LITANY OF SAINT JOSEPH - MARCH Devotion



Since the 16th century, Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. With the solemnity of Saint Joseph on March 19, this month is devoted to this great saint, sometimes forgotten, the foster father of Christ, Our Lord.
"It greatly behooves Christians, while honoring the Virgin Mother of God, constantly to invoke with deep piety and confidence her most chaste spouse, Saint Joseph. We have a well grounded conviction that such is the special desire of the Blessed Virgin herself."
--Pope Leo XIII
----- < ✠ > -----

Litany of St. Joseph
Approved by St. Pope Pius X, traditional version

The Gospel says almost nothing about this great saint: He's never quoted, and only his speedy obedience to God is mentioned. The Gospel says only that Saint Joseph was a «righteous man» (Matthew 1, 19), meaning to say, he was faithful to God’s Will...which is actually a lot, and we hope it is said of us all, one day. 
And it's more than enough to warrant our devotion to him with a litany of his own.

So what is a "litany," anyway? In short, it is a list.
In the ecclesiastic sense, it is a list-like devotional, a sincere "prayer of purpose."
That purpose is to focus our devotion on a particular subject or person - in this case, Saint Joseph.
It consists of a series of petitions (verses), recited by a leader representing the Church, alternating with fixed responses (response) by the congregation.
Another way to think it it is as a public, "call and response" interaction in prayer.

The name itself, "litany," comes to us from the Latin word 'litania,' which originated in Greek. It means, simply, "supplication prayer."


Verse: The Church                        Response: The Faithful

Lord, have mercy....                              Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy....                            Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy....                              Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us....                             Christ, graciously hear us.

God, the Father of heaven....                have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer
of the world...                                         have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit.....                           have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God....                         have mercy on us.

Holy Mary....                                                  pray for us.
Saint Joseph....                                             pray for us.
Noble offspring of David....                            pray for us.
Light of Patriarchs....                                     pray for us.
Spouse of the Mother of God....                    pray for us.
Chaste guardian of the Virgin....                    pray for us.
Foster father of the Son of God....                 pray for us.
Diligent protector of Christ....                         pray for us.
Guardian of the Redeemer....                        pray for us.
Head of the Holy Family....                            pray for us.
Servant of Christ....                                        pray for us.
Joseph most Just....                                       pray for us.
Joseph most chaste....                                   pray for us.
Joseph most prudent....                                 pray for us.
Joseph most courageous....                           pray for us.
Joseph most obedient.....                               pray for us.
Joseph most faithful....                                   pray for us.
Minister of salvation....                                   pray for us.
Mirror of patience....                                       pray for us.
Lover of poverty....                                          pray for us.
Model of workers....                                        pray for us.
Glory of domestic life....,                                 pray for us.
Guardian of virgins....,                                     pray for us.
Pillar of families....,                                          pray for us.
Support in difficulties....,                                  pray for us.
Comfort of the afflicted....,                               pray for us.
Hope of the sick....,                                         pray for us.
Patron of the dying....,                                     pray for us.
Patron of exiles....,                                           pray for us.
Patron of the afflicted....,                                  pray for us.
Patron of the poor....,                                       pray for us.
Terror of Demons....,                                        pray for us.
Protector of the Holy Church....,                       pray for us.

Lamb of God,
you take away the sins of the world....,       Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God,
you take away the sins of the world....,      Graciously hear us,                                                                      O Lord.
Lamb of God, 
you take away the sins of the world....,        Have mercy on us.

He has made him lord of his household....,  And prince over all
                                                                        his possessions.

Let us pray....

Verse. "O God, who in your loving providence chose Saint Joseph to be the spouse of your most Holy Mother, grant us the favor of having him for our intercessor in heaven whom on earth we venerate as our protector."
You, who live and reign forever and ever.

Response. "Amen."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Assumption of Mary

     The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a commemoration celebrated by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and a few other Christian religions around the world. ----- <  ✠ > -----      This celebration of Mary's Assumption began with 5th century Christians (AD 400's), although evidence points to an earlier observance. But it was, at that time, a remembrance of Mary's life and death, without the Assumption connection. Rather, it bore a sense of Our Lady’s, “Birth Into Heaven,” or, as it was known in the Byzantine tradition, her “Dormition” (falling asleep).       The actual Feast of the Assumption, as we think of it, was first seen within the Church at Rome during the middle of the 7th century.  So while it has obviously been observed by the faithful for a long time, it took roughly 13 centuries for it to be declared doctrine:        On 1, November, 1950, Po...
Read more

Saint John

Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist (d. AD 101) Christmas, December 27 Third Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) Prayer O God, who through the blessed Apostle John, has unlocked for us the secrets of your Word, grant, we pray, that we may grasp with proper understanding what he has so marvelously brought to our ears.  Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. -----  ------ Introduction Born in Bethsaida, John was called while mending his nets to follow Jesus.  He became the beloved disciple of Jesus. He wrote the fourth Gospel, three Epistles and the Apocalypse.  His passages on the pre-existence of the Word, who by His Incarnation became the light of the world and the life of our souls, are among the finest of the New Testament. He is the evangelist of the divinity of Christ and His fraternal love.  With James, his brother, and Simon...
Read more