A Tribute to St. Joseph

Since I was young, I looked at St. Joseph the way I was respecting other saints. I admired his being an industrious carpenter, his taking care of Jesus, his teaching Jesus the carpentry job and in raising him up as a good child but was not impressed as to be his devotee.

Our church declared a dedication of a year to him. That made me ponder a bit but not enough to turn it to a devotion. Nevertheless, I recite the prayer to him after masses which I made as fervently as I could.

Then came our plan in school to have a statue of the Crucified Jesus with Mary at the foot of the Cross. Reflecting on the planned statue, I was led to think of how Mary must had suffered during the trial of Jesus leading to his death. This further connected me to the other moments in the life of the Holy Family when Mary suffered much too. To capture my thoughts, I wrote about them.

When I wrote regarding the birth of Jesus, their exile to Egypt and the visit of Mary to her cousin, Elizabeth, it dawned on me the essential sacrifices which Joseph did for the Holy Family especially for Mary. This recent reflection propelled me to write about St Joseph. As I write this, St. Joseph became a saint I begin to love, admire and pray to for graces from the Lord.

The goodness of character of St Joseph which was revealed to us started when he came to know that the woman betrothed to him was pregnant. To save her from shame and possible danger of death, he planned to simply silently leave her. Then we knew the angel told him in his sleep to accept the condition of Mary. Only a man of great faith in the Lord could abandon his first decision and take Blessed Virgin Mary as his wife who will bear in her womb the Son of God.

The knowledge that he will take care of a child, not his own, and the boy being the Son of God could be mind-boggling. At that time, only the angel’s statement was the source of information and the information, the secret, a very disturbing one, is kept in his heart. This is a very difficult task because it is normal for us, human beings, to share with others information which is distressing. For St. Joseph, he kept it in his heart during his lifetime.

When Mary was 3 months pregnant, she visited Elizabeth in Judea which needed a travel of several days. There again St. Joseph saw the need to accompany his wife. We imagine several days of travel in roads which were bumpy and hazardous. If Mary stayed there for 3 months assisting Elizabeth, Joseph surely must be also busy assisting Zacharias. Then they travelled home to Nazareth and rested for a few days just before their trip to Bethlehem

Their trip to Bethlehem was a response to the command from the Roman empire that his family need to go to Bethlehem for the census. He belonged to the House of King David whose lineage was recognized by history and the divine tradition to be where Jesus Christ belonged too.. The long hazardous journey for him and his wife who was about to deliver must be so stressful. He has to go from one house to another to find a place to lodge. There was none. Imagine the tiredness, the discomfort, the dirt of the journey, and the problem of lodging for a wife about to give birth! When the decision was to stay at the stable- the cleaning to be done, the warmth for the night, the fetching of water, the preparation of the meals, and later, to assist in the birthing of Jesus, only a husband of exceptional character withstood these.

When still in Bethlehem and just some days after the birth of Jesus, the angel appeared again to tell him to escape to Egypt to avoid the killing of the innocents. This was another longer and treacherous journey. He has to see to the needs, safety and bearable condition of his wife and adopted son. We imagine a very caring, industrious, patient husband alert to find ways to feed the Holy Family in different settings.

During the presentation at the temple, Joseph and Mary were foretold of what will happen to the Messiah. Joseph and Mary kept this additional message in their hearts. Their greatness as the father and mother in the Holy Family was accepting and letting Jesus grow best to manhood so that he was ready to preach the good news and face the great suffering later.

The Holy Family, as a family following Jewish tradition went on their pilgrimage to Jerusalem. When the families went home in droves, the couple thought that Jesus was with their group going home until they discovered he was not with them. They kept on looking for him for three days going back to Jerusalem where they found him among the temple preachers. When Christ was asked why he stayed behind, he answered that he was just doing his Father’s business. This was a relief but also a reminder to them that this Child is really the Son of God.

Jesus grew in wisdom and grace with God-fearing parents and a father who was a model to him.

St. Joseph entered in the history of salvation silently. He also exited the same way, holy, as foster father of Jesus.

St. Joseph, pray for the protection of the world, our country and our families. You have shown us the way how it is to be the best father!