We can’t help but see the importance of families, as they are the foundation of society. Aside from Christ Himself, nothing is more important than our spouse and children. That is why we celebrate fathers and all that they do for their families, on Father’s Day and throughout the year.
But what if you’re longing to meet your future spouse and feel like a wallflower, still waiting? Why not consider a St. Joseph novena prayer for a good husband?
St. Joseph
Our Catholic faith teaches that a father’s job is to lead the family. Fathers protect and guard their families with their strength, stability, and guidance. So, when it comes to the ideal model for a spouse and father to one’s children, we need to look no further than St. Joseph.
The Bible offers very few stories about Joseph. In fact, the Bible never even records a word that he says. But we do know that he was obedient, a righteous man, and that he loved Mary and Jesus wholeheartedly. Through God’s intercession, he married Mary in difficult circumstances. After learning she was with child, he planned to “divorce her quietly” (Matt. 1:19). But then an angel appeared to him with the news that Mary was carrying the Son of God. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Joseph married her and lived out his role as husband to Mary and foster-father to Jesus with dedication, faithfulness, and love. He then protected Mary as best he could during the Nativity, finding his little family housing in a stable when nothing was left as she gave birth to Christ, protecting them during the flight into Egypt, taught Jesus a trade, and was blessed to have his Son at his side when he died.
Because of his love and devotion to the Holy Family, St. Joseph is the patron saint of the Universal Church, of fathers, of workers, and more. People even bury a statue of him upside down as they attempt to sell a house. But did you know that many people also pray novenas to St. Joseph for a spouse? The internet is replete with beautiful stories about women (and men) who are seeking a godly spouse and who, after saying a novena—or several novenas—met and married amazing people.
The Importance of Prayer
In today’s “me” culture filled with instant gratification, hookups, immorality, and selfishness, it can be difficult to meet and find that one special person who will help us be a better person, who will encourage us, and who will walk with us on our faith-filled journey to heaven. Sometimes we need help finding this person.
Why does the Church advocate the act of praying for a future spouse? Is it because she wants to give us financial security? Not likely. Is it to alleviate loneliness? That’s a small part of it. Is it to share an unbreakable bond with someone who will share our hopes, our dreams, our faith, our love, and our future children? Indeed; that is the goal of marriage. There are three states to which one may be called in the Church: married, single or religious. St. Joseph can also help you determine to which state in life you are called to fulfill your role in this life.
St. Joseph As a Role Model
Men strive to be like St. Joseph as protector of their families. Some families choose each March 19th to honor his feast day. Why do we do this? We do this because we understand the importance of not just families, but of the father’s influence on a family. Thus, we seek out someone with qualities that will sustain us and our families over the years. When we marry, we want it to be for life—not only for our sake, but for the sake of our children. We know that children suffer without a father. In this day and age of broken families, can you think of anyone better than God Himself to imitate in fatherhood?
In the book The Sexual State: How Elite Ideologies Are Destroying Lives and Why the Church Was Right All Along, author Jennifer Morse writes: “In the child’s little world, mother and father are the most powerful and important people. Parents act as ‘stand ins’ for God Himself. From this most basic relationship, the child develops his sense of himself as a social and spiritual being.”
According to the American Psychological Association:
“In Western cultures, more than 90 percent of people marry by age 50. Healthy marriages are good for couples’ mental and physical health. They are also good for children; growing up in a happy home protects children from mental, physical, educational and social problems.”
Thus, we understand that there is nothing more important in life than caring for the soul of a spouse and children. Across the West, where the divorce rate is abysmally high and millennials are afraid to get married, those who do choose to get married in the Church are becoming the minority. So it is right that we seek St. Joseph in prayer, asking humbly for his guidance in finding a spouse that will lead us and our children to heaven. Did you know Catholic women have traditionally prayed a St. Joseph novena prayer for a good husband?
So, let us thank God for the gift of the foster-father of Jesus. Let us thank Him for the perfect model of a strong husband and father in Joseph. And let us seek Joseph’s intercession as we all try to create our own holy family.
St. Joseph Novena Prayer for a Good Husband
“The Flight into Egypt” by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
If you’re seeking a spouse, implore the help of St. Joseph by saying this novena and then add your intention:
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 Loving of Fathers.
Oh St. Joseph, I never weary 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 us [add your intention here]. Amen.
If you prefer a longer and more detailed novena, Catholic Novena App has one at catholicnovenaapp.com/novenas/st-joseph-novena/.
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Susan Ciancio has a BA in psychology and a BA in sociology from the University of Notre Dame, with an MA in liberal studies from Indiana University. Since 2003, she has worked as a professional editor and writer, editing both fiction and nonfiction books, magazine articles, blogs, educational lessons, professional materials, and website content. Fourteen of those years have been in the pro-life sector. Currently Susan writes weekly for HLI, edits for American Life League, and is the editor of its Celebrate Life Magazine. She also serves as executive editor for the Culture of Life Studies Program, an educational nonprofit program for k-12 students.
St Joseph please help us sell the land in our town as soon as possible. Pls help us! Pls keep our family intact with love . Care and faithful to one another. Pls keep us away from temptation!
Saint joseph pray for us.
Please pray for my daughter who is 30 years to find a suitable husband .
Thanks
I’ve been praying and trying to find a spouse for more than 20 years now. Please pray that I meet my future husband soon, someone Catholic and would be a good spouse and father, open to Catholicism. Thank you
I just said a hail mary for you, don’t give up.
I am praying my Husband comes back to me and he gives his life totally to the Lord that he comes back a humble man full of God’s glory and grace and he seeks the Lord with all his heart and falls in love with the Catholic church. Becomes a great provider and Husband in Jesus name I pray I will pray to Saint Jospepth what a blessing he is thanks
I also pray to St. Joseph for employment.
St Joseph, please intercede and pray for me for holy matrimony and fruit of the womb. Thankyou Jesus.
Am grateful for the novena and am kindly request st.Joseph to find me a soulmate who will love and protect dearly this year.
A single mom, never married and praying for a Traditional, Catholic husband to provide and protect in the spirit of St. JOSEPH; St Joseph, Ora pro nobis.
Thanks for the Novena. Am going to start it today. I’m seeking a good husband catholic or open to catholisism since many years.
And wanting to find him soon by the end of this year preferebly.
Please pray for me
I’ve been praying and trying to find a spouse for more than a decade now. Please pray that I meet my future husband soon, someone Catholic and would be a good spouse and father, and if not Catholic, open to Catholicism. Thank you
Requesting st. Joseph for financial sponsorship help for my program of MPH for 2yrs, which I started on Feb /5/2024 and facing the challenge to meet the tution payment.
St. Joseph help me.
Please pray that I may already meet and start getting to know my future husband this month of July, in honor of the Precious Blood. I have been praying for several years and still trying. Just recently went on dates or meetups with men I met via online dating; am still giving my all and being a better person and Catholic, being serious in my prayer life and being faithful.
Pls pray that God would send me a man who is Catholic or open to Catholicism, would be a good husband and father and provider, no vices and has the qualities I’m looking for in a spouse. and we have mutual attraction. And that God bless us with health and fertility, all these in His most holy Will. St Joseph pray for us. thank you very much.
I’m going to start this novena prayer for a spouse today ,I trust in God that he’s going to give me an answer
Indeed, Irene, God always answers our prayers. We are holding your intention close and have placed your prayer request on the altar of our St. Michael the Archangel chapel where it also will be remembered during Holy Mass.
I am going to start on the novena,I desire to get a husband this year & believe to have a holy family too.
Please, pray for the souls of my family and I, my future spouse of humanity and his family, humanity, and purgatory.
May I locate my husband as soon as possible in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son and in the name of the Holy Ghost, as I start this novena, Holy St Joseph pray and intercede for me, Amen
Thank you for this novena. Am a single mum praying for a good job, business advancement and a good husband that will take my children as his and love us all.
We’ll keep your intentions in our prayers, Susan. I have placed them on the altar of our St. Michael the Archangel chapel where they also will be remembered during Holy Mass.
Thank you for this Novena. Please remember me in your prayers. I desire to find a God fearing wife this year. St Joseph pray for me. Amen
We will pray, Anthony. I’ve placed your intention on the altar of our St. Michael the Archangel chapel where it also will be remembered during Holy Mass.
Thank you for this novena. Please remember me in your prayers I desire to find a good husband this year 2022. Amen. St Joseph pray for me
We are keeping you in our prayers, Ashley. We’ve placed your intentions on the altar of our St. Michael the Archangel chapel, where they will also be remembered during Holy Mass.
Father help me as I want to start the novena to st. Joseph for finding a spouse. St. Joseph our patron saint pray for me.
Chioma, We are keeping you in our prayers. I have placed your intention on the altar of our St. Michael the Archangel chapel where it will also be remembered during Holy Mass.
I pray I find a good and God fearing spouse as I start the prayer today
Thanks for this prayer,am starting this novena today,seeking for a good spouse for me ..i pray st joseph finds a better spouse.
Amazing, now I see St. Joseph in a different light
Thank you for your reflection on St Joseph.
Married Life, Real Life Stories, St. Joseph
Advent is often spoken as a time of preparation. This means not just preparation for parties, celebrations and family gatherings, but preparing for the Incarnation, the birth of the Christ child, Jesus. His birth ushered in a new era of salvation and solidified our redemption. Sacred Scripture mentions many characters as the scene is set for the birth of Christ: Mary, Herod the Great, and the three Kings, to name a few. Often overlooked is Joseph of Nazareth. Saint Joseph plays an integral role in this story, and sometimes it goes unnoticed or under-appreciated.
As I prepared to get married, my mother gave me an image of Saint Joseph and she reminded me that he would be my new patron saint. So, I took some time and began praying about Saint Joseph and his relationship to Mary and Jesus, and I began to look at Saint Joseph in a new light. Even more so, when my wife and I found out that we were expecting our first child, I felt a close bond to this saint. As I grew closer to Joseph through prayer, a few of his qualities stood out to me, qualities that are useful in our own lives no matter what our situation is.
Saint Joseph teaches us three key things: Silence, Action, and Calmness.
First, silence: Look around us today. Where do we find silence? Our lives are consumed by the clutter and the noise of the day. Stepping outside, we can get lost in the shuffle of city life, but it does not stop there. Distractions can be found in our headphones or smartphones, on our televisions or computers. Our world today is vastly different than it was for those who came before us. In the Gospels Joseph doesn’t say, well, anything. He is silent. And that silence is a wonderful gift, because it gives him the ability to listen. I don’t just mean simply hearing, I mean understanding God’s call and responding to it. Saint John Paul II, reflecting on Joseph, said, “He is great in faith, not because he speaks his own words, but above all because he listened to the words of the Living God.”
Do we make time for silence in our lives? Do we make an effort to listen, I mean really listen to God’s voice or the voices of those around us – our family and friends? When we do take this opportunity, we may be amazed at what God is challenging us to do and calling us to in our lives. A priest friend of mine, a former vocation director for our diocese, said, “Young people today have a problem discerning their vocation – whatever it maybe – because they do not allow themselves to be in silence, to listen to what God is calling them to do.” Sadly, he is quite correct.
Listening certainly isn’t an easy task. Then again, most things that are worth doing aren’t easily accomplished. This Advent, can we try and make more time for God through silence, and in that silence, listen to what he is calling us to do?
Second, action: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI penned one of my favorite quotes: “The world promises you comfort, but you were not made for comfort, you were made for greatness.” This rings as true today as it did 2,000 years ago. St. Joseph was not a man who sat idly by when God’s call came. He was a man of action, whether it meant marrying Mary in spite of what society might have said about their seemingly unorthodox marriage, taking his pregnant wife to the town of David late in her pregnancy for a census, or fleeing with his wife and newborn son to Egypt. He could have turned away from this situation all together (as was his initial plan – to quietly divorce Mary after finding out about her pregnancy), but he didn’t; when God challenged him, Joseph stepped up to the plate. He did the will of God. When we are faced with an obstacle, do we shy away? Beat around the bush? Or do we take it head on, and as a result grow as individuals or as a married couple?
We too are made to be men and women of action, to act on behalf of the Lord, and to use our God-given gifts and talents to glorify the Lord. What are some of your gifts and talents? How can you use them to better our Church?
Third, calmness: Read the Christmas story in the Scriptures. It does not say Joseph lost control or freaked out. It talks about a willing servant, a servant for God the Father, Mary Our Blessed Mother and Jesus, the Christ child. Sometime we forget that Joseph and Mary were real people and we take their saintly nature for granted. Think back to the stories we know of Joseph. I do not know about you, but I cannot imagine calmly bringing my wife, nine months pregnant, by donkey, to a strange town, and then have her give birth in a manger. I likely would have been less than charitable to those innkeepers who said they had “no room” and probably would have been thinking about my own pride, not wanting to stay in a stable. Scripture tell us that Joseph did all of this and without a peep. Likewise, as he heard in a dream that his son’s life was in danger, he quietly shuffled his new family off to Egypt, a strange land, with a different language and culture, and again, without a sound. He just calmly did God’s will. How would we have acted in these circumstances?
This calm and collected servant was influential not only to the Holy Family, but also speaks to us today. How are we serving people in our Church community? Are we avoiding the “inconvenient” reality that God has given us the opportunity to be servant to others? Remember, even Jesus wasn’t above serving others (John 13:5-10).
I am sure Joseph as a young boy dreamed of being successful, getting married, being a father. I do not think the life he dreamed of was the one he received. I am sure that he had what some would perceive as “missed opportunities” in life. There was so much he had to give up, and he did it freely and joyfully. He put aside his wants to allow the great Glory of God to take place. Joseph is a reminder that even the small things we do, things that may seem insignificant to many, or are even unnoticed by everyone but God, can work for the salvation of the world through Jesus Christ. Joseph did small things that influenced the person of Jesus, and we in turn must take these lessons and teach them to others.
Saint Joseph was a man for others, something as a husband and a soon-to-be father I aspire to. Despite the little said about St. Joseph in the Gospels, we can find immense richness in his witness to the faith. Why is this? Because Joseph realized that he was not the one who was important; others were. He is a man for others. He loved Mary and Jesus above himself and his actions reflect that love. Joseph is a model for all Christians, choosing to walk in the Way of the Cross. He emptied himself of himself, in order to be filled with the love of the Father.
Joseph invites us to turn the ordinary into extraordinary. He is proof that God looks for everyday people to do his work. We need to follow his example humbly, courageously, and faithfully to fulfill our call as Christians.
Consider these lessons we learn from Saint Joseph as we enter into this Advent season. Let us not use this time idly, just waiting for celebrations, but let us prayerfully come to the Lord as Joseph and Mary did. Let us pray to Saint Joseph that he will inspire us to grow into the kind of follower of the Lord that he was. DOCTOR CC ST TERESA OF AVILA PRAYED TO ST JOESPH ALWAYS HER FAVOURITE ROLEMODEL AND ADVOCAT TO JESUS
This is a perfect article to honor St. Joseph for Father’s Day and year round. I will use this prayer for my husband. Thank you for the guidance!!