St Joseph and the Holy Family

Each year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
"Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety."
And he said to them,
"Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them.

Today is the feast day of St. Joseph.  What we know about Joseph is not a whole lot.  In the Bible he never speaks, we know that he is considered a just man and that he was a carpenter by trade.  I believe that being a carpenter would have made Joseph an intelligent man able to wrestle with the mathematics of his trade.  He was a man with a kind heart and I believe he loved Mary very much.  He was very much hurt when she left for three months and came back home three months pregnant.  He could have denounced her to the temple and she would have been stoned as an adulterer.  He chose instead to pay for her to leave the town, to have her baby elsewhere, and to never come back.  At least that is what he planned.  Mary was visited in person by an angel.  Joseph did not get an angel, he received a dream.  The dream told him, the circumstances of Mary's pregnancy and he took her into the home he had been preparing for her and they were wed.  Both he and Mary were related to the noble family of David, the greatest King Israel ever had and so their child would be of the house of David. 

The baby was born in Bethlehem, the town of David, and the king of the area, a man called Herod, was paranoid and suspected everyone of being after his throne.  The Romans said of Herod that it was safer to be Herod's pig than to be Herod's son.  When the wise men told the king that a child had been born that was to be king of Israel, well, Herod feigned interest and asked them to bring word of where he could find the child so that he could worship too.  Well, Joseph received another dream that told him to take his wife and child to Egypt because Herod had designs on the life of the boy.  So without further ado, he loaded up his wife and son and all their possessions and they went off to Egypt where they lived until an angel told them that it was safe to return. Meanwhile, back in Bethlehem, soldiers dispatched by Herod came and killed all boy babies two years of age and younger in order to protect his throne. 

It is Joseph that would have taught his young son his trade and he would have introduced him to the religion and the worship of Yahweh.  Remember that although both human and divine, Jesus would have to experience what it was like to be a human being.  He would learn a trade and His religion from His father.  Jesus, for His part, after the incident where he stayed behind in the temple, became obedient to His parents. 

Joseph believed in the mission that he was given.  He understood that the boy he was raising was to be the Messiah that Israel had been waiting for.  He also understood that his wife was both mother and a virgin.  He believed that the Holy Spirit was the true father of the child and Joseph remained chaste and celibate and did not have sexual relations with her. 

Joseph did not live to see what end was in store for Jesus.  It is believed that he died before Jesus began his public ministry which is why as the only son Jesus gave the care of Mary, his mother, over to John the Apostle.  Although the voice of Joseph is silent in the Bible, the way he lived his life and the way he tended his family speaks volumes about how we should be when it comes to our family.

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He is the patron of the Universal Church, a happy death, families, fathers, expectant mothers, travelers, immigrants, craftsmen, engineers, and workers. He’s also the patron of the Americas, Canada, China, Croatia, Mexico, Korea, Austria, Belgium, Peru, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

In your devotional life, don’t forget about St. Joseph!

He has one of the most important roles in salvation history: husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, foster-father of Jesus himself, guardian of the Holy Family. But because Scripture doesn’t tell us very much about him – he isn’t even quoted once – it’s easy to forget about him.

But don’t! He’s a powerful intercessor.

Here are Some little-known prayers to St. Joseph every Catholic should know:

Memorare to St. Joseph

Remember, O most chaste Spouse of the Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who implored your help and sought your intercession was left unassisted. Full of confidence in your power, I fly unto you and beg your protection.

Despise not, O foster-father of the Redeemer, my humble supplication, but in your bounty, hear and answer me. Amen.

The 7 Sorrows and Joys of St. Joseph

Sorrows:

1) The Doubts of St. Joseph
2) The Poverty of Jesus’ Birth
3) The Circumcision
4) The Prophecy of Simeon
5) The Flight into Egypt
6) The Return to Nazareth
7) The Loss of the Child Jesus

Joys:

1) Told of the Incarnation
2) Angels Adore the Infant Jesus
3) Holy Name of Jesus
4) Effects of the Redemption
5) The overthrow of the Idols in Egypt
6) Life with Jesus & Mary
7) Jesus Found in the Temple

For a holy death

O, Blessed Joseph, you gave your last breath in the loving embrace of Jesus and Mary. When the seal of death shall close my life, come with Jesus and Mary to aid me. Obtain for me this solace for that hour, to die with their holy arms around me.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I commend my soul, living and dying, into your sacred arms. Amen.

A prayer for workers

Blessed St. Joseph, patron of all working people, obtain for me the grace to labor in a spirit of penance for the atonement of my many sins. Help me to be conscientious in my work so that I may give as full a measure as I have received.

May I labor in a spirit of thankfulness and joy, ever mindful of all the gifts I have received from God that enable me to perform these tasks. Permit me to work in peace, patience, and moderation, keeping in mind the account I must one day give of time lost, talents unused, good omitted, and vanity of success, so fatal to the work of God. Glorious St. Joseph, may my labors be all for Jesus, all through Mary, and all after your holy example in life and in death. Amen.

A prayer for protection

St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires.

St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession and obtain for me from your divine Son all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, our Lord; so that having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers.

St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms. I dare not approach while he reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss his fine head for me, and ask him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, patron of departing souls, pray for us. Amen.

A prayer for parents

O glorious St. Joseph, to you God committed the care of His only begotten Son amid the many dangers of this world. We come to you and ask you to take under your special protection the children God has given us. Through holy baptism, they became children of God and members of His holy Church. We consecrate them to you today, that through this consecration they may become your foster children. Guard them, guide their steps in life, form their hearts after the hearts of Jesus and Mary.

St. Joseph, who felt the tribulation and worry of a parent when the child Jesus was lost, protect our dear children for time and eternity. May you be their father and counselor. Let them, like Jesus, grow in age as well as in wisdom and grace before God and men. Preserve them from the corruption of his world, and give us the grace one day to be united with them in Heaven forever. Amen.

THE POOR SOULS IN PURGATORY NEED YOUR PRAYERS.  PURGATORY IS A REAL PLACE AND MILLIONS OF SOULS LIVE THERE WAITING WHILE THEY ARE PURGED OF ATTACHMENT TO SIN AND BECOME PURIFIED SO THAT THEY CAN ENTER HEAVEN.  YOUR PRAYERS HELP THEM AND LESSEN THE TIME THAT THEY SPEND.  ALTHOUGH THEY ARE IN PAIN, THEY DESIRE TO SEE GOD BUT CANNOT, THEY ARE IN A STATE OF COMPLETE JOY BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY WILL SOMEDAY SEE HIM.  PLEASE PRAY FOR THEM, THEY WILL BE GRATEFUL TO YOU FOREVER AND REMEMBER PLEASE,  

WHERE THEY ARE TODAY, YOU MIGHT BE TOMORROW!