For the Feast of St. Joseph Part 1

Ok, ok, so it IS St. Patrick's day, so shouldn't I write on him? Well, I decided to write on St. Joseph instead, whose feast is coming up on the 19th. Not to slight the awesome of St. Patrick. And it's not just because I am Sicilian and therefore biased (though that might play some small role. I was inspired by Julian's post on the online dating scene. How, you ask, was I inspired to write about St. Joseph by a post on dating? Well, St. Joseph is not only the patron of the Church, workers, fathers, and of those departing life, but he is also one patron (along with St. Anthony of Padua and St. Agatha--I think) of those seeking to find their husband or wife. Yep, St. Joseph is one of many saints whose intercession we can invoke to help us find a holy husband. Let me tell you a little bit more about him to share with you my appreciation for this wonderful saint.

There is of course, very little about Joseph in the Scriptures. There is mention of him in Matthew 1 when the Angel tells him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife. In Matthew 2 Joseph heeds the Angel again when he takes the Holy Family into Egypt to escape Herod. He's mentioned in Luke 2 at the Nativity. We know Joseph was a carpenter and taught the young Jesus this trade. Some traditions recount that Joseph was much older than Mary, and he is often depicted in art as an aging man. I however, like the tradition that recounts Joseph as a young, robust, brave, and beautiful man, who took a vow of celibacy with the Blessed Virgin out love of God and love of her blessed purity.

St. Joseph had an amazing privilege of guarding the family at Nazareth. What an awesome and almost unfathomable thing to be the human father to the young Jesus! It was Joseph who taught Jesus how to live in the world. It was Joseph who was the Holy Spouse of the Blessed Virgin. He is the model husband--the kind of man each of us longs for. Let us then pray to Joseph, asking him to intercede for us, to watch over our future husbands (or for those who are married-our husbands), and to keep our hearts as pure as his own. The next post will continue this meditation! In the meantime, St. Joseph-Pray for us!