Note: This is a “compiled” or “derived” prayer from gleaned Holy Love messages relevant to the Vestibule of Grace. This prayer is NOT required, only a compilation of messages converted into a prayer as a reminder of Heaven’s generous messages relevant to St Joseph as the Vestibule of the United Hearts for those who wish to pray this way on occasion, perhaps prior to an arduous examination of conscience, before confession or after a long absence.
1 Corinthians 7:35 I am telling you this for your own benefit, not to impose a restraint upon you, but for the sake of propriety and adherence to the Lord without distraction.
Holy Angels Lay Bare the Path
Holy Angels from each choir lay bare the path to St Joseph’s Vestibule, the antechamber to the United Hearts. Influence our free will. Protect and guide every precious soul once he enters this Vestibule of Grace.
Welcoming Grace of St Joseph
St Joseph, Guardian of the Truth, help me to respond to the Welcoming Grace offered in the Vestibule of the United Hearts, the Vestibule of Your Heart. Help me accept your invitation of conversion with a contrite heart. Wash me in humility making it possible to gain entrance to the First Chamber, opening our hearts to purification.
Conversion and Detachment
St Joseph, Foster Father of All Humanity, ask for the graces that I need toward my personal conversion, to detach myself from the allurements of the world and proceed with willingness to love and serve God. Give me the desire and courage to become holy and please God which is God’s Will for each soul.
Avoid Rebellion and Sanctimony
St Joseph, Protector of the United Hearts on Earth, help me not to rebel against any conviction of conscience. Help me to avoid sanctimony which inhibits true holiness and not grieve the Mournful Heart of Jesus. Protect me as You protected Jesus and Mary as You fled to Egypt. Help me to decide on the scale of free will to accept the grace of conversion and to pass through the Doorway of God’s Mercy and not return to the world.
Self-Examination to Reveal Blockages
St Joseph, Champion of the United Hearts in Heaven, help me to answer the call back into the Vestibule of Grace to make a self-examination of conscience so I will be able to see what is holding me back from a deeper journey through the Chambers and can pass once again through the Doorway of Mercy.
Usher Me into First Chamber for Purging
St Joseph, Faithful and Fierce Protector, Provider, Counselor and Guide, usher me into the First Chamber where my glaring faults and failings are purged by the purifying Flame of Holy Love. Then assist me in the moment to moment conversion, placing God first in my heart and trampling underfoot any disordered self-love. Pray for us to have the courage to pursue entrance into the First Chamber and participate in the self-knowledge offered therein. I thank You in Jesus’ Holy and Precious Name and Your Earthly Spouse’s Holy Love.
LITANY OF HUMILITY
Our Lord asks us in Matthew’s gospel to learn from Him “for I am meek and humble of heart” (Matt 11:29), as he is described in the first line of this prayer below. We ask in this litany, composed by Rafael Cardinal Merry de Val (1865-1930), the Secretary of State for Pope Saint Pius X, that God fill our hearts and souls with genuine humility, an essential virtue for holiness. After all, as we read in the letter of St. James “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
When the litany of humility is prayed in a private setting by two or more people, the lines given in italics below are the responses to a leader.
O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus. (repeat after each line)
From the desire of being loved,
From the desire of being extolled,
From the desire of being honored,
From the desire of being praised,
From the desire of being preferred to others,
From the desire of being consulted,
From the desire of being approved,
From the fear of being humiliated,
From the fear of being despised,
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
From the fear of being calumniated,
From the fear of being forgotten,
From the fear of being ridiculed,
From the fear of being wronged,
From the fear of being suspected,
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. (repeat after each line)
That others may be esteemed more than I ,
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease,
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should,
The last petition of the litany of humility powerfully suggests what holiness entails: loving God and neighbor above all else, putting others’ needs before ours. We are not to worry how we “rank” in godliness. Otherwise we might as well be like the Pharisees our Lord scorned who took more delight in the trappings of religion, rather than in love of God and neighbor, so that “all their works they do in order to be seen” (Matt 23:5).
In seeking God’s help to cast out our sins of pride we are in tune with our Lord’s famous Gospel message “He who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Matt 23:12).
When we talk about pride here, we’re not talking about how you feel when your child wins a spelling bee, for example. We’re talking about one of the deadliest of sins, the pride which causes haughtiness, jealousy, or anger over slights or insults.
Speaking of insults, Cardinal de Val may very well have had our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount in mind when he mentioned the fear of being mistreated in various ways in the litany of humility. Jesus consoles us with the thought that when we are persecuted for His sake we should “rejoice and exult, because your reward is great in heaven” (Matt 5:12).
Jesus Himself gave His life for us in the most poignant example of humility we can imagine! The Creator of the Universe took on our flesh and our sins for our salvation, to be born in a manger and die on a cross between two thieves!
As St. Paul wrote, “he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him” (Phil 2:7-9).
What is also worth noting is that the important link between humility and holiness can be found throughout scripture, not just in the New Testament.
For example, our Lord’s famous Beatitude “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt 5:5) echoes this verse from the Psalms: “The meek shall inherit the land, and shall delight in abundance of peace” (Psalm 37:11).
As the prophet Micah, for one, put it so well in his book found in the Old Testament: “You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Mi 6:8). Hopefully the litany of humility can inspire you on your own sacred and special journey towards heaven!
Source: https://www.ourcatholicprayers.com/litany-of-humility.html
Titles used in the Holy Love Messages:
Foster Father of All Humanity
Extend to us your fatherly blessing
Protector of the United Hearts on Earth
Champion of the United Hearts in Heaven
Foster Father of Jesus
protector, provider, counselor and guide.
