Gospel and a patron of the poor and the suffering, grant to us, through Your intercession, to follow Your teachings on Christian life and to experience, in trials, the help of Your mercy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Saint Bernadette

The saint of Lourdes ... the saint of penance ... the saint of poverty

Saint Bernadette Soubirous was born at Lourdes, in the Pyrenees mountains, in 1844. This young girl, fragile of health, born of a very poor but pious family, at fourteen years of age witnessed eighteen apparitions of Our Blessed Lady at Lourdes, from February 11, 1858 to July 16th of the same year.
She was instructed to make known the healing powers which the Blessed Virgin, by Her presence, would give to the miraculous spring of Lourdes. A worker who had lost an eye in an explosion recovered his sight when he washed his face in this water; a dying child was plunged into the small basin which had formed around the spring, and the next day began to walk. The police attempted to stop the crowds from going to the Grotto for the foretold apparitions, but were unable to do so.
On March 25th, the Beautiful Lady identified Herself in response to Bernadette’s request: “I am the Immaculate Conception.”

Neither ignorance nor poverty, not even the sickly aspect of Bernadette prevented the appreciation of her virtues of simplicity and piety.
The Priest of Bartres, Abbe Arder , on one occasion said: “Look at this small child. When the Blessed Virgin wants to appear on earth she chooses children like her.”
His words were prophetic, for in a few months the Blessed Virgin started to appear to Bernadette in the grotto of Massabielle, near Lourdes.
Two virtues stood out in Bernadette: piety and modesty. To be pious it is not necessary to be intelligent.
Even after she became a religious, she herself said that she did not know how to pray and would remain long hours in prayer. Her prayer was not mechanical; she would speak to God and the Virgin just as we speak to a person face to face. It was a prayer from the heart: intense, honest and effective.
She loved prayer. She knew very well how to pray the Holy Rosary, which she always carried in her pocket. She had the Rosary in her hands when Our Lady appeared. Her first response in times of difficulties or trials was to take out the Rosary and start praying.
This small soul chosen by the Virgin had much to suffer both morally and physically until her death. But we should never forget that God guided this small child and she responded with humility, abandonment, faith and courage. Bernadette had virtues that were criticized by the people as “defects.” Because of this error of the people, the authenticity of the apparitions was doubted. This child of only 14 years old (she became 14 on Jan. 7th, 1858) had to be wise, firm, extraordinarily courageous, and how to make discernments and confront the people trying to dissuade her, among them priests, bishops, head of police, attorneys, etc.
Bernadette frequently had to confront the Pastor of Lourdes, Abbe Peyramale, who had a reputation of having a bad temper. In all the occasions that our saint went to visit him, even fearful, she always controlled this natural tendency. Her will to accomplish the mission Our Lady gave her was more powerful than the bad temper of the priest. We see how Bernadette fulfilled the desires of the Virgin even though she had obstacles and personal weaknesses.
She had to go through many tribulations; big and small humiliations bombarded her. She said: “When my emotions are too strong, I remember the words of Our Lord: ‘It is I, don’t be afraid.’ I immediately appreciate and thank Our Lord for this grace of rejections and humiliations from my Superiors and sisters. It is the love of this Good Master who would remove the roots from this tree of pride. The more little I become, the more I grow in the Heart of Jesus.”
Let us pray :
St. Bernadette, little shepherdess of Lourdes favoured with eighteen apparitions of the Immaculate Virgin Mary and with the privilege of lovingly conversing with her, now that you are eternally enjoying the entrancing beauty of the Immaculate Mother of God, do not forsake me your devoted client, who am still in the valley of tears.
Intercede for me that I too, may walk the simple paths of faith. Help me to imitate your example, at our heavenly Queens request, by saying the Rosary daily and by doing penance for sinners. Teach me to imitate your wonderful devotedness to God and Our Lady the Immaculate Conception so that like you, I may be blessed with the grace of lasting faithfulness and enjoy the happiness in heaven of the eternal vision of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen.