Posted on 03/19/2009 4:48:28 PM PDT by Salvation
If there were a patron saint of tough financial times, it might be Joseph. Many Christians celebrate him today as the faithful husband of Mary, earthly father of Jesus and a carpenter who supported his family with the work of his hands.
In recent years he's been revered as a mover of real estate.
Homeowners have buried tiny statues of him near "for sale" signs and prayed that he'd bring them buyers. A cottage industry has arisen around the sale of St. Joseph statues and prayers.
But others say there's more to this man -- that his example offers hope when jobs are threatened, families face hardships and the future is uncertain.
"We put the holy family -- Jesus, Mary and Joseph -- on a pedestal, but really they were flesh and blood people," says the Rev. Jack Topper, a Servite priest at The Grotto in Northeast Portland. "Joseph is someone we can look to, especially in hard times.
"He was a man of faith who didn't always understand everything that was going on around him. ... He didn't always know how he would take care of his family."
Since the Great Depression, the Benedictine monks of Mount Angel Abbey have prayed before a statue of Joseph that stands in their refectory.
"In the 1930s, everyone was having hard times," says Brother Claude Lane, who adds that Joseph is still someone whose help is sought during financial struggles. But it's his role as the human father of Jesus that inspired the icon Lane wrote for St. Mary's Cathedral in Northwest Portland. (Because icons are created prayerfully, with color, light and line all bearing meaning, they are often described as being "written," rather than painted.)
Lane, who has written hundreds of icons, large and small, focused on the moment when Jesus, 12 at the time, understands his adult ministry.
"St. Joseph was silent," Lane says. "Not one word of his is found in the Scriptures, but his was a full silence, filled with all the wisdom of Jewish experiences, filled with justice and charity." The profound silence of Joseph might be just what a world overwrought with words needs, Lane says.
The cathedral icon was a gift from Joe Bianco, a longtime St. Mary's parishioner and a former writer and editor at The Oregonian. This year, Bianco is organizing a free parish dinner at St. Mary's in honor of his namesake.
"It's going to be a real Italian meal," Bianco says: spaghetti with olive oil and garlic, fish and, of course, zeppoli, the cream pastries traditionally served on the saint's day.
Bianco, who grew up in an Italian family, says it's customary to invite the poor to dinner on St. Joseph's Day. He hopes the meal he's planning will inspire parishioners to learn more about the saint and make their own contributions to people in need. ound silence of Joseph might be just what a world overwrought with words needs, Lane says.
The cathedral icon was a gift from Joe Bianco, a longtime St. Mary's parishioner and a former writer and editor at The Oregonian. This year, Bianco is organizing a free parish dinner at St. Mary's in honor of his namesake.
"It's going to be a real Italian meal," Bianco says: spaghetti with olive oil and garlic, fish and, of course, zeppoli, the cream pastries traditionally served on the saint's day.
Bianco, who grew up in an Italian family, says it's customary to invite the poor to dinner on St. Joseph's Day. He hopes the meal he's planning will inspire parishioners to learn more about the saint and make their own contributions to people in need.
He certainly was a stand-up guy. And awful lot was asked of him. :)
“AN awful lot...”
In hard times, don't forget about the humble carpenter Joseph
Saint Joseph: Complete submission to the will of God (Pope Benedict XVI) (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)
St. Joseph as Head of the Holy Family (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)
St. Joseph, Patron of a Peaceful Death [Catholic Caucus]
Octave: St. Joseph, A 'Mans Man', Calling Men to Jesus
St. Teresa de Avila's Devotion to St. Joseph (Catholic Caucus)
Catholic Men's National Day of Prayer, MARCH 15, 2008, The Solemnity of St. Joseph (Catholic Caucus)
The Role and Responsibility of Fatherhood - St. Joseph as Model
St. Joseph - Foster Father of Jesus
Nothing Will Be Denied Him (St. Joseph)
The Heart of a Father [St. Joseph]
Quemadmodum Deus - Decree Under Blessed Pius IX, Making St. Joseph Patron of the Church
Father & Child (An Evangelical Minister preaches on St. Joseph)
March 19 - Feast of St. Joseph - Husband of Mary - Intercessor of civil leaders
St. Joseph's Spirit of Silence
St. Joseph's Humility (By St. Francis de Sales)
St. Joseph [Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary], Solemnity, March 19
The Heart of St. Joseph
MORE THAN PATRON OF HOMES, IT'S TIME FOR ST. JOSEPH TO GAIN HIGHEST OF RECOGNITION [Fatherhood]
The Importance of Devotion to St. Joseph
St. Francis de Sales on St. Joseph (Some Excerpts for St. Joseph's Day 2004)
St. Joseph: REDEMPTORIS CUSTOS (Guardian Of The Redeemer)
(Saint) Joseph the Patriarch: A Reflection on the Solemnity of St. Joseph
How I Rediscovered a "Neglected" Saint: Work of Art Inspires Young Man to Rediscover St. Joseph
Didn’t they even used to have children’s aspirin named after him at one time?
Pretty sure that Joseph had faith that God would help him feed his family....geesh.
The Grotto in Portland is SPECTACULAR!!
Do they have one of Brother Claude’s icons?
What happened to Joseph after the birth of Jesus? Was he alive when Jesus was nailed to the cross?
???What is that???
No he was not.
St. Joseph, pray for us.
He had died, according to tradition, by that time. Nothing is wrriten in the Gospels. St. Joseph, although playing a major role, is silent.
And he could build a cabinet too
I like to point out to my boys that Joseph was a man of action. God said “Do this” and he did it right away.
I think he’s a wonderful example.
Mount Angel ping
**I think hes a wonderful example.**
I’ll ditto that!
I don't like that. It's a superstition, and St. Joseph doesn't deserve to be buried upside down. My b-i-l, who is a priest, suggested instead that St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin be placed in a window, facing out, looking for our new house.
He was joking, of course, and suggested praying a Novena. We did that when we sold our first house, in NJ. About a week after I finished the Novena, a realtor brought the first person through the house, and he bought it! So in two weeks after putting it on the market, we had a contract!
I'll be doing another Novena when we get this house ready for the market, later this year. ;o)
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