St Joseph, Pray for Us!!

 

Today is the Feast of St Joseph, earthly father of Jesus Christ. A special shout-out to my son, Joseph, on his name day!!   We don't know much about Joseph from scripture- or so it seems. We have no record of any words attributed to Joseph- yet he speaks volumes.

We know from scripture that Joseph was a righteous man. Enoch – Noah – Abraham – Isaac – Jacob - Moses – David – Daniel – Job – Joseph of Arimathea – Zechariah and Elizabeth. All were called righteous- and Joseph among them.

Catholics see Joseph as patron of fathers ( in all their incarnations- bio, step, foster-and ordained). He is the guardian of families, as he was the Holy Family. He is patron of a good and holy death ( how blessed he was to have Mary AND Jesus attending to his death!)

"Christ has assigned as a duty to every man, the dignity of every woman." These words of Blessed Pope John Paul II in November of 1982 sum up our first knowledge of Joseph. Unwilling to have Mary disgraced after her announcement that she was pregnant, he planned to quietly divorce her. Who could blame him? Why would he marry a woman expecting a child who was not his? And then- THEN- we see the righteousness: Joseph has a dream telling him everything is kosher-- take care of Mary and her child, for her child is the son of God.

How many men would believe such a dream? Joseph had to have been familiar with the Lord to have readily accepted such a message- and carried it out. His obedience to those dream messages also protected Mary and Jesus when Herod came looking for the Child.

As Jesus grew, Joseph would have taught him carpentry. No- that isn't in scripture- but it is logical. Joseph was a carpenter, so his son would be, too. Imagine the two of them in the workshop!

Kimberly Hahn spoke at a Steubenville Women's Conference I attended some years ago. She related, "Can you imagine life in the home in Nazareth? Imagine if something went wrong. Couldn't have been Jesus. Couldn't have been Mary. Poor Joseph!"  She was putting a little too much into impeccability, but it makes for a cute story- and image of the family table.

Our Protestant friends will often argue that Mary had other children, that she was not ever-Virgin. She and Joseph were married, and it would be natural, normal and right for them to have a traditional marital relationship. To them, I pose the following:

We know Joseph was righteous.(Matthew 1:19) We know Mary was the spouse of the Holy Spirit, and through that relationship, Jesus Christ- Son of God, Son of Mary- came into the world. Do you really, honestly and truly believe that a man who knows that this woman has given birth to the Son of God...is going to be concerned with having sex with her?    Some traditions have Mary and Joseph in a marriage of convenience- set up for her care as a consecrated virgin, and not for the establishment of a family. We can see this possibility in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1, verses 26 and following. Gabriel comes to the betrothed Mary and tells her she will have a son. If Mary had anticipated having children her reaction would have been one of joy, something like, "Gee, won't Joseph be excited to have a son!" Instead,  look at Luke 1:34, "How can this be since I have no relations with a man?" Mary was not under Joseph's roof yet, but she would be- and Gabriel gave no time frame- just that she would have a son. He then goes on to explain how the child will be conceived upon her consent, and that he will be the Son of God.

We know Joseph was a devout Jew. He brought the Child and his Mother to the temple for the prescribed rituals. Their custom was to go to Jerusalem for the Passover. 

We can be fairly certain that Joseph died before Jesus began his public ministry, since Mary was invited to the Wedding at Cana- but no mention of Joseph is made. In Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3 Jesus is called the carpenter- or the carpenter's son- and is called the son of Mary...Joseph is not mentioned.  Can you imagine being Joseph, and being attended to by Jesus and Mary for your death? I saw a book a few years ago that did just that- imagined the time of Joseph's dying- and had Jesus telling Joseph the part he played in salvation history...and the part Jesus would himself play. Would there be anything to fear, anything on this earth to hold on to...with Mary and Jesus guiding your passing from this earth?     So we see Joseph as the Patron of a happy- and provided for- death.

When my father-in-law, Charles, was in his final illness, he lived with our family. He was Presbyterian, but I had asked him if I could call a priest when time came- for me more than for him. He chuckled and said it would be fine. I had pinned to his pillow three medals: The Divine Mercy, the Miraculous Medal, and a St Joseph medal. I had separate reasons for each, but in hindsight I saw- the entire Holy Family was watching over this man I loved so dearly, the silent head of and provider for his clan, my husband's role model for what it really means to be a man. My prayers- corresponding to the medals- were: that he not die in pain, that we all be together with him when he died, and that- above all- he did not die alone. And all three prayers were answered.

Who do we see in Joseph, Father of Jesus?

A righteous man.

The leader and protector and breadwinner of his family.

A man who knows God's message when he hears it- and obeys.

The model of all fathers- and father figures.

St. Joseph, guardian of the Child Jesus and his Blessed Mother, guide and protect all fathers...fill them with your spirit of righteousness and obedience to the Lord....help them to be strong role models of real masculinity for their sons and daughters. Amen.