Confraternity of St Joseph, Patron of the Dying | Ite ad Joseph!

From: St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin (by Father Prosper Gueranger 1870) http://catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/St.%20Joseph.html

Such a life could not close save by a death that was worthy of so great a Saint. The time came for Jesus to quit the obscurity of Nazareth, and show himself to the world. His own works were henceforth to bear testimony to his divine origin; the ministry of Joseph, therefore, was no longer needed. It was time for him to leave this world, and wait, in Abraham's bosom, the arrival of that day, when heaven's gates were to be opened to the just. As Joseph lay on his bed of death, there was watching by his side He that is the master of life, and that had often called this his humble creature, Father. His last breath was received by the glorious Virgin Mother, whom he had, by a just right, called his Spouse. It was thus, with Jesus and Mary by his side, caring and caressing him, that Joseph sweetly slept in peace. The Spouse of Mary, the Foster-Father of Jesus, now reigns in heaven with a glory which, though inferior to that of Mary, is marked with certain prerogatives which no other inhabitant of heaven can have.

From heaven, he exercises a powerful protection over those that invoke him. In a few weeks from this time, the Church will show us the whole magnificence of this protection; we shall be having a special Feast in honour of the Patronage of St. Joseph. What the Liturgy proposes to us today, are his glories and privileges. Let us unite with the Faithful throughout the world, and offer the Spouse of Mary the Hymns, which are this day sung in his praise.

Important prayers to have close by:

From the Thirty Days Prayer to St Joseph, 

I ask it by the perfect love and conformity thou didst show in accepting the Divine order to depart from this life and from the company of Jesus and Mary (!). I ask it by the joy which filled thy soul when the Redeemer of the world, triumphant over death and Hell, entered into the possession of His kingdom and led thee into it with special honours. 

PS: I found this: http://catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com - beautiful site!

There's a beautiful piece on St. Joseph, written by a Fr. Francis Xavier Weninger, 1876. I obtained one of the pictures above from this site: http://catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/Sermons%20on%20the%20Feast%20of%20St.%20Joseph.html


In regard to the degree of glory to which St. Joseph is elevated in heaven, we behold him by the side of Jesus, in company with the Blessed Virgin Mary. This exaltation points, at the same time, to the degree of his union with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost in the Most Holy Trinity. How indeed could God the Father refuse to hear the prayer of him whom He appointed to be His representative here on earth? In like manner how could God the Son deny him a request, since He was subject to him on earth as his foster-Son? And how could God the Holy Ghost remain deaf to any prayer of his, since He made him protector and spouse of her whom we have the right to designate as spouse of that Divine Spirit? Besides, St. Joseph stands at the side of Jesus, who is at the same time Man, with Mary, His mother. Let him but give the faintest sign, and Mary surely will not refuse to unite her prayer with his that Jesus will grant the petition; for Jesus is almighty, and, through this union with the Saviour and His mother, St. Joseph becomes, so to say, almighty himself.

....

St. Joseph lived in retirement and silence--a hidden life. He lived in the deepest recollection of spirit, keeping God ever in view. And here we perceive one of the principal obstacles which stands in the path of so many who fain would think that they are seeking the most rapid way to perfection.

The constant turmoil in which they live is not conducive to a holy life. They shrink from that solitude wherein the Holy Ghost would speak to their hearts. They are given to much conversing, and that, where neither duty nor Christian charity demands it, is a great source of tepidity and lukewarmness. It sets a most pernicious example, which in many instances destroys whatever efforts are made for the sanctification of souls.

To this is added an excessive fondness for pleasure. What was at once the solace, the joy, and the recreation of St. Joseph, was his intercourse with Jesus and Mary; and this will impart to us a very important lesson. Christ our Lord is the model of all perfection, and after Him ranks Mary as the most faithful imitator of the splendor of those virtues which adorned her Son. For thirty years St. Joseph had this immaculate Mother and her divine Son daily before his eyes. He lived with Jesus and Mary, which circumstance gave him occasion to regulate his life in accordance with their example; and this he did with an assiduity and a fidelity proportionate to his knowledge of and love for them, and the ardor of his desire to resemble them daily more and more.

Hail Holy Joseph Hail!