Novena to Saint Joseph

First Day
Saint Joseph, Model of Faith
Saint Joseph, we pray to you today as our model of faith. You welcomed God into your life,
attentive to his word, you agreed to share in the deepest of mysteries, that of the Incarnation.
Your virgin spouse conceived without human intervention and a child was born who is God; you
adored him; you protected hum. These events were upsetting, even astounding, and for those
without faith, they would seem to have been impossible. But you knew that when speaking to a
person, it is not Gods intention to mislead. Without challenging or questioning Gods will for you,
you went ahead placing your confidence in the light which He alone provides. By your life with
Mary you contributed towards the implementation of salvation for humankind.
Second Day
Saint Joseph, Model of Hope
During your life, Saint Joseph, you were a man of hope. Like the people of Israel, you shared
hope of one day seeing the redemption of humankind accomplished; and, so it was, that in your
very home, united to you as a son to his father, lived the Messiah. This was a sign of the
goodness and fidelity of the Lord. God showed himself faithful to his promises, and new
horizons of hope were opened up for humankind. You hoped for salvation for Mary and yourself
as you welcomed God himself into your life. In the unforeseeable events which came up, such
as the hardships involved in the very birth of Jesus and the flight into Egypt, your only strength
was the unshakable hope you had in goodness, power and fidelity of the Lord. Without a doubt,
this explains the peaceful serenity which radiated from your home. You knew that no matter
what happened to you, God would have the last word.
Third Day Novena
Saint Joseph, Model of Love
Saint Joseph, your life was filled with generous love. You loved MAry who brought the Son of
God into the world. Then with her, you had a special part in the most beautiful act of love ever
known to this world; the coming of the Son of God for the salvation of humankind. God, who is
Love, lived in your home. He ate at your table, shared the intimacy of your home life, your joys
and difficulties, in fact, each moment of your life. As the attention of parents is centered on their
children because they love them, so your generosity, and that of Mary, was naturally centered
on the Son of God. your own child. As on family, you loved those surround you. Because of your
deep love, you were to play an active part in the mystery of salvation, the perfect act of love
embracing all people.

Fourth Day Novena

Saint Joseph, Father of Jesus

Saint Joseph, to the people of Nazareth, Jesus was your son; for they said when he visited
Nazareth during his ministry:Is this not the carpenters son? You truly were a father to Jesus,
the Son of God. your fatherly concern was shown in your tender care for Mary during the
months which preceded the birth if Jesus. Constantly helped and encouraged her. God chose
you because he knew you would have a tender love for Mary. he knew that you would know
how to speak to her comfortingly when she was tired or in difficulty: this love contributed in the
formation of the character of Gods Son.
Fifth Day Novena
Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Mother of God
Saint Joseph, when we look at Marys faith at her love, courage and purity, we understand your
happiness of having her as your spouse. You and Mary were husband and wife. You dedicated
yourselves to each other. Yours was a tender love filled with mutual attention; yours was a
strong love never broken by the trials and difficulties of life; yours was a pure love renouncing
gratification of the flesh in order to fulfill Gods plan of salvation. Your mutual love blossomed
though your virginity as a sign of God for human beings. Adam and Eve had rejected God in
solidarity, whereas in your union with Mary, Christ came into the world.
Sixth Day Novena
Saint Joseph, Man of Prayer
At the end of your workday, Saint Joseph, you found yourself with Mary, looking after the child
Jesus. For like other children, the Son of God needed guidance and direction while he was
growing up. Indeed, according to the Jewish tradition, it belonged to you, as the head of the
family, to teach him both the lessons and the commandments of the Bible, because as the
scriptures command: You shall repeat them over and over to your children. In the company of
Mary, therefore, you must have told Jesus of all that God had done for his people as well as
shown him both the use and the meaning of sacred signs and gestures. In being a true father to
Jesus, with the help of Mary, you could not have failed to fulfill this responsibility to form his
human soul.
Seventh Day Novena
Saint Joseph, Model of the Just Man
Saint Joseph, help us to be just. You know that to be fully alive, our hearts and minds must be
open to our Creator. Your son asks not false piety from us, but a heart attuned to the will of God.
to those who were content with formalistic prayers and ritual, he said It is not those who say
Lord! Lord! who will be saved, but those who do the will of my Father. It is more important for
us to live each day in the presence of God. At the first glance, your life might seem to be banal.
Everyday there were the same things to be done, the same tasks and duties to be

accomplished. But you did them with such joy and faithfulness that in Gods eyes you were
worthy to be the foster father of Jesus.
Eight Day Novena
Saint Joseph, Model Worker
In the beginning of the world, in the Creators plans, work was enjoyable and fulfilling. But
humankind cut itself off from God and since that time, work has been a source of difficulties and
hardships. Saint Joseph, you submitted yourself to the law of work for you understood that work
could again become noble and good in accord with the Creators plans. This was the secret of
your life as a worker. When God decided upon an adoptive father for his Son, He chose a roker,
thus showing his esteem for work. You did not disappoint him. You put your whole heart into
your work. Your labor became and expression of lover for the Lord.
Ninth Day Novena
Saint Joseph, Model of Obedience
Saint Joseph, one of the most noticeable characteristics of your spiritual life was your constant
obedience to God, for your entire life was based upon faithfulness and confidence to the Lord
who loved you. At the very beginning of the Gospel, it is recounted that Mary, who was
betrothed to you, was found to be pregnant. As a just man, you decided to put her away quietly
s as not to cause her any harm. The Lord, however, asked you to take her as your faithful wife,
and you, attentive to this first intervention of God, entered together with him into the evermysterious ways of Incarnation. Just a few month later, the Roman emperor commanded that a
census was to be taken throughout his empire. With firm confidence in Gods providence, you
accepted this second trial. You therefore set out from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the city of David,
where the Son of God was to be born.