Saint Joseph, Protector of the Family Against Satanic Attack

St. Joseph, Protector of Families and Patron of the Universal Church;

St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church

 

The Holy Patriarch Saint Joseph was appointed by God to be the guardian and protector of Our Lord Jesus Christ. He is also a model for us of fatherhood and faithfulness.

 

St. Joseph, Protector of Families and Patron of the Universal Church

His obedience of faith was manifested, as the Gospel tells us, after an angel of God revealed to him that it was through the Holy Spirit that the child had been conceived in Mary. When Joseph awoke, “he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and took his wife into his home” without hesitation or objection (Matthew 1:20).  When Herod sought to kill the infant Jesus, St. Joseph obediently took him and the Blessed Mother to safety (Matthew 2:13-14). As Pope St. John II pointed out in Redemptoris Custos, “already at the beginning of redemption, after Mary, we find the model of obedience made incarnate in St. Joseph, the man known for having faithfully carried out God’s commands.”

As head of the Holy Family, he is the model for every Catholic home. Pope Francis, early in his pontificate, emphasized the saint’s importance, inserting a petition in each Eucharistic prayer to the man who became a spiritual father to Jesus. In an unofficial — but very real — way, Joseph is the patron saint of the family as domestic church, just as he is of the Universal Church.

The “domestic church” refers to the spiritual life of the Christian family who incorporates prayers, traditions, and religious instruction as the center of the Catholic hearth and home. The domestic church, as Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI describes in a 2012 letter, is “a place of formation in faith and prayer, a seedbed of vocations, the natural school of virtues and ethical values, and the primary living cell of society.”

Appointed by God to protect Jesus and Mary, so now St. Joseph is the protector of the Universal Church, considered the family of God in this world. We are the members of the family of God because we have God the Father as our adoptive father through the filiation we receive at baptism. The foster-father of the Son of God is also a father to us through baptism. Joseph’s paternal protection of the Lord Jesus continues even from Heaven, as he watches over Christ’s Mystical Body on earth. He is the icon on earth of a loving and caring father, modeled after God our Father.  Saint James reminds us, “Every best gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change, nor shadow of alteration” (James 1:17).

For this reason, St. Joseph has long been honored as the Patron Saint of the Universal Church. On December 8, 1870, when Blessed Pope Pius IX declared Joseph Patron of the Universal Church, he also raised his feast day of March 19 to the highest liturgical rank in the universal calendar of the Church. This occurred at a difficult time for the Church when he wrote: “Because of this sublime dignity which God conferred on his most faithful servant, the Church has always most highly honored and praised blessed Joseph next to his spouse, the Virgin Mother of God, and has besought his intercession in times of trouble.”

guido reni st joseph with the infant Jesus

St. Joseph with the Infant Jesus ~ Guido Reni

It was indeed troubled times for the Church.  Ten years earlier, the defeat of the papal army by Italian troops on September 18, 1860 at the Battle of Castelfidardo led to the loss of the Papal States and loss of the Pope’s temporal power. In that occasion, the pope stated that the Church was “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.”

 

Need for St. Joseph Today

Troubled times continue today for the Church, as intense pressures from the world charge her to change fundamental doctrine related to life and family. Regrettably, some members of the Church have caved in to the pressures of the world and are advocating those changes. Many propose that the Church should change her teaching to accommodate the needs of contemporary man, accepting the premises of secular society.

As a great contemporary confessor of the Faith, Cardinal Burke, recently reminded us:

The pervasive confusion and grave error about the most fundamental truths, the most beautiful realities, and the lasting goods of human life and its cradle, the human family, as they come to us from the hand of God, are the tragic signs of Satan’s presence in our midst. When we see how he has succeeded in corrupting a culture which was once Christian and in sowing the seeds of confusion and error even within the Church herself, we can easily become frightened and discouraged.

But we should not be discouraged because, as Cardinal Burke reminds us, Christ will come to our assistance — and He will do it through the intercession of St. Joseph. So today we entrust ourselves, our families, and HLI’s mission to defend life and family to the intercession and protection of St. Joseph, Protector of Families.

st. joseph - guido reni

Saint Joseph ~ Guido Reni

Saint Joseph, Patron Saint of the Universal Church and the Domestic Church, pray for us.

 

Prayer to St. Joseph:

Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires. St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, so that, having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers.

St. Joseph, I never weary of contemplating you, and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me, and ask him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, patron of departing souls, pray for me.

Ordained in 1987, Msgr. Barreiro received his licentiate and doctoral degree in Systematic Theology from the University of the Holy Cross, in Rome, Italy. He also held a law degree from the Law School in Montevideo and served the Uruguayan Foreign Service and the delegation of Uruguay to the United Nations.

In 1998 Monsignor Barreiro became Executive Director of HLI's office in Rome, and was interim President of HLI from 2010 to 2011. He was appointed a Chaplain of His Holiness in 2004. In his lifetime, he published hundreds of articles on theology, life issues, and historical subjects in popular and scholarly publications in the U.S., England, Italy, France, and Spain.

Msgr. Barreiro departed this life on Holy Thursday, April 13, 2017. Requiescat in pace, amen.

Father Peter West

Fr. West earned an MA in theology from Holy Apostles Seminary and was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Newark in 1991. He is the founder and director of the Catholic young adult group Amicus. After almost seven years in pastoral ministry, he served with Priests for Life from 1998 until becoming HLI's Vice President for Missions from 2011 to 2015.

In over 25 years of pro-life activism, Fr. West has spoken to both priests and laity at over 500 events, including presentations in all 50 states and in several nations worldwide.  He has also appeared on radio and TV, including “EWTN Live with Fr. Mitch Pacwa,” and has published articles in ZENITThe American ThinkerLifeSiteNews.com, and LifeNews.com.

7 Comments

  1. Marcus Chu on November 21, 2021 at 11:50 AM

    A prayer to Saint Joseph

    Hail Joseph, Son of David, the just and the chaste,
    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.

  2. Alicia de MarÌa Holz on September 1, 2019 at 12:10 PM

    We would like to add to the Recitation of the Holy Rosary a prayer to St Joseph por protection for our families.
    I wonder if you will be so kind to recommend one to us.

    • HLI Staff on October 4, 2019 at 9:25 AM

      Will this prayer do? You can find many by searching online:

      Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God. I place in you all my interests and desires. Oh, St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So that, having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers.
      Oh, St. Joseph, I never weary of contemplating you, and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me and ask him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls – Pray for me.

  3. Asiimwe Sandra on June 30, 2019 at 3:12 PM

    I pray for the holy matrimony through the intercession of St. Joseph and the entire holy family. I pray for the guidance to my fiancée that whatever is troubling him towards making the right decision in this relationship is resolved . Amen

  4. Margaret on March 13, 2018 at 11:09 PM

    PLease pray for my family that my spouse may make all the right decisions and that my family may be in continous peace and joy. To be united and holy and reconciled. For everything regarding our family to come to a good and peaceful ending.

  5. John Ganyo Dede on July 9, 2017 at 11:46 PM

    I have been toiling for more than fifteen years to bless marriage but still not succeeded . Obstacles are still on my way. I started praying and for this intension to receive this sacrament .I know it is the only way I can be saved. Please pray for me for success . Thank you.

  6. Cyril Sanctis on April 15, 2017 at 11:30 AM

    Name Cyril Sanctis put my pray intension at the Altar peace and love happiness in my family marriage job in abroad her name is Johinsoan cardoza I like her very much I lost my parents my cell number is 9167067483 shour your blessings on us

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