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Devotions to The Holy Family



Hymn: O gente felix



O house of Nazareth the blest,
 Fair hostess of the Lord,
 The Church was nurtured at thy breast
 And shared thy scanty hoard.

In all the spreading lands of earth.
 The wandering sun may see
 No dearer spot, no ampler worth
 Than erst was found in thee!

We know thy humble tenement
 Was heaven's hermitage:
 Celestial heralds came and went
 In endless embassage.

There, whatsoever Joseph asks
 Christ hastens to fulfill;
 While Mary loves the household tasks
 That wait her joyous will.

There, Joseph toileth at her side
 Her joys and griefs to share,
 With thousand ties knit to his bride,
 Of love and work and prayer.

Yet how their bosoms constant burn
 And deeper ardors prove
 In love of Christ, whose eyes return
 Tokens of mutual love.

O then, in all the homes of earth,
 Be Love the bond of life:
 May it enthrone at every hearth
 The peace that husheth strife.

All praise to thee, O Jesus,
 Who parents dost obey;
 Praise to the sovereign Father
 And Paraclete for aye. Amen.




Roman Breviary          




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Consecration of a Family to the Mother of God
(by St. Alphonsus)



O Blessed Virgin, Immaculate Queen of Heaven, Mother of Sorrows, refuge and comfort of all the afflicted! Kneeling before your throne with all my family, I choose you as our Mistress, Mother, and Advocate with God. I consecrate myself and all belonging to me forever to your service, and I implore you, O Mother of God, to number us among your servants. Take us under your protection, assist us during life and especially at the hour of death. Mother of Mercy, I choose you as the Lady and Mistress of my entire household: my parents, my spouse, my children, my cares, and my duties. Disdain not to take charge of them, and direct everything as seems good to you. Bless us all, and permit not that anyone of us should ever offend your Son. Protect us in temptation, preserve us in danger, help us in trouble, counsel us in doubt, assist us in sickness, and especially at the hour of death. Permit not the evil one to boast that anyone of us now consecrated to you has ever fallen into his net. Obtain for us the crown of eternal happiness, that we may thank you while praising and loving Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, for all eternity. Amen.





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Prayer to make St. Joseph your Family Patron



O Most holy Joseph, glorious Patriarch, chosen by God as the head and protector of the Holy Family, deign to take my family, also, under your fatherly protection and care! Be for us a faithful supporter, a foster-father, a counselor, guide, leader, and strong defender against all that seek to injure us. We give into your keeping our soul, our body, our life, and the end thereof. Into your hands we place the joy and pain, happiness and misery of our whole life, as well as the hour of our death. Obtain for us, O St. Joseph, that our family life may be always in accordance with the will of God; that we may faithfully fulfill our duties toward Him, our fellow men, and ourselves; that we may thank Him in prosperity and praise Him in adversity; that we may be zealous in the performance of good, and watchful in the avoidance of evil; that we may live a pious life and die perfectly resigned to the will of God. Amen.







The Litany of the Holy Family


 Lord have mercy on us.
 Lord hare mercy on us.
 Christ have mercy on us.
 Christ have mercy on us.
 Lord have mercy on us.
 Lord have mercy on us.
 Christ hear us.
 Christ graciously hear us.

 God the Father, of heaven,
Have Mercy on us. *

 God the Son, Redeemer of the world, *
 God the Holy Ghost, *
 Holy Trinity, one God, *

 Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,
Pray for us. **


 Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, worthy objects of
our reverence and love, **

 Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, by the voice of all ages
called the Holy Family, **

 Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, names for ever blessed of the Father, the Mother, and the Child, who compose the Holy Family, **

 Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, image on earth
of the august Trinity, **

 Holy Family, tried by the greatest contradictions, **

 Holy Family, afflicted in your journey to Bethlehem, **

 Holy Family, rejected by all, and obliged
to take refuge in a stable, **

 Holy Family, saluted by the concerts of the angels, **

 Holy Family, visited by the poor shepherds, **

 Holy Family, venerated by the Wise Men, **

 Holy Family, persecuted and exiled in a strange country, **

 Holy Family, hidden and unknown at Nazareth, **

 Holy Family, model of Christian families, **

 Holy Family, living in peace and charity, **

 Holy Family, whose Head is a model of paternal vigilance, **

 Holy Family, whose Spouse is a model of maternal care, **

 Holy Family, whose Child is a model of
obedience and filial piety, **

 Holy Family, who led a poor, laborious, and penitent life, **

 Holy Family, poor in the goods of the world
but rich in the goods of heaven, **

 Holy Family, despised by the world, but great before God, **

 Holy Family, our support in life, our hope in death, **

 Holy Family, patrons and protectors of our Confraternity, **

 Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, **


 Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
 Spare us, O Lord.

 Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
 Hear us, O Lord.

 Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
 Hare mercy on us.


 Christ hear us.
 Christ graciously hear us.



 
 Let us Pray:


O God of goodness and mercy, who hast been pleased to call us to this Confraternity of the Holy Family; grant that we may always honour and imitate Jesus, Mary, and Joseph; so that, pleasing them on earth, we may enjoy their presence in heaven; through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen






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 Prayer for a Catholic Family



God of goodness and mercy, we commend to thy all-powerful protection our home, our family and all that we possess. Bless us all as thou didst bless the holy family of Nazareth.

O Jesus, our most holy Redeemer, by the love with which thou didst become man in order to save us, by the mercy through which thou didst die for us upon the cross, we entreat thee to bless our home, our family, our household. Preserve us from all evil and from the snares of men; preserve us from lightning and hail and fire, from flood and from the rage of the elements; preserve us from thy wrath, from all hatred and from the evil intentions of our enemies, from plague, famine and war. Let no one of us die without the Holy Sacraments. Bless us, that we may always openly confess our faith which is to sanctify us, that we may never falter in our hope, even amid pain and affliction, that we may ever grow in love for Thee and in charity toward our neighbor.

O Jesus, bless us, protect us.

O Mary, Mother of grace and mercy, bless us, protect us against the evil spirit; lead us by the hand through this vale of tears; reconcile us with thy divine Son; commend us to Him, that we may be made worthy of his promises.

Saint Joseph, reputed father of our Saviour, guardian of his most holy Mother, head of the holy family, intercede for us, bless and protect our home always.

Saint Michael, defend us against all the wicked wiles of hell.

Saint Gabriel, obtain for us that we may understand the holy will of God.

Saint Raphael, preserve us from ill health and all danger to life.

Holy Guardian Angels, keep us day and night in the way to salvation.

Holy Patrons, pray for us before the throne of God.

Bless this house, Thou, God our Father, who didst create us; Thou, divine Son, who didst suffer for us on the cross; Thou, Holy Spirit, who didst sanctify us in baptism. May God, in his three Divine Persons, preserve our body, purify our soul, direct our heart, and lead us to life everlasting.

Glory be to the Father, glory be to the Son, glory be to the Holy Ghost. Amen.



(Indulgence 200 days Leo XIII)




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Prayer in Honor of the Holy Family


Grant us, O Lord Jesus, faithfully to imitate the examples of Thy holy Family, so that in the hour of our death, in the company of Thy glorious Virgin Mother and St. Joseph, we may deserve to be received by Thee into eternal tablernacles. Amen


(Indulgence: 200 days, once a day--Leo XIII.)




 Novena Prayer to the Holy Family


Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, bless us and grant us the grace to love the Church, as we ought, above every other earthly thing, and always to show forth our love by deeds. Pater, Ave, Gloria.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, bless us and grant us the grace without fear or human respect openly to profess, as we ought, the faith which was given to us in baptism. Pater, Ave, Gloria.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, bless us and grant us the grace to share, as we ought, in the defence and propagation of the Faith, when duty calls, whether by word or by the sacrifice of our fortunes and our lives. Pater, Ave, Gloria.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, bless us and grant us the grace to love one another, as we ought, and to live together in perfect harmony of thought, will, and action, under the rule and guidance of our pastors. Pater, Ave, Gloria.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, bless us and grant us the grace to conform our lives, as we ought, to the precepts of God and of the Church, so as to live always in that charity which they set forth. Pater, Ave, Gloria.


(Indulgence of 300 days, once a day.--Leo XIII)




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Ejaculation to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph



Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul; Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, assist me in my last agony; Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul in peace with you.



Indulgence of 300 days, each time.--Pius VII, Aug. 26, 1814.




Prayer for a Husband or Wife


O God, who hast ordained and sanctified the holy estate of matrimony, for replenishing the earth, for mutual consolation, and as a type of the union of Christ and His Church; give me grace both thankfully to accept its blessings, and carefully to fulfil its duties. I beseech thee continually to bless our union, and to enable us to live together in peace and love, in the faithful discharge of all our duties to thee, and to each other. Deliver us from every evil temper, from every heedless action, which may in any way weaken or embitter the sacredness of that tie by which thou hast bound us together, and which can never be severed. Make me faithful and affectionate, studious to please, and ready to deny my own will and inclination in all things. Let not the trials and crosses of this life induce me to murmur, nor any earthly blessings cause me to forget thee, the Author and Giver of all; but by patience and meekness, by prayer and thankfulness, may all things be sanctified unto me, and fit me for eternal union with thee, through Jesus Christ. Amen.




A Prayer for Parents, for themselves and for their Children


O Father of mankind, who hast given unto me these my children, and committed them to my charge to bring them up for Thee, and to prepare them for everlasting life; assist me with Thy heavenly grace, that I may be able to fulfil this most sacred duty and stewardship. Teach me both what to give, and what to withhold; when to reprove, and when to forbear: make me to be gentle, yet firm; considerate and watchful: and deliver me equally from the weakness of indulgence, and excess of severity; and grant that, both by word and example, I may be careful to lead them in the ways of wisdom and true piety; so that at last I may, with them be admitted to the unspeakable joys of our true home in heaven, in the unity of the blessed angels and saints, where thou, O Father, with Jesus, thy only-begotten Son, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, livest ard reiguest one God forever and ever.

 O Heavenly Father, I commend my children unto Thee. Be Thou their God and Father; and mercifully supply whatever is wanting in me, through frailty or negligence. Strengthen them to overcome the corruptions of the world, to resist the solicitations of evil, whether from within or without; and deliver them from the secret snares of the enemy. Pour thy grace into their hearts, and confirm and multiply in them the gifts of thy Holy Spirit, that they may daily grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ: and so faithfully serving Thee here, may come to rejoice before Thee hereafter; through the merits of the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who with Thee and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest. Amen.




Prayer for a Child


O Almighty God, who hast given unto me my father and mother, and made them to be an image of Thy authority, and love, and tender watchfulness, and hast commanded me to love, and honor, and obey them in all things; give me grace cheerfully and with my whole heart to keep this Thy law. Help me to love them fervently, to honor them truly, to yield a ready obedience to all their commands, to comply with all their wishes, to study their happiness in every thing, and to bear with patience and humility all their rebukes. Deliver me, O God, from pride, rebellion, and wilfulness, from passion and stubbornness, from sloth and carelessness. Make me diligent in all my duties and studies, and patient in all my trials; that so living, I may deserve to be Thy child, who art our Father in heaven, through Jesus Christ, Thine only Son our Lord. Amen.






 Music: L'enfance du Christ by Hector Berlioz

 
 Thou must leave thy lowly dwelling,
 The humble crib, the stable bare.
 Babe, all mortal babes excelling,
 Content our earthly lot to share.
 Loving father, Loving mother,
 Shelter thee with tender care!

Blessed Jesus, we implore thee
 With humble love and holy fear.
 In the land that lies before thee,
 Forget not us who linger here!
 May the shepherd's lowly calling,
 Ever to thy heart be dear!

Blest are ye beyond all measure,
 Thou happy father, mother mild!
 Guard ye well your heav'nly treasure,
 The Prince of Peace, The Holy Child!
 God go with you, God protect you,
 Guide you safely through the wild!

 




 


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