27/04/2021
This coming Saturday, 01 May 2021, Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, the Bishops of the Philippines will consecrate the nation to the patronage of St. Joseph. This coincides with the 500th anniversary of the Arrival of Christianity in the Philippines, and the Year of St. Joseph proclaimed by His Holiness Pope Francis.
That day, the Act of Consecration will be led by the Most Rev. ROMULO G. VALLES, DD, Archbishop of Davao and President of the CBCP, at 9:45am. It will be followed by Holy Mass at The National Shrine of St. Joseph, Mandaue City, at 10:00am, with the Most Rev. JOSE S. PALMA, OP, DD, Archbishop of Cebu and Member of the Priestly Fraternities of St. Dominic in the Philippines, as main celebrant. In addition, there will be various celebrations and observances in the different Archdioceses and Dioceses of the country.
The following is the official text of the ACT OF CONSECRATION TO ST JOSEPH, released by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP):
Hail, St. Joseph,
Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
God our Father entrusted to you His Only Son.
In you, Mary placed her trust;
With you Christ Jesus became man.
One with Our Lord Jesus and the Blessed Mother
We honor you with sincere love and veneration.
We choose you this day to be our father,
Our guardian and our protector.
God our Father has allowed us to celebrate
this year dedicated to your honor
and also the joyful 500th anniversary
of Christianity in our land.
With grateful hearts we recognize you
as a great gift of God to us to be our companion,
teacher, model and protector in this Jubilee year.
We come to you to consecrate our people,
the Church of the Philippines,
our dioceses, parishes and families.
With fatherly love and care
you provided and built the life of the Holy Family at Nazareth.
We humbly beg you to bless all our undertakings
and help us to build the church, the body of Jesus Christ,
in obedient faith, steadfast love
and unwavering hope in our loving Father.
You were always ready to listen and obey the Father’s will
and protected Jesus from all dangers.
Deliver us from all dangers
that destroy the Gospel values and teachings in our land.
Protect us all as we battle against
all moral and physical illnesses in our society.
We entrust to you all our longings and desires
that lead us to salvation.
We entrust to you all our families and
all fathers that they may be true to their vocation
as mirrors of the love of our Father in heaven.
We entrust to you all our works
to help our brothers and sisters in their sufferings.
To you, St. Joseph, after Jesus and Mary,
we consecrate our body and soul,
with all that we are and have.
St. Joseph, to us too, show yourself a father.
Guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy and courage,
and defend us from every evil. Amen.
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The Act of Consecration is also available in Tagalog, Cebuano, Bikolano, Hiligaynon, Ilokano, and Waray. Download here: https://cbcpnews.net/cbcpnews/cbcp-releases-act-of-consecration-to-st-joseph-with-6-local-languages-translation/
