SAN DIEGO — Catholic singer-songwriter Donna Lee is singing the praises of St. Joseph.
The San Diego-based musician, who last year marked 30 years in music ministry, recently wrote and recorded “Song of St. Joseph.”
With lyrics drawn primarily from the Litany of St. Joseph and other prayers, the song will debut at the upcoming Saint Joseph Summit, a free virtual conference that will be presented by Spirit Filled Hearts Ministry from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3.
“He’s so special,” Lee said of the subject of her song. “All our saints are special. But I think, with St. Joseph being the foster father of Jesus, he’s all the more special to bring us closer to Jesus.”
Though Lee’s strong devotion to the Blessed Mother dates back to the 1980s, her devotion to St. Joseph is of recent vintage. Despite having made the occasional prayer to him over the years, she said, he had “never been on my radar.”
That changed this year, when she read Father Donald Calloway’s new book, “Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father.” She is preparing to consecrate herself to St. Joseph on Aug. 21.
The Catholic Church is currently observing the Year of St. Joseph, as declared by Pope Francis. It began on Dec. 8, 2020, and will end on Dec. 8 of this year.
Lee was inspired to write her song on March 19, the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary. But her creative juices stopped flowing after producing only about a paragraph’s worth of lyrics, and she set the project aside.
She resumed her work on the eve of the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, which is observed on May 1, and she completed the song on the feast day itself.
“It really just came together, with the help of the Holy Spirit and St. Joseph,” said Lee, a member of Holy Family Parish in Linda Vista.
On May 2, she shared her new song at a fundraiser for the Saint Joseph Summit, where it was well-received and adopted as the summit’s theme song. At the suggestion of a fellow attendee, she incorporated into her song one of the seven new invocations that, with papal approval, had been added to the Litany of St. Joseph the previous day.
Lee recorded her vocals in late May and filmed a music video on June 26. The song is also being scored for music ministers and choir directors.
After its debut at the Saint Joseph Summit, the song will be available for download wherever digital music is sold.
Her prayer for the song is simple: “Lord, whatever Your will is for this song, let it be used for Your glory, to inspire people to learn more about St. Joseph and his role in our Catholic faith.”
More information about Donna Lee and her music is available at donnalee.ws.
Click here to watch Donna Lee speak about her new song.
