This month of St. Joseph is a great time to begin praying a lesser-known but incredibly powerful novena to the foster father of Jesus: the Holy Cloak Novena.
The name alone draws one in with a beautiful image: the cloak that St. Joseph wore.
As we contemplate this image, the cloak worn by this paternal, protective saint, the guardian of the Holy Family, we can imagine St. Joseph removing it to keep Mary warm as she held the sleeping infant Jesus.
We can imagine the little Christ child playing hide and seek in the folds of this great cloak, and as he grew, draping it around his own shoulders. We recognize what a fitting symbol this cloak is for what St. Joseph does for us, through his powerful intercession. A cloak protects against bad weather; it warms; it comforts.
And when we seek the protection of blessed St. Joseph, he folds around us like a cloak, a steady warming presence. Finally, the cloak is such a poignant symbol of St. Joseph’s time on earth: a practical, human object that reminds us that St. Joseph lived a human life and felt firsthand what it was to be cold, what it was to be vulnerable; he understands it all.
He was entrusted with the supremely vital task of protecting Jesus and Mary. He is known as “The Custodian of the Two Hearts.” Our society is fascinated with the idea of Hollywood superheroes, but those caped defenders all fall flat beside an authentic hero like St. Joseph, with his incredible strength surrounded by a humble cloak, as he guarded and protected the most important souls ever to walk the earth.
May the cloak of St. Joseph be our shield of protection on this earth.
Read more:
Pope Francis on St. Joseph
THE NOVENA OF THE HOLY CLOAK
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give Thee my heart and my soul.
(Recite the Glory Be 3 times to our Heavenly Father in thanksgiving for having exalted St. Joseph to a position of such exceptional dignity.)
OFFERING
I
O Glorious Patriarch St. Joseph, I humbly prostrate myself before Thee. I beg the Lord Jesus, thine Immaculate Spouse, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the Angels and Saints in the Heavenly Court, to join me in this devotion. I offer thee this precious cloak, while pledging my sincerest faith and devotion. I promise to do all in my power to honor thee throughout my lifetime to prove my love for thee.
Help me, St. Joseph. Assist me now and throughout my lifetime, but especially at the moment of my death, as thou wert assisted by Jesus and Mary, that I may join thee one day in Heaven and there honor thee for all eternity. Amen.
II
O Glorious Patriarch St. Joseph, prostrate, before thee and thy Divine Son, Jesus, I offer thee, with heartfelt devotion, this precious treasury of prayers, being ever mindful of the numerous virtues which adorned thy sacred person. In thee, O Glorious Patriarch, was fulfilled the dream of thy precursor the first Joseph, who indeed seemed to have been sent by God to prepare the way for thy presence on this Earth. In fact, not only wert thou surrounded by the shining splendor of the rays of the Divine Sun, Jesus, but thou wert splendidly reflected in the brilliant light of the mystic moon, the Blessed Virgin Mary. O Glorious Patriarch, if the example of the ancient Jacob, who personally went to congratulate his favorite son, who was exalted on the throne of Egypt, served to bring all his progeny there, should not the example of Jesus and Mary, who honored thee with their greatest respect and trust, serve to bring me, thy devoted servant, to present thee with this precious cloak in thy honor.
Grant, O Great St. Joseph, that the Almighty God may turn a benevolent glance toward me. As the ancient Joseph did not reject his guilty and cruel brothers, but rather accepted them with love and protected and saved them from hunger and death, I beseech thee, O Glorious Patriarch, through thine intercession, grant that the Lord may never abandon me in this exiled valley of sorrows. Grant that He may always number me as one of thy devoted servants who dost live serenely under the patronage of thy Holy Cloak. Grant that I may live always within the protection of this patronage, every day of my life and particularly at that moment when I draw my dying breath.
PRAYERS
I
Hail O Glorious St. Joseph, thou who art entrusted with the priceless treasures of Heaven and Earth and foster-father of Him Who doth nourish all the creatures of the universe. Thou art, after Mary, the Saint most worthy of our love and devotion. Thou alone, above all the Saints, wert chosen for that supreme honor of rearing, guiding, nourishing and even embracing the Messiah, Whom so many kings and prophets would have so desired to behold.
St. Joseph, save my soul and obtain for me from the Divine Mercy of God that petition for which I humbly pray. And for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, grant a great comfort from their pain.
(Recite the Glory Be 3 times to our Heavenly Father in thanksgiving for having exalted St. Joseph to a position of such exceptional dignity.)
II
O powerful St. Joseph, thou wert proclaimed the Patron of the Universal Church, therefore, I invoke thee, above all the other Saints, as the greatest protector of the afflicted, and I offer countless blessings to thy most generous heart, always ready to help in any need.
To thee, O Glorious St. Joseph, come the widows, the orphans, the abandoned, the afflicted, the oppressed. There is no sorrow, heartache or anguish which thou hast not consoled. Deign, I beseech thee, to use on my behalf those gifts which God hast given thee, until I too shall be granted the answer to my petition And thou, Holy Souls in Purgatory, pray to St. Joseph for me.
(Recite the Glory Be 3 times to our Heavenly Father in thanksgiving for having exalted St. Joseph to a position of such exceptional dignity.)
Read more:
Invoke St. Joseph’s powerful intercession with this “memorare”
III
Countless are those who have prayed to thee before me and have received comfort and peace, graces and favors. My heart, so sad and sorrowful, cannot find rest in the midst of this trial which besets me. O Glorious St. Joseph, thou knowest all my needs even before I set them forth in prayer. Thou knowest how important this petition is for me. I prostrate myself before thee as I sigh under the heavy weight of the problem which confronts me.
There is no human heart in which I can confide my sorrow; and even if I should find a compassionate creature who would be willing to assist me, still he would be unable to help me. Only thou can help me in my sorrow, St. Joseph, and I beg thee to hear my plea.
Has not St. Teresa left it written in her dialogues that the world may always know “Whatever you ask of St. Joseph, you shall receive.”
O St. Joseph, comforter of the afflicted, have pity on my sorrow and pity on those Poor Souls who place so much hope in their prayers to thee.
(Recite the Glory Be 3 times to our Heavenly Father in thanksgiving for having exalted St. Joseph to a position of such exceptional dignity.)
IV
O Sublime Patriarch St. Joseph, because of thy perfect obedience to God, thou mayest intercede for me.
For thy holy life full of grace and merit, hear my prayer.
For thy most sweet name, help me. For your most holy tears, comfort me.
For thy seven sorrows, intercede for me. For your seven joys, console me.
From all harm of body and soul, deliver me. From all danger and disaster, save me.
Assist me with thy powerful intercession and seek for me, through thy power and mercy, all that is necessary for my salvation and particularly the favor of which I now stand in such great need.
(Recite the Glory Be 3 times to our Heavenly Father in thanksgiving for having exalted St. Joseph to a position of such exceptional dignity.)
V
O Glorious St. Joseph, countless are the graces and favors which thou hast obtained for afflicted souls. Illness of every nature, those who are oppressed, persecuted, betrayed, bereft of all human comfort, even those in need of their life bread — all who imploreth thy powerful intercession are comforted in their affliction.
Do not permit, O dearest St. Joseph, that I alone be the only one of all who hast appealed to thee, to be denied this petition which I so earnestly beg of thee. Show thy kindness and generosity even to me, that I may cry out in thanksgiving, “Eternal glory to our Holy Patriarch St. Joseph, my great protector on Earth and the defender of the Holy Souls in Purgatory.”
(Recite the Glory Be 3 times to our Heavenly Father in thanksgiving for having exalted St. Joseph to a position of such exceptional dignity.)
VI
Eternal Father, Who art in Heaven, through the merits of Jesus and Mary, I beg Thee to grant my petition. In the name of Jesus and Mary I prostrate myself before Thy Divine presence and I beseech Thee to accept my hopeful plea to persevere in my prayers that I may be numbered among the throngs of those who live under the patronage of St. Joseph.
Extend Thy blessing on this precious treasury of prayers which I today offer to him as a pledge of my devotion.
(Recite the Glory Be 3 times to our Heavenly Father in thanksgiving for having exalted St. Joseph to a position of such exceptional dignity.)
CLOSING PRAYER OF THE HOLY CLOAK
O Glorious Patriarch St. Joseph, thou who wert chosen by God above all men to be the earthly head of the most holy of families, I beseech thee to accept me within the folds of thy holy cloak, that thou mayest become the guardian and custodian of my soul.
From this moment on, I choose thee as my father, my protector, my counselor, my patron and I beseech thee to place in thy custody my body, my soul, all that I am, all that I possess, my life and my death.
Look upon me as one of thy children; defend me from the treachery of my enemies, invisible or otherwise, assist me at all times in all my necessities; console me in the bitterness of my life, and especially at the hour of my death. Say but one word for me to the Divine Redeemer Whom thou wert deemed worthy to hold in thine arms, and to the Blessed Virgin Mary, thy most chaste spouse. Request for me those blessings which will lead me to salvation. Include me amongst those who art most dear to thee and I shall set forth to prove myself worthy of thy special patronage. Amen.
And today we celebrate...