Day 4: Patron of the Universal Church

On the fourth day of the Saint Joseph Novena, we contemplate the singular title that places Saint Joseph above every saint except the Mother of God: he is the Patron of the Universal Church. Pope Pius IX, in the apostolic letter Quemadmodum Deus of 8 December 1870, declared this patronage at a moment when the Catholic Church was passing through one of its gravest political crises, and the patronage has been confirmed and developed by every pope since.

Today's meditation

Pope Pius IX's reasoning in Quemadmodum Deus is simple and theologically powerful: as Saint Joseph protected the Holy Family on earth, so now from heaven he protects the Mystical Body of Christ which is the Church. "Just as God appointed that Joseph the son of the patriarch Jacob should be over all the land of Egypt to save grain for the people, so when the fullness of time had come and He was about to send to earth His only-begotten Son, the Savior of the world, He chose another Joseph, of whom the first had been the type, and He made him the lord and chief of His household and possessions, the guardian of His choicest treasures."

The treasures Saint Joseph guarded on earth (Mary and Jesus) are now in heaven. The treasures he is given to guard from heaven are the Church on earth: her bishops and priests, her religious and consecrated, her lay faithful, her sacraments, her doctrines, her moral life, her unity, her peace.

Today's intention

Today, place under the patronage of Saint Joseph the Universal Church and her local needs: the Holy Father in his particular ministry, the bishops in their dioceses, your own pastor and parish, the missions of the Church in difficult lands, the persecuted Church in countries of Christian persecution, the catechesis of children, the renewal of the consecrated life, the preparation of seminarians, and the unity of the Church.

The traditional St Joseph novena prayer

O Saint Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires. O Saint 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. O Saint 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. Saint Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for me. Amen.

Reflection

The Universal Patronage of Saint Joseph has been progressively developed by the popes since 1870. Pope Leo XIII in Quamquam Pluries (1889) extended the theology and called for the prayer to Saint Joseph that is still traditionally attached to the recitation of the rosary in October ( Ad te, beate Joseph ). Pope Saint John Paul II in Redemptoris Custos (1989) gave the most comprehensive papal treatment of Saint Joseph's role. Pope Francis in Patris Corde (2020) declared the Year of Saint Joseph from December 2020 to December 2021, in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Quemadmodum Deus.

Pope Francis in Patris Corde writes: "In our own day, when humanity is experiencing such grave problems, and our world is shaken by tragic events, may Saint Joseph come to our aid. The world today needs fathers. It has no use for tyrants who would domineer others as a means of compensating for their own needs... Saint Joseph teaches us that having faith in God includes believing that he can work even through our fears, our frailties and our weakness."

When you pray for the Church on Day 4 of this novena, you are joining your prayer to the patronage Saint Joseph is already exercising over the whole Catholic Church. He is the silent and powerful intercessor for Peter and his successors, for the bishops and the faithful, for the entire household of God. The Church's deepest difficulties (the crises of priestly fidelity, of Catholic identity, of the family, of religious practice in the secular West) are all under the protection of his Universal Patronage.

Closing prayers

Pray seven times each: the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be.

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