During this Year of Saint Joseph, Pope Francis, writes in his Apostolic letter, “With a Father’s Heart,” to encourage us to keep Wednesdays and the 19th of each month as a day dedicated to Joseph.
While Joseph never speaks in the Gospels, he is a man of action. Caring for Mary and the child Jesus, protecting them from Herod, and working in his carpenter shop in Nazareth. An opportunity of grace awaits us by putting in action the Corporal Works of Mercy, offering your daily work and prayer. The church offers a plenary indulgence to those who do one of these approved acts by the Apostolic Penitentiary. These acts must be accompanied by sacramental confession, Holy Communion, prayer for the Holy Father intentions, and detachment from sin.
Here are some of the approved ways of honoring St. Joseph during this year of favor:
The Decree permits the elderly, the sick, and the dying who are unable to leave their homes due to the coronavirus pandemic to have special permission to receive an indulgence by “offering with trust in God the pains and discomforts” of their lives with a prayer to St. Joseph, hope of the sick and patron of a happy death.
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