Celebrate St. Joseph with little ones
The month of March is dedicated to St. Joseph.
Here are some special privileges of devotion to St. Joseph:
- Attaining the virtue of purity and overcoming the sensual inclinations of the flesh
- Procuring powerful help to escape sin and return to the friendship of God
- Increasing the love and devotion to the most Holy Mary
- Securing the grace of a happy death and protection against the demons in that hour
- Filling the demons with terror at the mere mention of his name by his clients
- Gaining health of body and assistance in all kinds of difficulties
- Securing issue of children in families
Here’s my experience if you are still wondering whether you should consecrate your life to St. Joseph
Becoming a Father can sometimes be a daunting task in itself but can you imagine becoming the Father of a person in the Trinity? He was predestined for that role. Pressure!
Saint Joseph was given the mission to protect, guide and provide for the only two people conceived without sin, Mary and Jesus, which means that he himself had to be a very virtuous man. The Gospel of Matthew calls him a “righteous man,” meaning he was an observant Jew who obeyed God’s law. And indeed he was.
- Share his story.
You could use their Children’s Bible and read the Christmas story from St. Joseph’s perspective emphasizing how God communicated with him through dreams. Tell your kids to get into his shoes and ask them how it would have felt. Help them see just how human he was. The story of St Joseph is part of the St. Joseph Bundle
50+ pages of fun filled activities
- Food: Make some lily sandwiches since lilies are symbol of purity and a symbol of St. Joseph. Take some white bread and make a stuffing for it. Cut off the crust of bread and put your favorite filling inside it then curl it like a cone. You can place a piece carrot,orange or mango in the middle and for leaves you may use some green pepper.
- Make a St. Joseph shrine.
Saint Joseph was given the mission to protect, guide and provide for the only two people conceived without sin, Mary and Jesus, which means that he himself had to be a very virtuous man. The Gospel of Matthew calls him a “righteous man,” meaning he was an observant Jew who obeyed God’s law. And indeed he was.
Use any color paper and fold it like a shutter fold (pictures attached for reference). Cut an arch on both sides to create a symmetrical curve. Find any picture of St. Joseph or the Holy family which kids can color and paste inside (my printer ran out of ink, so I used an image from an old book). On one side kids can write a prayer to St. Joseph while on the other they can write “St. Joseph pray for us”.
- Talk about Obedience
The Holiness of Joseph is seen in his Obedience to God’s voice. Not out of fear but in deep trust. Teach them a prayer to Joseph to help them to listen to God’s voice. Call on his aid when they struggle with Obedience.
- Make a Tool Box: It is a perfect time to think about the Jewish Carpenter that quietly finished his chores. A great time to remind children (and us) to offer up all those grumbles while doing mundane chores and turn it into happy smiles, dedicated to the quiet St. Joseph
Make a tool box with an empty shoe box. Write out the qualities they see in St. Joseph on different tools. Ta da, they have a whole set of new toys to play with.
This one is a FREE download
- Prayer: Here are some simple yet beautiful prayers for devotion to St. Joseph
Litany to St. Joseph
Memorarae to St. Joseph
Kids prayer to St. Joseph- Available in the Faith Blocks Bundle
Prayer to Sleeping St. Joseph- Available in the Faith Blocks Bundle
9days Novena to St. Joseph- Free Printable
- Decoupage on a piece of wood. This one was inspired by CatholicInspired.St. Joseph the Carpenter was Jesus’ father on earth.Being chosen thus he didn’t enjoy any specific favors out of daily labor.Not only did he work for his living, but taught the craft to Jesus too.Thus raising the dignity of labor.I can only imagine the joy St Joseph would have found to adore Jesus even as he worked.Something I often forget in the middle of going from one task to another.May he inspire us to adore the Christ, at our meager places of work.Place of study and play for our kids.
Yes, periods of play interspersed with glancing at Jesus, saying little prayers, singing a hymn. How beautiful that would be for Jesus and for us.
Step 1: Prepare the Wood or MDF board base to be smooth. Use a sand paper if needed.
Step 2: Apply a thin layer of the glue using the brush to cover the board base.
Step 3: Stick the picture of St Joseph onto the base. Leave enough room to see the base. Get creative and add images that are associated with St Joseph – Carpenter’s square or tools, the infant Jesus, staff with lily blossoms, two turtle doves, or rod of spikenard.
Step 4: Paint over the image using Decoupage glue and the paint brush. Yes, over. The decoupage glue is transparent, so don’t worry.
Step 5: Let it dry overnight and you have crafted something with wood commemorating the Jewish Carpenter and His Earthly Care taker.
May this inspire you to keep creating things all around you especially as tools to help your little ones know , love and want to emulate Saints.
Here’s my first decoupage attempt. A special for St. Joseph’s year. I used some tissue as a background.
- Sleeping Joseph Devotion:This is what Pope Francis said on January 16, 2015 to the families gathered in Manila.“I also want to tell you something very personal. I really like St. Joseph, because he is a strong and silent man. On my desk I have a picture of St. Joseph sleeping. And while he’s sleeping, he takes care of the Church! Yup! He can do it, we know that. And when I have a problem, a difficulty, I write a piece of paper and put it under St. Joseph, because he dreams about it! This gesture means: pray for this problem! “Explain how even when he sleeps St. Joseph is communicating with God and so he prays for us while doing so. Write little notes of prayer and place under his statue replacing them as they are answered.
When no statue is available? Get creative! Make a peg doll, plush toy, amigurumi or even an envelope with sleeping St. Joseph on the outside. Slip notes inside the envelope.
This easy to put together craft is in the St. Joseph Bundle.
