St. Joseph is the foster father of Jesus, husband of Mary, patron of the universal Church, mirror of patience, and terror of demons. Many people don’t have a connection with St. Joseph outside of his role in their nativity scene at Christmas, but if you are looking for ways to honor St. Joseph, Annabelle Moseley has some ideas for you.
Annabelle shared about her family’s personal devotion to St. Joseph on Morning Air®, saying, “We love him so much. He helped us with everything from a move we went through, to when work has been hard, and finding work. And I always think of the words of St. Thomas Aquinas, that some saints are privileged to help us with one certain need, but not others. But our holy patron St. Joseph has the power to assist us in all cases, in everything we do.”
As part of the Holy Family, St. Joseph knows and loves Jesus in a unique and intimate way, and so when we grow closer to him we grow closer to our Lord. Annabelle offered the following ideas for growing closer to St. Joseph in your own life.
Ask St. Joseph for Help in Your Work
St. Joseph is the patron saint of workers. In fact, May 1st is the feast of St. Joseph the Worker. And while he is a wonderful saint to pray to when you are struggling in your work or looking for a new job, there are many aspects of work that St. Joseph can help with.
“What’s wonderful is that he can help us with both things,” Annabelle said. “He can help us to work with a joyful heart, offering our labor to the Lord. But also to remember that keeping holy the Sabbath and abstaining from labor on Sunday also honors our Heavenly Father.”
Get a Statue of St. Joseph
Statues and images of saints can help us remember their lives, their faith, and their role in interceding for us each day. Pope Francis has a great devotion to St. Joseph, and he credits his statue of the saint with helping him to handle the worries that come with his important role.
“That’s one of Pope Francis’ favorite devotions, especially when people have so many worries these days,” Annabelle explained. “Pope Francis encourages us to write our intention, our worry, on a piece of paper, put it underneath the statue of a sleeping St. Joseph, entrusting them to the terror of demons (that’s one of his titles, the terror of demons) who is feared even when he sleeps by the evil one. He’ll work it out for us. He’ll solve it. And we can go to sleep. That’s really a great image.”
Pray the Novena to St. Joseph
Several prayers to St. Joseph can be found on the Relevant Radio® App, including the Litany to St. Joseph and the Prayer to St. Joseph For Those Seeking Work. But Annabelle pointed out another beautiful prayer – the Novena to St. Joseph – which can also be found in the Prayer tab of the Relevant Radio App.
“There’s a phrase that as he holds sleeping Jesus, press Him in my name, kiss His fine head for us, and ask Him to return the kiss when we draw our dying breath. And that image of him cuddling the baby Jesus, holding Him close in his strong and gentle arms, really couldn’t be a greater image for us when we need something.”
We thank you for your prayers and support during our Join the Family Pledge Drive this week. And we want to let you know that today only, when you support Relevant Radio with a dollar-a-day ($365 or $30.42/month) donation, you will receive two very special St. Joseph thank you gifts:
- First, a Saint Joseph Prayer Book containing all the famous St. Joseph prayers, litanies, and novenas.
- You’ll also receive a St. Joseph Medallion from the Oratory of Saint Joseph in Montreal, featuring a beautiful image of St. Joseph and the Child Jesus on one side and the Oratory on the other.
These special gifts can be yours – all you have to do is make your pledge today!
