Day 9: Confidence in Saint Joseph's intercession

On the ninth and last day of the Saint Joseph Novena, we close with the disposition that has been the foundation of every previous day: confidence. Saint Joseph's intercession is, by the testimony of the saints and the universal experience of the Catholic Church, prompt, strong, and great (in the words of the traditional novena prayer itself). Today we receive the close of the novena with grateful confidence in the patriarch's protection.

Today's meditation

The Catholic faithful approach Saint Joseph with a particular confidence not always extended to the other saints. Saint Teresa of Avila's testimony has been borne out by the experience of generations: "Of this glorious saint, my experience is that he succors us in all our necessities." The traditional novena prayer itself begins with whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God. The three adjectives are not pious flourish; they are the sober summary of the saints' experience of his intercession.

The promptness of Saint Joseph's intercession is particularly emphasized. He does not delay. He does not require many petitions to begin acting. The very first day of the novena was already received by him with the same paternal attention that the ninth day receives. We close the novena not with the relief of having completed our petitions but with the confidence that the patriarch has already been at work on our behalf since the first day.

Today's intention and act of thanksgiving

Bring once more the intention you have been carrying through these nine days. Whatever the visible state of the matter, give thanks to Saint Joseph for his patronage over the nine days. Pray:

Saint Joseph, glorious patriarch, foster father of Jesus and chaste husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I give you thanks for the prayers you have offered with me and for me through these nine days. I commit my intention finally to your hands and trust your fatherly care of it. Amen.

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

Catholic spiritual writers have observed three patterns in the answer to a Saint Joseph Novena. First, in some cases the answer comes with striking promptness, sometimes during the nine days themselves; the patriarch's intercession is felt as a tangible response to the petition. Second, in some cases the answer comes more gradually, in the months and years that follow; the soul looks back from the perspective of time and recognizes that the novena was the beginning of a sustained paternal care that unfolded slowly. Third, in some cases the form of the answer is not what the soul originally requested but a deeper good than the soul knew how to ask for: the resolution of a family conflict that healed wounds the soul had not even named, the gift of a holy death for a loved one whose recovery from illness had been the original petition, the gift of a new vocation in place of the lost job.

In all three patterns, the Catholic doctrine of the saints' intercession is confirmed: Saint Joseph hears, and the Lord Jesus answers through Saint Joseph's prayer in the way that is best for the soul that has prayed.

Practical follow-through

The Catholic devotional tradition recommends the following practices in the days and weeks after the novena:

• Daily invocation: maintain the simple prayer Saint Joseph, pray for us in the daily rhythm. Many Catholics add an invocation to Saint Joseph to their daily rosary or to the morning offering.
• The Litany of Saint Joseph: pray the Litany of Saint Joseph weekly, particularly on Wednesdays (the day of the week traditionally dedicated to Saint Joseph in the Catholic calendar) and during the months of March and May.
• The Saint Joseph altar: in Italian and Italian-American households, prepare a Saint Joseph altar on March 19 with the traditional foods.
• Annual repetition: pray the Saint Joseph Novena annually in the nine days leading up to March 19 or May 1, in renewal of the patriarch's protection over the year ahead.

For the life of Saint Joseph, see Saint Joseph. For the broader Catholic doctrine of intercession, see the Communion of Saints. For other novenas in the Catholic tradition, see the novenas hub.

The patriarch is faithful. He has not stopped being a father since the day he held the Christ Child in his arms in Nazareth. He is a father to you today.

Closing prayers

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

Ite ad Joseph. Go to Joseph. (Genesis 41:55, the words of Pharaoh, applied by the Catholic tradition to Saint Joseph the Patriarch of the Church.)

Saint Joseph, pray for us.