In preparation for the Canadian Federal Election of 2019
In preparation for the 2019 Canadian Federal Election, to be held on October 21, I have composed a Novena of St. Joseph Patron of Canada to be prayed 5 times (I hope I did the math correctly) starting this Saturday, September 7 (the eve of Our Lady’s Birthday) and ending on Monday, October 21. Let us pray for a worthy Prime Minister to be elected to lead our nation.
OPENING NOVENA PRAYER
BIBLICAL READING
REFLECTION
PRAYER
CLOSING
NOVENA PRAYER
OPENING NOVENA PRAYER
Good St. Joseph, you are the faithful protector and
intercessor of all who love and venerate you. We have special confidence in
you. You are powerful with God and will never abandon your faithful servants.
Therefore, we humbly commend ourselves, and our entire nation of Canada, to
your intercession. By the love that you have for Jesus and Mary, do not abandon
us during life, and assist us at the hour of our death. Amen.
DAY 1 – SON OF DAVID
READING
Behold,
an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying: Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid … (St. Matthew 1:20).
REFLECTION
The Sovereign Lord had
deigned to make St. Joseph of royal blood, placing in him all the honour and
glory of the House of David. Though St. Joseph’s family no longer sat on the
throne, he was still a continuation of this nobility. He carried this heritage
as though it were a secret between himself and his Lord — a sacred bond between
an earthly prince and the Ruler of Heaven and Earth. St. Joseph’s royalty was
not shown with an outward crown, but one which was hidden within his heart — a
heart in which the Lord took great consolation and great delight (Joe
Rodrigues, The Book of Joseph).
PRAYER
Hail Joseph, son of David, God is with you. Blessed are you among men
and blessed is our Lord Jesus Christ! Holy Joseph, prince of God, convert our nation. Amen.
Our Father + Hail Mary + Glory Be
DAY 2 – DEDICATED FATHER
READING
And they said: Is not this Jesus, the son of
Joseph, whose father and mother we know (John 6:42)?
REFLECTION
There is but one fatherhood, that of God the Father, the one Creator of
the world, of all that is seen and unseen. Yet man, created in the image of
God, has been granted a share in this one paternity of God. Saint Joseph is a
striking case of this, since he is a father
without fatherhood according to the flesh. He is not the biological father of
Jesus, whose Father is God alone, and yet he lives his fatherhood fully and
completely. To be a father means above all to be at the service of life and
growth. Saint Joseph, in this sense, gave proof of great devotion. For the sake
of Christ, he experienced persecution, exile and the poverty which this
entails. … His only reward was to be with Christ (Pope Benedict XVI).
PRAYER
Hail Joseph, son of David, God is with you. Blessed are you among men
and blessed is our Lord Jesus Christ! Holy Joseph, dedicated father, convert our nation. Amen.
Our Father + Hail Mary + Glory Be
DAY 3 – CHASTE HUSBAND
READING
God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in
Galilee, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David;
and the virgin's name was Mary (Luke 1:27 DRV).
REFLECTION
The dignity of the Mother of God is certainly so sublime that nothing can
surpass it; but none the less, since the bond of marriage existed between
Joseph and the Blessed Virgin, there can be no doubt that, more than any other
person, he approached that super-eminent dignity by which the Mother of God is
raised far above all created nature. For marriage is the closest possible union
and relationship whereby each spouse mutually participates in the goods of the
other. Consequently, if God gave Joseph as a spouse to the Virgin, He assuredly
gave him not only as a companion in life, a witness of her virginity, and the
guardian of her honour, but also as a sharer
in her exalted dignity (Pope Leo XIII).
PRAYER
Hail Joseph,
son of David, God is with you. Blessed are you among men and blessed is our
Lord Jesus Christ! Holy Joseph, chaste
spouse of Mary, convert our nation. Amen.
Our Father + Hail Mary + Glory Be
DAY 4 – WORKER
READING
And I have found that nothing is better than for a man to rejoice in his
work, and that this is his portion (Ecclesiastes 3:22 DRV).
REFLECTION
Work was the daily expression of love in the life of the Family of
Nazareth. The Gospel specifies the kind of work Joseph did to support his
family: he was a carpenter. This simple word sums up Joseph's entire life. …
Having learned the work of His presumed father, Jesus was known as “the carpenter's
son.” 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 … At the workbench where he plied his trade
together with Jesus, Joseph brought human work closer to the mystery of the
Redemption (St. John Paul II, 1989).
PRAYER
Hail Joseph, son of
David, God is with you. Blessed are you among men and blessed is our Lord
Jesus Christ! Holy Joseph, diligent
worker, convert our nation. Amen.
Our Father + Hail Mary + Glory Be
DAY 5 – PERFECT ADORER OF CHRIST
READING
And all the angels were
standing around the throne … and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God (Revelation 7:11).
REFLECTION
In profound adoration
St. Joseph united himself to the special grace of each one of the events
in the life of Jesus. He adored our Lord in His hidden life and in His
Passion and Death; he adored in advance the Eucharistic Christ in His tabernacles:
there was nothing that our Lord could hide from Saint Joseph. Aside from the
Blessed Virgin, Saint Joseph was the first and most perfect adorer of our Lord.
(St. Peter Julian Eymard).
PRAYER
Hail Joseph, son of
David, God is with you. Blessed are you among men and blessed is our Lord
Jesus Christ! Holy Joseph, perfect adorer,
convert our nation. Amen.
Our Father + Hail Mary
+ Glory Be
DAY
6 – TERROR OF DEMONS
READING
… as you go, preach,
saying, ‘The kingdom of Heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers,
raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give (Matthew
10:6-8).
REFLECTION
St. Joseph, with the love and generosity with which he guarded Jesus, so
too will he guard your soul, and as he defended Him from Herod, so will he
defend your soul from the fiercest Herod: the devil! All the care that St.
Joseph has for Jesus, he has for you, and will always help you with his
patronage. He will free you from the persecution of the wicked and proud devil,
the new Herod, and will not allow your heart to be estranged from Jesus. Ite ad
Ioseph! Go to Joseph with extreme confidence (St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina)!
PRAYER
Hail Joseph,
son of David, God is with you. Blessed are you among men and blessed is our
Lord Jesus Christ! Holy Joseph, Terror of
Demons, convert our nation. Amen.
Our Father + Hail Mary + Glory Be
DAY
7 – AGAINST POLITICAL EVIL
READING
Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children of depravity! They have forsaken the Lord; they have despised the Holy One … and turned their backs on Him (Isaiah
1:4).
REFLECTION
We now see, with true
sorrow, that society is now much more depraved and corrupt than before … This World Government
will no longer acknowledge the authority of the father over his children, or of
the public power over the citizens, or of God over human society. … We remind
those on Our side … to save them from Socialism, the sworn enemy of
Christians, to go to St. Joseph and to follow him as their guide, and to
receive the special honor of his heavenly patronage (Benedict XV, 1920).
PRAYER
Hail Joseph, son of
David, God is with you. Blessed are you among men and blessed is our Lord
Jesus Christ! Holy Joseph, against
political evil, convert our nation. Amen.
Our Father + Hail Mary + Glory Be
DAY
8 – PATRON OF THE CHURCH
READING
He made him the master
of his house and ruler over all his possessions (Psalm 105:21).
REFLECTION
And now,
in these most troublesome times, the Church is beset by enemies on every side, and is weighed down by
calamities so heavy that ungodly men assert that the gates of Hell have at length prevailed
against Her, the prelates of the Catholic world have presented to the Sovereign
Pontiff their own petitions, and those of the faithful, praying that he would make
St. Joseph Patron of the Church. Accordingly, it has now pleased our Sovereign,
Pope Pius IX, to entrust himself and all the faithful to the Patriarch St.
Joseph’s most powerful patronage, to comply with the prelates’ desire, and has
solemnly declared him Patron of the Catholic Church (Blessed Pius IX, 1870).
PRAYER
Hail Joseph, son of
David, God is with you. Blessed are you among men and blessed is our Lord
Jesus Christ! Holy Joseph, Patron of the
Church, convert our nation. Amen.
Our Father + Hail Mary + Glory Be
DAY 9 – PATRON OF CANADA
READING
And He will judge
between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples … Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and
never again will they learn war (Isaiah 2:4).
REFLECTION
Saint Joseph, with you we bless
the Lord … as you are constantly at his side. Protect the whole church, the
family born of the salvation of Jesus. Protect especially the people of Canada
who have placed themselves under your patronage. Help them to come closer to
the mystery of Christ in that attitude of faith, submission and love that is
your own (St. John Paul II).
PRAYER
Hail Joseph,
son of David, God is with you. Blessed are you among men and blessed is our
Lord Jesus Christ! Holy Joseph, Patron of
Canada, convert our nation. Amen.
Our Father + Hail Mary
+ Glory Be
CLOSING
PRAYER
Loving Saint Joseph,
faithful follower of Jesus Christ, we raise our hearts to you to implore your
powerful intercession in obtaining from the Sacred Heart of Jesus all the
graces necessary for our spiritual and temporal welfare. We ask you, O Joseph,
our patron and guide, for love of Jesus and Mary, to please keep our nation
under your paternal protection, and bring the Church in Canada to her full
glory. Amen.
Our Father + Hail Mary
+ Glory Be
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comment has been submitted for approval. God bless you!