Feast of St. Joseph the Worker

A good day to pray for all those who labor, especially manual laborers, and for these intentions:

For all those who are out of work and looking for a job, St. Joseph, pray for them.

For all the discouraged who haven't been able to find work, St. Joseph, pray for them.

For all parents working to rear and support their children, St. Joseph, pray for them.

For all those who feel trapped in their jobs, St. Joseph, pray for them.

For all families struggling in this difficult economy, St. Joseph, pray for them.

A Prayer for Workers (composed by Pope St. John XXIII)

O glorious Joseph! Who concealed your incomparable and regal dignity of custodian of Jesus and of the Virgin Mary under the humble appearance of a craftsman and provided for them with your work, protect with loving power your sons, especially entrusted to you.

You know their anxieties and sufferings, because you yourself experienced them at the side of Jesus and of His Mother. Do not allow them, oppressed by so many worries, to forget the purpose for which they were created by God. Do not allow the seeds of distrust to take hold of their immortal souls. Remind all the workers that in the fields, in factories, in mines, and in scientific laboratories, they are not working, rejoicing, or suffering alone, but at their side is Jesus, with Mary, His Mother and ours, to sustain them, to dry the sweat of their brow, giving value to their toil. Teach them to turn work into a very high instrument of sanctification as you did. Amen.