December 8 is the end of the Year of St. Joseph, which was a special time of devotion to the father of Jesus.
To mark the occasion, Bishop Alfred Schlert is asking the faithful to join him in a special prayer to consecrate the Diocese of Allentown to St. Joseph.
You can pray along in this short video the Bishop made at the Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena, or you can use the printed prayer at the end of this article.
In his Apostolic Letter proclaiming the Year of St. Joseph, Pope Francis described him as a beloved father, a tender and loving father, an obedient father, an accepting father, a father who is creatively courageous, a working father, a father in the shadows.
In the Diocese of Allentown, the Year of St. Joseph coincided with the Year of the Real Presence.
Jesus is present to us in many ways, but only in the Holy Eucharist is He uniquely present – Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. At Mass, the transformed bread and wine are not symbols; they truly are the Body and Blood of Christ. This is the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.
To learn more about St. Joseph, please see this AD Today article in which Bishop Schlert talks about attributes of St. Joseph that all should embrace.
Here is the text of the consecration prayer:
PRAYER OF CONSECRATION TO ST. JOSEPH
O Glorious Patriarch and Patron of the Church! O Virgin Spouse of the Virgin Mother of God!
O Guardian and Virginal Father of the Word Incarnate! In the presence of Jesus and Mary, I choose you this day to be my father, my guardian, and my protector.
O great St. Joseph, whom God has made the Head of the Holy Family, accept me, I beseech you, though utterly unworthy, to be a member of your “Holy House.”
Present me to your Immaculate Spouse; ask her also to adopt me as her child.
With her, pray that I may constantly think of Jesus, and serve him faithfully to the end of my life.
O Terror of Demons, increase in me virtue, protect me from the evil one, and help me not to offend God in any way.
O my Spiritual Father, I hereby consecrate myself to you.
In faithful imitation of Jesus and Mary, I place myself and all my concerns under your care and protection.
To you, after Jesus and Mary, I consecrate my body and soul, with all their faculties, my spiritual growth, my home, and all my affairs and undertakings.
Forsake me not, but adopt me as a servant and child of the Holy Family.
Watch over me at all times, but especially at the hour of my death.
Console and strengthen me with the presence of Jesus and Mary so that, with you, I may praise and adore the Holy Trinity for all eternity.
Amen.