CHAPLET OF THE
SEVEN SORROWS AND JOYS OF SAINT JOSEPH
"Today I pour out of Heaven upon all of you a shower of graces. I come to reveal to you the grace that My Lord has destined for the Amazon. Jesus and I came today, accompanied by St. Joseph, because we want everyone to have a deep love and devotion to his Most Chaste Heart. Those who ask for the blessings of God through the intercession of the Most Chaste Heart of St. Joseph will receive from Me and My Son Jesus all the graces. We are grateful to St. Joseph, for all that he has done for Me and for My Son Jesus, for both of us. Jesus and I wish that beside the devotion of our Sacred Hearts United, there may also be devotion to the Most Chaste Heart of St. Joseph. All my children throughout the world who honor, with prayers and special prayers, the first Wednesdays of the month, praying the Seven Sorrows and Joys of my spouse Most Chaste St. Joseph, will receive the graces necessary for salvation at the time of their death. All of you have received this mission from the Lord, to promote devotion to the Most Chaste Heart of St. Joseph throughout the whole world. Now it is complete the triune devotion which God, our Lord desired. Now it is fulfilled all that I and My Son Jesus began from the most remote apparitions. Now the graces will be in abundance and the Holy Spirit will pour out powerfully on the face of the earth. The Holy Spirit, through this triune devotion, will light the Amazon with the fire of His love. Prepare yourself to fulfill what I and Jesus ask of you, dear children." (Our Lady, May 2, 1997)
Edson tells us what occurred: I understood that these prayers of the Seven Sorrows and Joys of St. Joseph should be prayed in the form of a rosary and during the first nine Wednesdays of the month. The people who make this novena should approach Holy Confession and Holy Communion, offering them in honor of the Most Chaste Heart of St. Joseph.
"Whatever grace you ask of St. Joseph, he surely will grant it! " (Saint Teresa D'Ávila)
START
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Apostles' Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.
Amen.
Our Father
Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name; Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen
We honor you Saint Joseph and your Most Chaste Heart, chosen by God the Father, to be the foster father of Jesus and the Protector of the Holy Church.
Hail Joseph
Hail Joseph, Son of David, just and chaste man, Wisdom is with you; blessed are you among all men and blessed is Jesus; the fruit of Mary, your faithful spouse. Holy Joseph, worthy foster-father and guardian of Jesus Christ and of the holy Church, pray for us sinners and obtain Divine Wisdom for us from God, now and at the hour of our death. Amen
We honor you Saint Joseph and your Most Chaste Heart, chosen by God the Son to be His Virginal Father, whom He obeyed and respected in His earthly life.
Hail Joseph . . .
We honor you Saint Joseph and your Most Chaste Heart, chosen by the Holy Spirit to be the just, chaste, and Holy Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Hail Joseph . . .
Glory Be
Glory Be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you, save souls!
Most Chaste Heart of Saint Joseph, be the guardian of our family!
1st Sorrow and Joy of Saint Joseph
The Divine Maternity
of the Virgin Mary
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to send her away quietly. But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. " All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (which means, God with us). When he woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife. (Matthew 1: 18-24)
The pain of St. Joseph until the apparition of the Angel was immense: it was in the measure of his love for Our Lady. This scene has been commented on very diversely by the Priests of the Church. The interpretation of St. Joseph's doubt, perhaps more in accordance with reality, is exposed by St. Thomas Aquinas when he explains: Joseph wanted to abandon Mary not because he had any suspicion against her, but because of his humility, he feared to live together to such holiness; therefore the angel said to him, "Fear not!
Joseph felt little, if nothing, compared to the greatness of the incomprehensible mystery realized in Mary; and with enormous pain decides to withdraw discreetly. The Angel not only assures him that what happened to his Wife is divine work, but also communicates to him that he also has a mission in the mystery: to give the name to Jesus; this expression means - in the biblical way of speaking - that it would be the father of Jesus in the face of the Law. The joy of the accepted paternal vocation flooded the heart of St. Joseph.
O Holy Spouse of Holy Mary, glorious St. Joseph, just as it was great he bitterness of Your Heart in the perplexity of abandoning your Chaste Wife, so it was inexplicable your joy, when the Angel revealed to you the sovereign mystery of the Incarnation.
Through this sorrow and joy, we ask you for the grace to console us now, and in extreme pains, our soul with the joy of a good death, similar to yours between JESUS and MARY. Amen.
1 Our Father, 10 Hail Joseph, 1 Glory Be
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you, save souls!
Most Chaste Heart of Saint Joseph, be the guardian of our family!
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2: 1-7)
The mystery of God incarnate remains hidden in this humble scene. Joseph contemplates the Child Jesus; he, who loves Jesus so much, suffers to see Him in this place-lying in a manger-knowing that the Word is the King of the world. The desire to give, in contrast to his almost empty hands, makes the soul and heart of Saint Joseph feel as though they are oppressed: the fire is lit by his desire to give, and his whole being groans for the difference that exists between his eagerness to offer and the tangible reality.
But there is a moment - perhaps by holding the Baby Jesus in his arms - in which the pain of St. Joseph quiets down and converts into a deep light: once more he renews his surrender to God and perfectly fulfills God's divine command to love Him with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his being. Give himself entirely to God, who sleeps in his arms. And perhaps the only external sign of this surrender is that, gently, in order not to awaken, he presses the Child a little closer to his chest.
O most happy Patriarch, glorious Saint Joseph, who was chosen for the position of adoptive Father of the Word made flesh, the pain you felt when you saw born in so much poverty the Child God, you were transformed in celestial joy to hear the angelic melody and to see the glory of that absolutely brilliant night.
Through this sorrow and joy, we implore the grace you attained that, after the journey of this life, we can hear the angelic praises, and enjoy the radiance of Heavenly glory. Amen.
1 Our Father, 10 Hail Joseph, 1 Glory Be
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you, save souls!
Most Chaste Heart of Saint Joseph, be the guardian of our family!
2nd Sorrow and Joy of Saint Joseph
The Birth of Jesus
3rd Sorrow and Joy of Saint Joseph
The Circumcision of Jesus
At the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. (Luke 2: 21)
What an ineffable joy of the intimacy with Christ, to call him by His name: Jesus! St. Joseph is the teacher who teaches us to live confidently with the Word. We should always commend ourselves to this glorious Patriarch and have devotion to him: especially people of prayer, should always be devoted to him, how can we think of the Queen of Angels and the time he spent with the Child Jesus and not give thanks to St. Joseph for having helped them so much. Who does not find a teacher to teach prayer, take this glorious Saint and you will not go wrong in the path.
Oh most obedient executor of the divine laws, glorious St. Joseph, the most precious blood, that in the circumcision which the Redeemer Child shed, pierced your Heart, but the name of Jesus revived him and filled him with contentment.
Through this sorrow and joy, obtain for us that, torn from the vices of this life, with the name of Jesus in our heart and mouth, we exhale full of joy. Amen.
1 Our Father, 10 Hail Joseph, 1 Glory Be
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you, save souls!
Most Chaste Heart of Saint Joseph, be the guardian of our family!
And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord") and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons." Now, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And inspired by the Spirit he came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for my eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel." And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed." (Luke 2, 22-35)
Simeon explains to us how Jesus will be a sign of contradiction, sign and standard before which men will speak for or against, and adds that the pain of the Son will be intimately connected with that of the Mother.
Here is explicit the suffering of Jesus and Mary. St. Joseph foresees more clearly, with this revelation the mystery of the Cross of the Son; it is not possible to discover the depth of his sorrow: he who always wanted to protect the Child, whom he loved with full paternal love, being - as St. Pius X liked to say - the virginal father of Jesus, now understands, with a new light, all the Old Testament prophecies about the Passion of Christ.
The Cross is already engraved on the intelligence, soul and heart of St. Joseph: no creature, after the Virgin Mary, suffered as much as he. Just as Mary offered her Son the Cross, so to Saint Joseph offers it: and this surrender manifests the greatest act of generosity of the Holy Patriarch, since it was necessary all the generosity of his love to offer to God, a supreme sacrifice, Jesus and Mary, whom he loved incomparably more than his own life.
O most faithful Saint, who also took part in the mysteries of our redemption, glorious Saint Joseph, if the prophecy of Simeon, concerning what Jesus and Mary had to suffer, caused you mortal anguish, it also filled you with a joy for salvation and glorious resurrection, which he also foretold would have to result for innumerable souls.
Through this sorrow and joy, obtain for us to be among those who, through the merits of Jesus and the intercession of the Virgin His Mother, will gloriously resurrect. Amen.
1 Our Father, 10 Hail Joseph, 1 Glory Be
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you, save souls!
Most Chaste Heart of Saint Joseph, be the guardian of our family!
4th Sorrow and Joy of Saint Joseph
The Prophecy of Simeon
5th Sorrow and Joy of Saint Joseph
The Escape to Egypt
Now when they had departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt have I called my son.” Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they were no more.” (Matthew 2: 13-18)
Joseph and Mary, with certainty, had projected a peaceful happiness to Nazareth. The Lord came to visit their family, filling them above all their hopes with the joy of Christmas, with the singing of the Angels, with the arrival of the shepherds and the Magi. But later, everything changes suddenly, and they were persecuted.
These are the most violent trials, unexpected, unpredictable and disconcerting. The Angels announced peace, saying that the Son of God came to bring love on the earth, and, behold, suddenly, hatred is unleashed. A relentless, unjustified hatred that desires the death of love. Mary and Joseph, now, are not only simple exiles, so-called eradicated immigrants, but are persons persecuted, fugitive, considered dangerous. Only those who lived or who still live in the sight of hatred can understand what the Blessed Virgin and the Glorious Saint Joseph suffered when they left Bethlehem.
In front of that newborn child who is not like the others, nobody can remain indifferent. The deep thoughts of hearts reveal themselves and translate into love or hate. The two attitudes are represented by the Magi and Herod. The Magi sought and found the Child; their hearts were conquered, as witness to the deep joy they felt at the sight of the star, which guided them to the exact place in Bethlehem where Jesus was. Joy is nothing but the flame of love that burns in the hearts of those who have found and adhered to the plan of God.
Herod, on the contrary, an usurper king of a meticulous kingdom was afraid, because of that Child born in an inn, who was clothed with a royalty that was not of this world. Not seeing return the Magi, he lets himself be taken by a satanic and foolish hatred: feeling deceived by those foreigners who have not deigned to warn him of their departure. He felt omnipotent, and now, easily escapes from his hands, the hope of discovering, with certainty, where to find his rival. He then decides to have the king of the Jews disappear as soon as possible, before anyone publicly prefers him.
Joseph and Mary certainly became aware, sooner or later, of that shedding of innocent blood. It is not difficult to imagine their reaction. It was a test that joined all the others. Mary found how Simeon saw precisely things and how Her Son was really exposed to contradiction. The hatred that pursued Her Son was to the point of the sword, which pierced deeply Her heart. For Joseph and Mary, the thought of being, although indirectly, the cause of the death of those innocents must have weighed harshly in their sensitive hearts the pains of their neighbor. It was a painful consequence of the yes of Mary on the day of the annunciation and, for Joseph, the continuation of his acceptance, free and conscious, of the mission of his wife.
If the Lord Jesus, during the forty days of his retreat in the desert, suffered the assaults of temptations, we may think that he did not relieve Mary and Joseph. Temptations are not a sin. God allows them to the saints only to unite them more closely to His will. After the long journeys of fatigue, of all kinds of deprivation, of uncertainty and apprehensions that shook the soul, Joseph and Mary could hear temptations whispering in their ears: Why say yes? Why suffer all these ways? Why leave Nazareth, your home? Your belongings? Your tranquility to go through all this? ... How many interrogations assaulted their minds, already tired surely, by the mirages of the desert.
The only answer that came to their lips was that they should give their all, even life itself, so that God's plan might be fulfilled, even when events became more and more disconcerting and without immediate explanation: God is more wise than us. He is faithful and loves us! Hence, we can conclude that even the storms, the thorns that appear along the way, the unforeseen setbacks do not, in fact, show that the road we are walking on is not really just. We can trust that God will not leave anyone in harm and does not deceive anyone. Sooner or later, He will know how to take the good from evil and He knows how to restore a hundred times more what we now loose, when we leave everything to follow His call.
O most vigilant guardian, intimate family of the SON OF GOD Incarnate, GLORIOUS St. Joseph, how much you suffered to feed and serve the SON OF THE HIGHEST, particularly in the flight that you have made with Him to Egypt! But what was also your joy because you always had the same GOD with you and to see fall by land the gods of Egypt.
Through this sorrow and joy, obtain for us that the infernal sin be expelled from us, especially the escape from dangerous occasions, that all idols of earthly affections be overthrown from our hearts, and to be entirely employed in the service of Jesus and Mary, for them we only live and happy we die. Amen.
1 Our Father 10 Hail Joseph, 1 Glory Be
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you, save souls!
Most Chaste Heart of Saint Joseph, be the guardian of our family!
But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” And he rose and took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus reigned over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazarene.” (Matthew 2: 19-23)
After the pain of not being able to go to Judea, St. Joseph feels the joy of returning to Nazareth: this joy grows over time as the days of the hidden life of Christ unfold. The home formed by Jesus, Mary and Joseph is similar in all to those of its neighbors; time passes in a family environment; Joseph contemplates the Child in the most pure arms of Mary, the Blessed Mother. From her was born the God made flesh and with Her lips gave sweet kisses in the flesh of the Óne who is God and a true man. Certainly, St. Joseph himself would take care of the Child: St. Joseph showed great fervor and joy in continually providing for the needs of the Savior, small child, for his cleansing and treating with great reverence the small members of his precious body, and changing his clothing, and other things children need.
Saint Joseph faithfully fulfills God's will. From the Gospel narratives, St Josemaria Escrivá explains, it is clear that the great human personality of St. Joseph does not at any moment appear to us as a man diminished or frightened before life; on the contrary, he knows how to face the problems, overcome the difficult situations, assume with responsibility and initiative the work entrusted to him. I do not agree with the classic way of representing Saint Joseph as an old man, despite the good intention of highlighting Mary's perpetual virginity. I imagine him young, strong, perhaps a few years older than Our Lady; but in the vigor of life and human strength.
To live the virtue of chastity one does not have to be old or lack vigor. Chastity is born of love; the strength and the joy of youth do not constitute an obstacle for a clean love. Young was the heart and body of St. Joseph when he married Mary, when he knew the mystery of his divine maternity, when he lived with her, respecting the integrity that God wanted to offer the world.
O Angel of the earth, glorious St. Joseph, who full of admiration, you have seen the King of Heaven submissive to your orders; if your consolation to bringing him back from Egypt was disturbed by the fear of Archelaus, however, calmed by the Angel, you remained joyful in Nazareth with JESUS and MARY.
Through this sorrow and joy, obtain for us that our hearts empty of vain fears, may enjoy peace of conscience, live safely with Jesus and Mary and among them we die. Amen.
1 Our Father, 10 Hail Joseph, 1 Glory Be
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you, save souls!
Most Chaste Heart of Saint Joseph, be the guardian of our family!
6th Sorrow and Joy of Saint Joseph
The Return to Egypt
7th Sorrow and Joy of Saint Joseph
The Loss and Finding
of the Child Jesus
in the Temple
Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom; and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the company they went a day’s journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances; and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when they saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.” And he said to them, “How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2: 41-52)
Let us now share the pain of Mary and Joseph before the loss of the Son. It was an absence full of searching and fears, of restless comings and goings: three painful days that are like a foreshadowing of those to come from Calvary to the resurrection. And suddenly they hear his voice: he's there! The soul quiets down and joy comes and overflows with the emotion accumulated in the long hours before.
In describing the scene, St. Luke uses several times in this text - as he did in previous ones - the term "parents" to designate Our Lady and Saint Joseph; but this word gains all its meaning in the mouth of Mary, when she says to her Son: Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously!
Father: this word would be the most loved by St. Joseph; how many times, when he was called by Jesus, he would have answered him with a long, smiling look. It is because Joseph loved Jesus as a father loves his son, "says St Josemaria," he tried giving him the best of everything he had. Joseph, taking care of that Child as he had been ordered, made of Jesus a craftsman: he transmitted his office to him. How would Joseph be, when grace acted in him, to be able to carry out the task of developing the human aspect the Son of God?
That is why Jesus should have been like Joseph: in the way he works, in the traits of his character, in the way he speaks. In Jesus' realism, in his way of sitting at the table and breaking bread, in his taste for speaking concretely by taking the things of ordinary life as an example, it reflects on what was the childhood and youth, and, therefore, his dealings with Joseph.
O model of all holiness, glorious Saint Joseph, you lost the Child Jesus, without fault of yours, and with affliction you sought him for three days, until with joy you rejoiced in Who was your life, finding him in the Temple of Jerusalem between teachers.
Through this sorrow and joy, we beseech you, with our heart and lips, to interpose your valor so that we may never lose Jesus by grave fault, but if through disgrace we lose Him, with constant pain we seek Him, that we find Him favorable, especially in our death, so that we may enjoy Him in Heaven, and there we sing with you eternally His Divine mercies. Amen.
1 Our Father, 10 Hail Joseph, 1 Glory Be
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you, save souls!
Most Chaste Heart of Saint Joseph, be the guardian of our family!
Final Prayers
Prayer to Saint Joseph
(written by Pope Leo XIII in 1889)
To thee, O blessed Joseph, we have recourse in our affliction, and having implored the help of thy thrice holy Spouse, we now, with hearts filled with confidence, earnestly beg thee also to take us under thy protection. By that charity wherewith thou wert united to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God, and by that fatherly love with which thou didst cherish the Child Jesus, we beseech thee and we humbly pray that thou wilt look down with gracious eye upon that inheritance which Jesus Christ purchased by His blood, and wilt succor us in our need by thy power and strength.
Defend, O most watchful guardian of the Holy Family, the chosen off-spring of Jesus Christ. Keep from us, O most loving Father, all blight of error and corruption. Aid us from on high, most valiant defender, in this conflict with the powers of darkness. And even as of old thou didst rescue the Child Jesus from the peril of His life, so now defend God's Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity. Shield us ever under thy patronage, that, following thine example and strengthened by thy help, we may live a holy life, die a happy death, and attain to everlasting bliss in Heaven. Amen.
MEMORARE
Remember, O Most Chaste Spouse of the Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who implored your help and sought your intercession were left unassisted. Full of confidence in your power, I fly unto you, and beg your protection. Despise not, O foster-father of the Redeemer, our humble supplication but in your bounty, hear and answer us. Amen
Most Chaste Heart of Saint Joseph
Most Chaste Heart of Saint Joseph, protect and defend my family against every evil and danger.
Most Chaste Heart of Saint Joseph, pour on all humanity the graces and virtues of your Most Chaste Heart.
Saint Joseph, I really entrust myself to you. I consecrate to you my soul and my body, my heart and all my life.
Saint Joseph, defend the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
With the graces of your Most Chaste Heart, destroy the plans of satan, bless the entire Holy Church, the Pope, the Bishops and Priests of the whole world.
We consign ourselves to you with love and trust, now and forever. Amen!
(Given by Jesus to Edson Glauber on June, 1997)