O glorious St. Joseph! Pattern of all who are devoted to toil, obtain for me the grace to work in the spirit of penance, in order thereby to atone for my many sins; to work conscientiously, putting devotion to duty before my own inclinations; to work with thankfulness and joy, deeming it an honor to employ and to develop, by my labor, the gifts I have received from Almighty God; to work with order, peace, moderation, and patience, without ever shrinking from weariness and difficulties; to work, above all, with pure intention and with a spirit of detachment from self, having always before my eyes the hour of death and the accounting which I must render of time ill-spent, of talents unemployed, of good undone and of empty pride in success, which is so fatal to the work of God. All for Jesus, all through Mary, all in imitation of thee, O Blessed Joseph! This shall be my motto in life and in death. Amen.
From The Knights’ Prayer Book.
Saint Joseph, the virginal father of Jesus Christ, was faithful to his daily work as a carpenter. With his work, Saint Joseph supported his virgin wife, Mary, and the Child Jesus, his Son.
Pope Pius XII established the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker in 1955. He chose May 1, a day the Communists used to celebrate their view of labor, as the day for this important feast which shows the importance of work in a Christian’s life. The pope gave Christian workers the example of Saint Joseph to show forth the dignity of labor, no matter how menial.
“If the Family of Nazareth is an example and model for human families, in the order of salvation and holiness, so too, by analogy, is Jesus’ work at the side of Joseph the carpenter. In our own day, the Church has emphasized this by instituting the liturgical memorial of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1” (St. John Paul II, Redemptoris Custos, 22).
He went on to say: “Human work, and especially manual labor, receive special prominence in the Gospel… At the workbench where he plied his trade together with Jesus, Joseph brought human work closer to the mystery of the Redemption.”
Prayer for our work helps us get through the stresses and struggles we experience as we support ourselves and our loved ones. We can offer our work to God for His honor and glory and for the good of ourselves and others; in this way work becomes a prayer.
This prayer to St. Joseph the Worker, a prayer for our work, is traditionally attributed to Pope St. Pius X. St. Joseph, patron of workers, a happy death, and the Universal Church, pray for us!
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