[Rank]
St. Joseph the Worker;;Duplex I classis;;6;;

[Ant Vespera]
God, maker of the world, * has stationed man to dress and keep the earth, alleluia.
Christ, the Son of God, * deigned to work with his hands, alleluia.
The craftsman, * holy Joseph, faithfully exercising his trade, shines forth as a marvellous example of work, alleluia.
Faithful servant, * and prudent, whom the Lord hath appointed over his family, alleluia.
O Joseph, holy workman, * defend our work, alleluia.

[Versum 1]
V. Today is the solemnity of holy Joseph, alleluia.
R. Who with his hands ministered to the Son of God, alleluia.

[Ant 1]
Christ the Lord * deigned to be thought the son of a carpenter, alleluia.

[Oratio]
God, Creator of all things, who didst lay on the human race the law of labour: graciously grant; that by following the example of Saint Joseph and under his patronage, we may carry out the work thou dost command, and obtain the reward thou dost promise.
$Per Dominum

[Invit]
The Lord, King of kings, who deigned to be reckoned the son of a workman, * O come let us adore him, alleluia.

[Hymnus Matutinum]
v. Joseph, thou father, thou workman most holy,
Happy while hidden in Nazareth's shade
Hearts overflowing and voices raised high,
This night we praise thee.
_
Royally born, yet frugally living,
Quietly, equably thou bearest thy lot;
Toil worn, thy hands for love of thy blest ones,
Willingly labor.
_
Workman thou art, and mirror of workmen,
Many the lessons of life hast thou given,
Showing how toil, how the sweat of the workshop
Blessed becometh.
_
Look on the hungry and troubled with pity,
Rein thou the greedy, fomenters of strife
Proper the members of Christ's Mystic Body
With thy protection.
_
God, who art one and three-fold in being,
Father and Maker of all of the living,
Make us to imitate Joseph our father,
Living and dying. Amen.

[Ant Matutinum]
Man goes forth * to his work, and to his labor until the evening, alleluia.;;1
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V. You are the glory and model of workmen, St. Joseph, alleluia.
R. Whom the Son of God has willed to obey, alleluia.
Jesus, * when he was thirty years old, was reckoned the son of Joseph, alleluia.;;4
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;;8
V. O great the dignity of labor, alleluia.
R. Which Christ has sanctified, alleluia. 
Is not this * the carpenter's son? Is not this the son of Joseph? Alleluia.;;14
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V. The Word of God, by whom all things were made, alleluia.
R. Deigned to work with his hands, alleluia.

[Lectio1]
Lesson from the book of Genesis
!Gen 1:27-28,31; 2:1-3
27 In the beginning God created man to his own image; to the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them, saying: “Increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it”.
31 And God saw all the things that he had made, and they were very good. And the evening and morning were the sixth day.
1 So the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the furniture of them. 
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made: and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. 
3 And he blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

[Responsory1]
R. Six days shall you labor, and shall do all your works, but on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord your God.
* You shall do no work on it, alleluia.
V. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and rested on the seventh day.
R. You shall do no work on it, alleluia.

[Lectio2]
!Gen 2:7-9,15
7 And the Lord God formed man of the slime of the earth: and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul. 
8 And the Lord God had planted a paradise of pleasure from the beginning: wherein he placed man whom he had formed. 
9 And the Lord God brought forth of the ground all manner of trees, fair to behold, and pleasant to eat of: the tree of life also in the midst of paradise: and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
15 And the Lord God took man, and put him into the paradise of pleasure, to dress it, and to keep it.

[Responsory2]
R. The Lord put the man whom He had formed, in the paradise of pleasure,
* To till and keep it, alleluia.
V. This was the condition of man from the beginning.
R. To till and keep it, alleluia.

[Lectio3]
!Gen 3:17-19, 23-24
17 And to Adam the Lord God said: Because you have hearkened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded you, that you should not eat, cursed is the earth in your work: with labour and toil shall you eat thereof all the days of your life. 
18 Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you, and you shall eat the herbs of the earth. 
19 In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread till you return to the earth out of which you were taken: for dust you are, and into dust you shall return.
23 And the Lord God sent him out of the paradise of pleasure, to till the earth from which he was taken. 
24 And he cast out Adam: and placed before the paradise of pleasure Cherubims, and a flaming sword, turning every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

[Responsory3]
R. After the sin, God cast out Adam from the paradise of pleasure,
* To till the earth by his labor, alleluia.
V. “And in the sweat of your brow,” said God, “you shall eat bread.”
R. To till the earth by his labor, alleluia.
&Gloria
R. To till the earth by his labor, alleluia.

[Lectio4]
!From the Acts of Pope Pius XII
The Church, most provident Mother of All, expends the greatest efforts for the protection and relief of the workers, erecting and promoting for them societies which Pius XII, the Supreme Pontiff, now wishes to be entrusted to the most powerful patronage of St. Joseph. For St. Joseph, since he was reckoned the father of Christ, who deigned to be called the son of a workman, on account of the irrevocable bond which united him to Jesus, drank abundantly of that spirit which ennobles and elevates labor. In like manner, associations of workers ought to be aware of the same kind of spirit, so that Christ may always be present in them, in their members, in their families and in fact in every labor organization, because the chief purpose of these associations is to foster and nourish the Christian life in their members, to spread the Kingdom of God more widely, especially among fellow workers in the same plant.

[Responsory4]
R. You shall not calumniate your neighbor, nor oppress him by violence.
* The wages of him who has been hired by you shall not be withheld from him overnight, alleluia.
V. The laborer is worthy of his wages.
R. The wages of him who has been hired by you shall not be withheld from him overnight, alleluia.

[Lectio5]
The same Pontiff supplied a new proof of the Church's solicitude for labor organization, when, upon the occasion of a convention of workingmen held in Rome on the first of May in the year 1955, he took the opportunity of speaking to a large multitude gathered in the square before St. Peter's Basilica, and commended most highly the instruction of workingmen. For in our day it is of prime importance that the workers be properly imbued with Christian doctrine in order that they may avoid the widespread errors concerning the nature of society and economic matters. Moreover, such instruction is needed that they might have a correct knowledge of the moral order established by God as it effects the rights and duties of workers, and which the Church discloses and interprets, so that by partaking in the needed reforms they might work more effectively toward their realization. For Christ was the first one to promulgate in the world those principles which he delivered to the Church and which still stand unchangeable and most valid for the solution of these problems.

[Responsory5]
R. You have given me your saving shield, and your right hand has upheld me,
* My protector and my support.
V. I am your protector and your reward is very great.
R. My protector and my support.

[Lectio6]
In order that the dignity of human labor and the principles which underlie it might penetrate more deeply into souls, Pius XII has instituted the feast of St. Joseph the Workman, as an example and a protection for all associations of workers. For from this example, those who follow the worker's calling ought to learn how and in what spirit they should discharge their duties, so that, obeying the first law of God, they might likewise subdue the earth and attain to economic prosperity, and at the same time reap the rewards of eternal life. Nor will the prudent guardian of the Family of Nazareth fail to shield with his protection, and from heaven bless the homes of those who, like him, are artisans and workmen. Most aptly has the Supreme Pontiff ordered this feast to be celebrated on the first of May, a day which the workers have adopted as their own; from henceforth let it be hoped that this day, dedicated to St. Joseph the Workman, will, as time goes on, not sharpen hatred and inflame strife, but with each recurring year, invite everyone to strive more and more for those things which are still lacking to civil peace, and indeed that it may stimulate the public authorities to use their abilities in effecting whatever right order demands of human fellowship.

[Responsory6]
R. I am wretched and poor;
* The Lord is solicitous for me, alleluia.
V. You shall eat the labor of your hands and it shall be well with you, alleluia.
R. The Lord is solicitous for me, alleluia.
&Gloria
R. The Lord is solicitous for me, alleluia.

[Lectio7]
From the Holy Gospel according to Matthew
!Matt 13:54-58
And at that time: When Jesus had come to his own country, he began to teach them in their synagogues, so that they were astonished, and said: “How did this man come by this wisdom and these miracles? Is this not the carpenter's son?” And so on.
_
Homily by St. Albert the Great, Bishop
!On the Gospel of Luke, Ch. 4
On the Sabbath day he entered the synagogue, where those who came to listen had gathered. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were intent upon him. Some indeed with devotion, some out of curiosity, while some watched him that they might trap him in his talk. And the Scribes and Pharisees said to the people, in whom faith and devotion had already made a beginning: “Is not this the son of Joseph?” See this attitude of disparagement toward him whom they did not even deign to call by his name. “The son of Joseph,” this little the Evangelist says because he had known that both in Mark and in Matthew a fuller statement would be made: “Is not this the carpenter's son? Is he not a workman, the son of Mary?” All these things were said contemptuously.

[Responsory7]
R. Jesus was about thirty years of age,
* Who, as was supposed, was the son of Joseph, alleluia.
V. Now Joseph was a carpenter, the spouse of the Virgin Mary, of whom Christ was born.
R. Who, as was supposed, was the son of Joseph, alleluia.

[Lectio8]
Joseph is said to have been a carpenter who earned his living by his skill and the work of his hands, and he did not eat his bread in idleness and indulgence, like the Scribes and Pharisees. Mary also worked for her living with her husband, and with competent hands. And here is the meaning of what they said about him: “This man of ignoble and poverty-stricken birth could not be Christ the Lord, whom God anointed. And thus no credence is to be given to such an uncultivated and low-born man.”

[Responsory8]
R. How did this man come by this wisdom and these miracles?
* Is not this the carpenter's son? Alleluia.
V. So they spoke in the city of Nazareth.
R. Is not this the carpenter's son? Alleluia.
&Gloria
R. Is not this the carpenter's son? Alleluia.

[Lectio9]
Now the Lord was a workman because the prophet said of him: “You fashioned the moon and the sun.” A similar contemptuous way of speaking is found in the Book of Kings, where they said of Saul when he became king: “What is this that has happened to the son of Cis? Is Saul also among the prophets?” This slight remark shows great disparagement. For the Lord says: “Amen I say to you, that no prophet is acceptable in his own country.” Here the Lord calls himself a prophet. For he, to whom all things are known through his divinity, receives no revelation of inspiration from outside himself. Here, however, he definitely calls the place of his birth and upbringing his own country. But he was not acceptable to his fellow townsmen who were incited against him by envy.
&teDeum

[Capitulum Laudes]
!Col 3:14-15
v. Brethren, have charity, which is the bond of perfection, and let the peace of Christ rejoice in your hearts, and be ye thankful.
$Deo gratias

[Hymnus Laudes]
v. O dawn announcing the sun
Beginning the month of flowering;
The workman's resounding hammer
Salutes the home at Nazareth.
_
Hail, head of the household
Beneath whom is the supreme Artificer;
Who, bedewed with salty sweat,
Exercises his father's trade.
_
He was placed on a high seat
nearest to his Noble Spouse;
be near now to all thy clients
who are troubled by indigency.
_
Strength and strife be absent!
and all defrauding of wages;
May copious nourishment of food
be limited only by moderation.
_
O Trinity, O Unity,
by the prayers of Joseph;
Direct in peace
all our steps and our path. 
Amen.

[Versum 2]
V. Pray for us, holy Joseph, alleluia.
R. Faithful protector of our labours, alleluia.

[Ant 2]
Jesus went down * with Mary and Joseph, and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, alleluia.

[Lectio Prima]
!Col 3:24
v. Whatsover you do, do it from the heart, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that you shall receive of the Lord the reward of inheritance. Serve ye the Lord Christ.

[Responsory Tertia]
R.br. Glory and example of workers, holy Joseph. Alleluia, Alleluia.
R. Glory and example of workers, holy Joseph. Alleluia, Alleluia.
V. Whom the Son of God willed to obey.
R. Alleluia, Alleluia.
&Gloria
R. Glory and example of workers, holy Joseph. Alleluia, Alleluia.
_
V. O great dignity of labour, alleluia.
R. Which Christ did sanctify, alleluia.

[Capitulum Sexta]
!Col 3:17
v. All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
$Deo gratias

[Responsory Sexta]
R.br. O great dignity of labour. * Alleluia, Alleluia.
R. O great dignity of labour. Alleluia, Alleluia.
V. Which Christ did sanctify.
R. Alleluia, Alleluia.
&Gloria
R. O great dignity of labour. Alleluia, Alleluia.
_
V. The Word of God, by whom all things were made, alleluia.
R. Didst deign to work with his hands, alleluia.

[Responsory Nona]
R.br. The Word of God, by whom all things were made. * Alleluia, Alleluia.
R. The Word of God, by whom all things were made. Alleluia, Alleluia.
V. Didst deign to work with his hands.
R. Alleluia, Alleluia.
&Gloria
R. The Word of God, by whom all things were made. Alleluia, Alleluia.
_
V. Pray for us, holy Joseph, alleluia.
R. Faithful protector of our labours, alleluia.

[Ant 3]
And Jesus himself * was beginning about the age of thirty years; being (as it was supposed) the son of Joseph, alleluia.