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 [1]?
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: [2]
“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/ [3].