Indulgenced Prayers to St. Joseph

Today being Wednesday, it's a good time to look at devotions to St. Joseph. In particular, it would be good to look at indulgenced prayers to St. Joseph.

We have already looked at the Little Office of St. Joseph and the Litany of St. Joseph, both enriched with partial indulgences. In addition to these, we find the following text in no. 19 of the current Enchirdion:

A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who invoke St. Joseph, spuose of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with a duly approved prayer (e.g., Ad te, beate Ioseph).

The particular prayer mentioned by way of example is provided here:

To you, O blessed Joseph, do we come in our tribulation, and having implored the help of your most holy spuose, we confidently invoke your patronage also. Through hat charity which bound you to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God and through the paternal love with which you embraced the Child Jesus, we humbly beg you graciously to regard the inheritance which Jesus Christ has purchased by his Blood, and with your power and strength to aid us in our necessities. O most watchful Guardian of the Holy Family, defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ; O most loving father, ward off from us every contagion of error and corrupting influence; O our most mighty protector, be kind to us and from heavven assist us in our struggle with the power of darkness. As once you rescued the Child Jesus from deadly peril, so now protect God's Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity; shield, too, each one of us by your constant protection, so that, supported by your example and your aid, we may be able to live piously, to die in holiness, and to obtain eternal happiness in heaven. Amen.

The prayer was composed by Pope Leo XIII, and can first be seen referenced in his encyclical, Quamquam Pluries no. 6. The prayer was originally intended for use after the Rosary (hence the reference to "having impored the help of your holy spouse"). In the last pre-Vatican II edition of the Raccolta, the prayer is indulgenced for "3 years" generally, but "7 years" on Wednesdays or after the Rosary during October. This latter point indicates to me that it was early used independently of the Rosary. Nevertheless, it is probably best said after the Rosary, both on Wednesdays and during the month of October.

There are additional prayers to St. Joseph which we might consider to be "approved" by the Church. In this regard, I would look to what is said in the Directory of Popular Piety no. 222.:

St. Joseph plays a prominent part in popular devotion: in numerous popular traditions; the custom of reserving Wednesdays for devotion to St. Joseph,popular at least since the end of the seventeenth century, has generated several pious exercises including that of the Seven Wednesdays; in the pious aspirations made by the faithful(305); in prayers such as that of Pope Leo XIII, A te, Beate Ioseph, which is daily recited by the faithful(306); in the Litany of St Joseph, approved by St. Pope Pius X(307); and in the recitation of the chaplet of St Joseph, recollecting the Seven agonies and seven joys of St. Joseph.

Of these, the most common form of the devotion of the Seven Sorrows and Seven Joys of St. Joseph are found in the Raccolta no. 470. I'm certainly no canonist, but I would imagine this to constitute "approval." The reference to "Seven Wednesdays struck me as odd, and probably referring instead to the "Seven Sundays of St. Joseph" (it doesn't look like the document received the best proof-reading, as evidenced also by the misspelling of the Ad te, Beate Ioseph).

Additionally, the prayers to St. Joseph before and after Mass in the Roman Missal could probably be considered approved as well. While these prayers might primarily be in place for the preparation of the priest, they are certainly suitable for the use of the faithful as well.

While prayers and devotions to St. Joseph are generally considered best during the month of March and Wednesdays, we might also consider at least some of them appropriate also during Advent. It is my opinion that they could enhance devotion especially to the Incarnation, whose celebration is anticipated in this season. As the season also includes the celebration of the Immaculate Conception of the Blesssed Virgin Mary, some devotions to St. Joseph may give a fuller sense of the Holy Family during this time, and the preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of the Lord.

Litanies: Litany of St. Joseph

While it might seem a little out-of-order to write on the Litany of St. Joseph before the Litany of Loreto (Blessed Virgin Mary), it seemed appropriate as Wednesday is traditionally held in honor of St. Joseph.

This Litany (found here, here, and here) is much shorter than the two which we have previously treated. It begins normally, with the Kyrie, "Christ, hear us," and invocation of the Trinity (though the version in the current Manual of Indulgences omits the "Christ hear us"). Thereafter, we ask Holy Mary to pray for us, followed by St. Joseph. Following this, Joseph's intercession is invoked under a series of titles. It concludes with the Agnus Dei, a versicle to St. Joseph, and a collect.

Like many devotions to St. Joseph, it appears to have been approved late. Indeed, the version which we have was not approved and indulgenced until 1909.

As Wednesdays and the month of March are especially suited to St. Joseph, these times seem best for reciting this prayer. As with all Litanies, it lends itself well to common recitation. Of course, this does not limit the number of times when one might make use of this prayer, especially for fathers (who might have recourse to this model of fatherhood).

The Little Office of Saint Joseph

In the coming days, I hope to post on the now little-used prayers known as the Little Offices. Indeed, the subject for today is so little-used that I am not sure which prayer text is indeed indulgenced. As Wednesday is often kept as a day in honor of St. Joseph, it seems a good idea to start with the Little Office of Saint Joseph. It was initially indulgenced in 1921, and again in 1932. With the reform of the Enchiridion under Paul VI, it was retained as one of the five explicitly indulgenced Little Offices.

I have been unable to guarantee that I am providing the text of the indulgenced Little Office of Saint Joseph. My best guess as to the text of the prayer is found here. The Latin form of this text is also found in the Coeleste Palmetum, while the English translation was used in F.X. Lasance's Prayer-Book for Religious. Thus, I think it is a pretty good guess that this same prayer was later explicitly indulgenced. However, I have been unable to locate the documents issued by the Apostolic Penitentiary which provided the indulgence. If anyone knows where to locate these documents, I would be very grateful. The first was issued May 10, 1921, and the second March 18, 1932. Just as a hunch, I would expect these documents to include the official Latin version of these prayers.

In regard to the prayers themselves, I find the antiphons to be quite noteworthy. Between Prime and Sext, they are texts from Scripture specifically relating to Joseph. Indeed, with the other three antiphons (taken from the psalms) they generally tell the story of Joseph in Salvation History, and his efforts to defend his family, culminating in a period of rest at night. The hymns match the texts of the antiphon, expanding upon their themes.

Recovering this prayer would be excellent not only for Wednesdays, but also for the month of March, traditionally held in honor of St. Joseph. If indeed this short Office is the indulgenced Little Office of Saint Joseph, it would certainly be easy to use for those whose lives are too busy perhaps for the fuller Liturgy of the Hours or Breviary. It may also be good as an additional devotion after each Hour during March or on Wednesdays. It also might be a particularly worthy devotion for fathers, as St. Joseph is a model for and patron of fathers.