Feast Days: March 19th and May 1st
St. Joseph has two feast days on the liturgical calendar. The first is March 19—Joseph, the Husband of Mary. The second is May 1—Joseph, the Worker.
St. Bernardine of Siena (d. 1444) preached, “He was chosen by the eternal Father as the trustworthy guardian and protector of His greatest treasures, namely, His divine Son and Mary, Joseph’s wife. He carried out this vocation with complete fidelity until at last God called him, saying, ‘Good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord.'”
Moreover, St. Joseph’s feast day of March 19 is a solemnity and traditionally a holy day of obligation throughout the universal Church (Code Canon Law, #1246); however, the United States was granted an exemption from the requirement at the request of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore (1884) because of the difficulty of observing holy days in a non-Catholic environment. In 1955, Pope Pius XII established the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1 to present St. Joseph as the exemplar of all working men and to focus on the true dignity of human labor in contrast to the “May Day” celebrations of communist countries.
May each of us honor and cherish the example of St. Joseph, trusting in his prayers to help us on the path of salvation!
May each of us honor and cherish the example of St. Joseph, trusting in his prayers to help us on the path of salvation!
On the 150thAnniversary of the Declaration of Saint Joseph as the Patron of the Universal Church.
Oh Good and Holy Saint Joseph,husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary,foster-father of Jesus,and patron of the Universal Church,we beseech you to hear our humble petitions.As the guardian of Mary and Jesus who trusted in God’s plan,we seek your intercession to protect the Church from all evils.As a loving spouse to Mary,we ask you to teach us purity of heart.As a nurturing foster-father to the child Jesus,we implore you for a greater respect towards all human life.And when our earthly life nears its end,we pray, that, like you,we may have a happy death and welcomed by Jesus and Mary into the eternal joy of heaven. O Saint Joseph, our guide and patron,pray for us.
Amen.
Oh Good and Holy Saint Joseph,husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary,foster-father of Jesus,and patron of the Universal Church,we beseech you to hear our humble petitions.As the guardian of Mary and Jesus who trusted in God’s plan,we seek your intercession to protect the Church from all evils.As a loving spouse to Mary,we ask you to teach us purity of heart.As a nurturing foster-father to the child Jesus,we implore you for a greater respect towards all human life.And when our earthly life nears its end,we pray, that, like you,we may have a happy death and welcomed by Jesus and Mary into the eternal joy of heaven. O Saint Joseph, our guide and patron,pray for us.
Amen.