Today we continue the novena to St. Joseph. Joseph is so silent in the Gospels, so ordinary, that it took many years for the Church to give him due importance. St. Joseph is special because he reflects in a unique way the love of the Eternal Father for his only begotten Son.
Reading
Jude 20-23
20 But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; 21 keep yourselves in the love of God; look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on some who are wavering; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; and have mercy on still others with fear, hating even the tunic defiled by their bodies.
Reflection
Jude exhorts us to build our lives on the foundation of our faith by praying in the Holy Spirit and to remain firm in the love of God. St. Joseph was a person of unshakable faith and ardent love.
As love is from above, let us pray:
Lord, furnace of love, set our hearts on fire with divine love. (Three times)
Prayer
Holy Joseph, Man according to the Heart of God you whose heart was afire with ardent charity and whose life was a constant prayer and continual contemplation, direct us in the way of perfection. Obtain for us the grace of which we stand in need, in order to arrive at the sanctity to which we are called particularly, a spirit of prayer, humility, and surrender to God’s will, of which you were the model.
Hymn to St. Joseph
From David’s line came Joseph,
A just and upright man,
Engaged to Virgin Mary,
And startled by God’s plan.
An angel came and told him
What God’s love had in mind;
Obedient, he trusted,
Left all mistrust behind.
J. Michael Thompson
Copyright © 2010, World Library Publications
76 76 D
AURELIA, THAXTED
Novena courtesy of: Carmelite Sisters of St. Teresa
Hymn used with the kind permission of the composer
Carmelite Quotes 
Leave a Reply