Anything under the Sun
St. Joseph--patron of good death
St. Joseph is a special protector of the dying and all those in their last agony. This was experienced by many persons who practiced special devotion during his life to this foster father of Jesus.
At the hour of death, man is subject to untold suffering and anguish. At that supreme moment, every Christian must undergo a terrible trial, upon the final outcome of which depends eternal joy or eternal woe.
The fury of Hell, the remembrance of past sins, the uncertainty of the future, the pains of death, the terror of the judgement-all these are sources of untold sufferings. What Saint could defend us better than St. Joseph, whom the whole Christian world acknowledges as the protector and patron of the dying!
There are three reasons why St. Joseph is a special patron for the dying: (1) He is the foster father of Jesus-the Eternal Judge, who cannot refuse him a request. (2) He is terrible to the demons; the Church calls him the Terror of Demons and Conqueror of Hell; and (3) His own death was happier and more glorious than that of any other saint. This is why he is patron of a happy death.
St. Francis de Sales said that St. Joseph died of the love of God which was seconded by St. Alphonsus Liguori. Venerable Mary of Agreda says that before his death, St. Joseph experienced a rapture which lasted 24 hours, during which she beheld the Divine essence, the Face of God, His glory, which Moses had in vain asked to see.
Jesus and Mary together closed St. Joseph's eyes in death and shed tears at this departure. If Jesus wept over Lazarus, how must He have wept over St. Joseph.
So let us pray to St. Joseph for a happy death-the moment which may determine whether we go to Heaven or to Hell.