Today, October 7th is the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. In fact, October is the month of the Holy Rosary. If praying the Holy Rosary daily isn't a habit for you, this is the month to begin. Clearly, we are living in unprecedented and stressful times. Archbishop Fulton Sheen attests to the fact that praying the Holy Rosary is the remedy to this stress. "The Rosary is the best therapy for these distraught, unhappy, fearful, and frustrated souls precisely because it involves the simultaneous use of three powers: the physical, the vocal, and the spiritual." The Holy Rosary is also the greatest weapon for our times for effectively battling the unseen forces against us. “The Rosary is a powerful weapon to put the demons to flight and to keep oneself from sin…If you desire peace in your hearts, in your homes, and in your country, assemble each evening to recite the Rosary. Let not even one day pass without saying it, no matter how burdened you may be with many cares and labors.” – Pope Pius XI
In this month of the Holy Rosary, there is an additional prayer that can be added at the end of the Rosary. In 1889 Pope Leo XIII, the pope who wrote the St. Michael Prayer for us to pray in defense of the evil one, wrote another prayer for us with the same intention. This one is to St. Joseph, the Terror of Demons, Protector of the Holy Church, and Pillar of Families, asking for his protection from evil. Another greatly powerful prayer for our times.
Prayer to St. Joseph
To thee, O blessed Joseph, do we have recourse in our tribulation, and having implored the help of thy thrice-holy Spouse, we confidently invoke thy patronage also. By that charity wherewith thou wast united to the immaculate Virgin Mother of God, and by that fatherly affection with which thou didst embrace the Child Jesus, we beseech thee and we humbly pray, that thou wouldst look graciously upon the inheritance which Jesus Christ hath purchased by His Blood, and assist us in our needs by thy power and strength.
Most watchful Guardian of the Holy Family, protect the chosen people of Jesus Christ; keep far from us, most loving father, all blight of error and corruption: mercifully assist us from heaven, most mighty defender, in this our conflict with the powers of darkness; and, even as of old thou didst rescue the Child Jesus from the supreme peril of His life, so now defend God's Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity; keep us one and all under thy continual protection, that we may be supported by thine example and thine assistance, may be enabled to lead a holy life, die a happy death and come at last to the possession of everlasting blessedness in heaven. Amen.
Benedicite!