Crazy Stable

St. Joseph and the Christ Child by Guido Reni (c. 1639)Happy St. Joseph's Day! Here is a beautiful litany to St. Joseph, "foster father" of Jesus and earthly husband of Mary. "Litany" is used to denote any lengthy recitation, but its call-and-response as spoken prayer, especially in a group, can be powerful. 

St. Joseph…pray for us.
Renowned offspring of David... pray for us (etc.)
Light of Patriarchs...
Spouse of the Mother of God...
Chaste guardian of the Virgin..
Foster father of the Son of God...
Diligent protector of Christ...
Head of the Holy Family...
Joseph most just...
Joseph most chaste...
Joseph most prudent...
Joseph most strong...
Joseph most obedient...
Joseph most faithful...
Mirror of patience...
Lover of poverty...
Model of artisans...
Glory of home life...
Guardian of virgins...
Pillar of families...
Solace of the wretched...
Hope of the sick...
Patron of the dying...
Terror of demons...
Protector of Holy Church...

I love this tender scene of the death of Joseph, from a window in the Oratory Church of St. Boniface in downtown Brooklyn; it speaks to all of us who have nursed and lost an aging parent. Joseph is a mysterious and fascinating figure, upon whom Christians have projected all sorts of needs and desires. Scripture tells us little about the upright carpenter from Nazareth, who refused to expose Mary to shame when she was found to be pregnant before their marriage. By tradition, he is depicted as older, perhaps because there is no mention of him later in Christ's story, or to make it more credible that he remained Mary's "most chaste spouse" and she a perpetual virgin. (The lily that often accompanies his T-square is a sign of purity.) 

Joseph and Baby Jesus, by Jason JenickeFulton J. Sheen took issue with the depiction, arguing that Joseph was probably young and virile, "not in the evening of life, but in its morning, bubbling over with energy, strength, and controlled passion." Heck, yeah! (Catholic artist Jason Jenicke, whose work is at right, apparently agrees.) Personally, I've always wondered why Joseph and Mary had to be locked into perpetual chastity once their Redeemer Son was born; the dogma seems to spring more from the preoccupations of theologians than from Scripture or the human heart. Why couldn't they form a perfect model for human marriage in all its dimensions? (Since the Catholic blogosphere is probably divided into Those Who Couldn't Care Less and Those Who Would Be Outraged, I will pursue this speculation no further.)

Beyond his role as dad, Joseph is patron of a wild array of things, including (in addition to, of course, carpenters and fathers): confectioners, Canada, China, the dying, workers, and the Universal Church. Oh, and house-hunters. You can even buy this rubbish "kit" on the Internet and ask him to help you sell your house. (Given the Holy Family's travails on the first Christmas, I've always wondered why Joseph wasn't also the patron saint of hotel reservations.) He also gets another feast day: St. Joseph the Worker, pegged conveniently onto May Day in 1955 (take that, Commies!) Here's a bonus to tuck away for May Day; it's a bracing antidote for the Age of Dilbert.

Prayer to St. Joseph, Patron of Workers

Glorious Saint Joseph, you are the pattern of all who work. Obtain for me, please, the grace to work conscientiously and to put devotion to duty before my selfish inclinations.

Help me to labor in thankfulness and joy, for it is an honor to employ and to develop by my labor the gifts I have received from almighty God.

Grant that I may work in orderliness, peace, moderation and patience without shrinking from weariness and difficulties. I offer my fatigue and perplexities as reparation for sin.

I shall work, above all, with a pure intention and with detachment from self, having always before my eyes the hour of death and the accounting which I must then 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.

For Jesus through Mary, all in imitation of you, good Saint Joseph. This shall be my motto in life and in death. Amen.