PRAYER TO SAINT JOSEPH FOR A HAPPY DEATH
O Glorious Saint Joseph, behold I choose thee today for my special patron in life and at the hour of my death. Preserve and increase in me the spirit of prayer and fervor in the service of God. Remove far from me every kind of sin; obtain for me that my death may not come upon me unawares, but that I may have time to confess my sins sacramentally and to bewail them with a most perfect understanding and a most sincere and perfect contrition, in order that I may breathe forth my soul into the hands of Jesus and Mary.
Amen.
PRAYER TO SAINT JOSEPH FOR THE DYING
Prayer to St. Joseph for the Dying which enlists the support of the Trinity as well as St. Joseph, our Lord’s foster father, whose vast patronage includes that of a happy death.
Everlasting Father, for the sake of the love which Thou didst bear to St. Joseph, whom Thou didst chose above all to occupy Thy place on earth, Have mercy on us and on those who are dying.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father, etc.
Everlasting Son of God, for the sake of Thy love towards St. Joseph, who didst protect Thee so faithfully on earth, have mercy on us all and on those who are dying.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father, etc.
Everlasting Divine Spirit, for the sake of Thy love toward St. Joseph, who so carefully protected Mary, Thy most holy and beloved spouse, have mercy on us and those who are dying.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father, etc.
A common thread in all of these prayers for the dying is the request for God’s assistance and mercy. The closer we are to God in this life, in the way we live and partake of His sacraments and follow His Commandments, the more we may die assured of being with Him forever in the next! As St. Thomas Aquinas once wrote, “to this eternal life may we be led by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is God forever and ever.”
