Statue of St Joseph from Baltimore’s Cathedral
Today is the Feast of St. Joseph, Patron of Workers, and since I am doing my best to make creating The Faithful Traveler my day-to-day work, I just finished praying a novena to Our Lord’s earthly father and guardian.
I’d never prayed much to St. Joseph before. I think a lot of people tend to overlook him, including me, I suppose. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because there is so little we know about him. But maybe it’s just that we haven’t bothered to really look at what we do know about him.
He loved Mary. That’s a good start. And when she told him she was pregnant, even though he considered leaving her, he wanted to do it in an honorable way. When the angel told him to marry her anyway, he did. He let Mary ride the donkey to Bethlehem, and he did what he could to find her someplace nice to give birth. And after baby Jesus was born, it seems like he sat back and basked in the glory of Mother and child, just like the rest of us have done since then.
What’s there not to love? People joke that St. Joseph died early because, well, it would be pretty hard living in a household of two perfect people being the only, well, not perfect one. But we don’t know what went on in that home, and I’m sure our Blessed Mother and her Son mourned the loss of St. Joseph very much.
Today, on Facebook, a friend posted this on my wall:
“Some Saints are privileged to extend to us their patronage with particular efficacy in certain needs, but not in others; but our holy patron St. Joseph has the power to assist us in all cases, in every necessity, in every undertaking.”
— St. Thomas Aquinas
I wonder why we would think otherwise? He was, after all, the foster father of God. The beloved husband and caretaker of Our Blessed Mother, the Mother of God. God must have chosen very carefully, when he decided to put the two people he loved the most in his care. As Saint Bernardine of Siena said,
“He was chosen by the eternal Father as the trustworthy guardian and protector of his greatest treasures, namely, his divine Son and Mary, Joseph’s wife. He carried out this vocation with complete fidelity until at last God called him, saying: ‘Good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord.’”
Why do we not turn to him more often?
Well, that’s all gonna change for me, yes sirree! I can’t say what amazing things have been starting to move in my life after my Divine Mercy Novena and this novena to St. Joseph, but it’s pretty huge. I can’t say, not because it’s a secret, but because I’d be counting my chickens… which does tend to be one of my faults. So I’m trying to be prudent… not one of my virtues. 🙂 I’ll spill the beans when things are final, I promise.
Until then, suffice it to say I am flabbergasted. Blown away. Surprised as all get out. And it’s all thanks to Jesus and his Dad. Very cool.
Thank you, guys.