Catholic Prayer: Blessing of the Saint Joseph Altar
Description:
This is another version of the blessing of St. Joseph Altar or St. Joseph Table, a wonderful Sicilian tradition that can be found in many parts of the United States.
Prayer:
(The Blessing of the Altar usually takes place the evening before the feast, March 18th. If there is a procession to the Altar, a hymn may be sung on the way.)
Celebrant: O, glorious St. Joseph, we stand before this Altar with joyful and grateful hearts. We lovingly present to you the labor of our hands and the dedication of our hearts that have fashioned this Altar in your honor. We again place ourselves under your powerful protection. Help us follow your example of complete trust and faith in Divine Providence. Open our minds and hearts to love and serve the poor, the suffering and those rejected or ignored by society. As a family, teach us to love and honor each member of our families with the love and reverence you had for Jesus and Mary. As a nation, inspire in us the will and the way to live in peace with all nations of the world that in our day we can experience the fulfillment of Jesus' prayer--"Peace be to you." Grant this through Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.
V.: O, Glorious St. Joseph, through the love you bear to Jesus Christ and the glory of His name,
R.: Hear our prayers and obtain our petitions.
Celebrant: Lord Jesus, bless this Altar, all this food, the candles and all those who visit it. We ask this in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
(As the Altar is being blessed and incensed, the Litany of St. Joseph is said or a hymn is sung.)
All: Remember, O most pure spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, my sweet protector, St. Joseph, that no one ever had recourse to your protection or implored your aid without obtaining relief. Confiding therefore in your goodness, I come before you and humbly supplicate you. O, despise not my petitions, foster father of our Redeemer, but graciously receive them. Amen.
(Now that the Altar is blessed, guests are invited to visit the Altar and offer their own prayers to St. Joseph.)
Prayer Source: Viva San Giuseppe by St. Joseph Guild, St. Joseph Guild, 1200 Mirabeau Ave, New Orleans, Louisiana 70122
