Pope Francis continued with his series of reflections on St. Joseph at the January 12 general audience, and as he has done with the other catecheses, he ended with a prayer.
This time, he offered the prayer that Saint Paul VI lifted up to Saint Joseph on 1 May 1969:
~
O Saint Joseph,
Patron of the Church!
you, who side by side with the Word made flesh,
worked each day to earn your bread,
drawing from Him the strength to live and to toil;
you who experienced the anxiety for the morrow,
the bitterness of poverty, the uncertainty of work:
you who today give the shining example,
humble in the eyes of men
but most exalted in the sight of God:
protect workers in their hard daily lives,
defending them from discouragement,
from negative revolt,
and from pleasure loving temptations;
and keep peace in the world,
that peace which alone can ensure the development of peoples
Amen.
