INTRODUCTION
The Seven Sorrows and Seven Joys of St Joseph traces its roots from a story where the great saint, after saving two Franciscan monks from drowning along the coast of Flanders, instructed them to pray seven Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and Glory Bes to honour his seven sorrows and joys.
The number seven is very popular in our faith: we have seven sacraments, seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, and seven sorrows of Our Lady. We trace this practice from the Jews, our forefathers in faith. They associate this number with perfection. Did not Christ exhort his disciples to be perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect?
The Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be are three very common prayers. They are used in this devotion to show that St Joseph was the Father’s representative on earth as he nurtured and provided for Jesus, God’s only Son. He was Mary’s faithful and supportive husband. He was the trustworthy servant of the Triune God.
St Joseph’s life --- sorrows and joys --- is not at all different from what we are facing right now. Life can be sorrowful at times: hardships, physical or spiritual ailments, persecutions, poverty. Yet it can also be joyful: recovery from sickness, birth of an awaited child, reunion with a long-lost friend. In performing his extraordinary roles as father and husband, St Joseph faced many trials as can be seen in the seven sorrows. But because he trusted in the Lord and kept himself from being swayed to the contrary, he was able to overcome his sorrows. He was able to experience happiness, as his seven joys would attest. He may have had other sorrows and joys in life; however the ones presented in this work may be more than enough to inspire us to imitate him and be closer to God.
This prayer can be done privately or publicly and may be used in making a novena to our beloved saint. One may also reflect on one sorrow and joy each day. Like the Rosary of Our Lady, meditation is necessary. Hence a Bible reading and silent reflection are both provided. In each prayer, different groups of people are remembered as they are the ‘new Josephs’ in our society. Yet devotees are encouraged to include more groups of people as the need would arise.
In 1870, Pope Pius IX proclaimed St Joseph as “Patron of the Universal Church”. Holy Church believes that as he took care of Jesus, he would do the same to us who were saved by Christ’s blood. On numerous images of St Joseph we read: “Ite ad Joseph” (“Go to Joseph”). Following our Lord’s example, let us have recourse to him, the only man God called “Abba” (“Father”).
The number seven is very popular in our faith: we have seven sacraments, seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, and seven sorrows of Our Lady. We trace this practice from the Jews, our forefathers in faith. They associate this number with perfection. Did not Christ exhort his disciples to be perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect?
The Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be are three very common prayers. They are used in this devotion to show that St Joseph was the Father’s representative on earth as he nurtured and provided for Jesus, God’s only Son. He was Mary’s faithful and supportive husband. He was the trustworthy servant of the Triune God.
St Joseph’s life --- sorrows and joys --- is not at all different from what we are facing right now. Life can be sorrowful at times: hardships, physical or spiritual ailments, persecutions, poverty. Yet it can also be joyful: recovery from sickness, birth of an awaited child, reunion with a long-lost friend. In performing his extraordinary roles as father and husband, St Joseph faced many trials as can be seen in the seven sorrows. But because he trusted in the Lord and kept himself from being swayed to the contrary, he was able to overcome his sorrows. He was able to experience happiness, as his seven joys would attest. He may have had other sorrows and joys in life; however the ones presented in this work may be more than enough to inspire us to imitate him and be closer to God.
This prayer can be done privately or publicly and may be used in making a novena to our beloved saint. One may also reflect on one sorrow and joy each day. Like the Rosary of Our Lady, meditation is necessary. Hence a Bible reading and silent reflection are both provided. In each prayer, different groups of people are remembered as they are the ‘new Josephs’ in our society. Yet devotees are encouraged to include more groups of people as the need would arise.
In 1870, Pope Pius IX proclaimed St Joseph as “Patron of the Universal Church”. Holy Church believes that as he took care of Jesus, he would do the same to us who were saved by Christ’s blood. On numerous images of St Joseph we read: “Ite ad Joseph” (“Go to Joseph”). Following our Lord’s example, let us have recourse to him, the only man God called “Abba” (“Father”).
