St Joseph God has Chosen You

This hymn about St Joseph was written by James J. Donohue, and the copyright is attributed to him. But no further information about him has been found.

With meter CM (8.6.8.6), tunes it is set to include:

RICHMOND - by Thomas Haweis and Samuel Webbe (the Younger) 1792
DIADEMATA (Elvey)
LONDON NEW, composer unknown, adapted from the Scottish Psalter 1635.

Hymn-books which it has been published in include:

Our Parish Prays and Sings, 1959
The Assumption Hymnal, 1964
The New Catholic Hymnal, Faber UK, 1971
Worship II, GIA Publications, Chicago USA, 1975
Hymns Old and New for the Irish Church, Kevin Mayhew Ltd, England, 1977
Celebration Hymnal for Everyone, McCrimmon Publications, England, 1994 and 2012

Downloads

PowerPoint slides

Examples

Instrumental - piano. Tune NEW LONDON

Lyrics

Saint Joseph, God has chosen you
To keep His Church from harm.
So hold the Church as once you held
The Christ-child on your arm.

Saint Joseph, God has given you
All workers for your own.
Teach them to do the best they can,
With steel and wood and stone.

Saint Joseph when you pray for us,
Pray to the Three in One;
But talk in human words with him,
Who let you call him Son.

A website-visitor reports singing the following verse whilst in Catholic school in the USA - it is not included in Hymns Old and New for the Catholic church:

St. Joseph when my death is near
Come bending by my side.
As Jesus and His Mother knelt to
Help you when you died.