The 500th Post

Prayer to St. Joseph (for Priests)

O happy man, Saint Joseph,
to you it was given to see and hear the God
whom many kings longed to see but did not see,
and longed to hear but did not hear.
Not only that,
but you were privileged
even to bear God in your hands,
to kiss him,
to dress him,
and to watch over him.

Pray for us, Saint Joseph, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

O God,
who has given us a royal priesthood:
You found Blessed Joseph worthy to hold your only Son,
born of the Virgin Mary,
reverently in his hands and to carry him.
Enable us, too, to serve at your holy altar
with pure hearts and innocent lives,
so that today we may receive worthily
the most holy Body and Blood of your Son,
and may be found worthy
of an everlasting reward in the world to come.
Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

The statue of the death of St. Joseph is from my home parish of St. John the Baptist church in Quincy, Illinois.