SAINT JOSEPH NOVENA - DAY 8

On the eighth day of our Novena, let us ask Saint Joseph to teach us to love and value work.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Prayer of Pope Leo XIII to Saint Joseph - spouse of the Virgin Mary, foster father of Jesus, and patron saint of the universal Church   To you, O blessed Joseph, do we come in our tribulation, and having implored the help of your most holy Spouse, we confidently invoke your patronage also. Through that charity which bound you to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God and through the paternal love with which you embraced the Child Jesus, we humbly beg you to graciously regard the inheritance which Jesus Christ has purchased by his Blood, and with your power and strength to aid us in our necessities. O most watchful guardian of the Holy Family, defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ; O most loving father, keep away every contagion of error and corrupting influence from us; O our most mighty protector, be kind to us and from heaven assist us in our struggle against the power of darkness. As you once rescued the Child Jesus from deadly peril, so now protect God's Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity; shield, too, each one of us by your constant protection, so that, supported by your example and your aid, we may be able to live piously, to die in holiness, and to obtain eternal happiness in heaven. Amen.

MEDITATIONS Today, we begin the month of May with a liturgical memorial very dear to the Christian people: that of Saint Joseph the Worker; and you know that my name is Joseph... It is necessary to witness in contemporary society to the "Gospel of work," of which Pope Saint John Paul II spoke in his Encyclical Laborem Exercens. I hope that work will be available, especially for young people, and that working conditions may be ever more respectful of the dignity of the human person. (Benedict XVI, Regina Caeli May 1, 2005) It is necessary to live a spirituality that helps believers to sanctify themselves through their work, imitating Saint Joseph, who had to provide with his own hands for the daily needs of the Holy Family and whom, consequently, the Church holds up as Patron of workers. His witness shows that man is the subject and protagonist of work. I would like to entrust to Saint Joseph those young people who are finding integration into the working world difficult, the unemployed and everyone who is suffering hardship due to the widespread employment crisis. Together with Mary, his Spouse, may Saint Joseph watch over all workers and obtain serenity and peace for families and for the whole of humanity. May Christians, looking at this great Saint, learn to witness in every working environment to the love of Christ, the source of true solidarity and lasting peace. Amen! (Benedict XVI, Homily, March 19, 2006)

Saint Joseph, patron of workers, pray for us. Saint Joseph, protector of the Holy Church, pray for us. Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be ...

Prayer of Pope Francis Protect, O Holy Guardian, this our nation. Enlighten those responsible for the common good, so that they might know - as you do - how to care for those entrusted to their responsibility. Grant intelligence of knowledge to those seeking adequate means for the health and physical well-being of their brothers and sisters. Sustain those who are dedicating their efforts to serve those in need, even at the cost of their own safety: the volunteers, nurses, and doctors working on the front lines in tending to the sick. O Saint Joseph, bless the Church: beginning with her ministers, make her the sign and instrument of your light and your goodness. O Saint Joseph, protect our families: with your prayerful silence, create harmony between parents and their children, especially with the youngest. Preserve the elderly from loneliness: grant that no one might be left in desperation from abandonment and discouragement. Comfort those who are the most frail, encourage those who falter, intercede for the poor. With the Virgin Mother, beg the Lord to liberate the world from every form of pandemic. Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY "O admirable prodigy! He is nourished by the work of Joseph, He who, from his own wealth, satisfies the hungry. Through Joseph's work He can eat his bread on earth, He who lives in Heaven without any need and who says: ‘I am the living bread that came down from Heaven.’ In fact, because He came down from heaven, He must be nourished and sustained on earth by Joseph's work." (C­ardinal Pierre d'Ailly)