2 Prayers to San Giuseppe In This Time of Attack on the Church

Prayer for the Church & the Holy Father

Most powerful Patriarch St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, which has always invoked thee in anxiety & trouble, from the exalted seat of they glory cast a loving glance upon the whole Catholic world. Let thy fatherly heart be touched at the sight of the Mystical Spouse & the Vicar of Christ overwhelmed with sorrow & persecuted by powerful enemies. Oh, by the bitter anguish thou didst expeience upon earth, dry the tears of the venerable Pontiff, defend him, comfort him, intercede for him with the Giver of peace & charity, that, all adversity being removed & all error dissipated, the entire Church may serve God in perfect liberty. Amen.

Prayer for Priests

O illustrious Patriarch St. Joseph, who carried the infant Jesus in thy blessed arms & who, during the space of 30 years, lived in the most intimate familiarity with Him, take under thy powerful protection those whom He has clothed with His authority & honored with the dignity of His priesthood, whom He has charged to continue His mission, to preach His Gospel, & to dipense everywhere His graces & blessings. Sustain them in their fatigues & labors; console them in their pains; fortify them in their combats; but above all, keep far from them all the evils of sin.

Obtain for them the humilty of St John the Baptist, the faith of St. Peter, the zeal & charity of St. Paul, the purity of St. John & the spirit of prayer & recollection of which thou, my dear Saint, art the model, so that, after having been on earth the faithful dispensers of the Mysteries of the foster Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, they may in Heaven receive the recompense promised to pastors according to the Heart of God. Amen.

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These 2 prayers are taken from a collection of prayers to St. Joseph. Given the recent attacks on Papa Benedetto by everyone from the media to dissident Catholics to lawyers who represent the worst of their profession (using victims to line their own pockets), I felt that the 1st prayer was very much an appropriate 1 for us to be praying these days. It is appropriate for 2 reasons. 1st of all, since San Giuseppe is the Universal Padrone of the Catholic Church it is only fitting & right that we should call on him to protect the Holy Father who is the Vicar of Christ just as he protected Jesus from Herod etc. 2ndly, if you will remember Papa Benedetto's baptismal name is Joseph, after San Giuseppe. So San Giuseppe is also Papa Benedetto's lifetime padrone.

The 2nd prayer is appropriate as well because of San Giuseppe's role as Universal Padrone includes the care of priests as they are "alter Christus". Given the scandals, failure of many priests to uphold Catholic teaching etc, this prayer invoking his protection is very much a prayer for today.

It is important that we pray daily for the Pope, our Bishops, priests, deacons & religious. As a part of that prayer, invoking the help of certain saints is definitely pleasing in the sight of God. In addition to the Blessed Virgin & San Giuseppe, asking the Curé of Ars, St. John Vianney as well as St. Padre Pio, St. Peter, St. John Bosco, Servant of God Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen & St Gerard Majella (who was falsely accused of fathering a child), among others, for their intercession wouldn't hurt either.