Posted on 03/18/2015 11:49:27 PM PDT by OrthodoxIndianCatholic
When we think of Saint Joseph we normally think of a grey - bearded old man as depicted in many medieval paintings.
The Gospels say very little about Saint Joseph, only that he was a "Just Man". Joseph himself never speaks in the Gospel stories and so our knowledge of Saint Joseph is somewhat shrouded in silence.
Yet, it is this silence that gives the greatest witness to the type of man that Saint Joseph was. He was a humble carpenter who didn't draw attention to himself but fulfilled his daily duties to the best of his ability with tremendous faith in God - A Faith which required him to believe that his wife had conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and to take her into his Home !!
Declared Patron of the Universal Church, by Pope Pius, the Ninth in 1870, Saint Joseph has a universal importance that no other saint (except Our Lady) has.
The Church looks to Saint Joseph to help her in all her necessities. These needs are reflected by the titles which Saint Joseph has been given by the Church. He is Patron of Families, of the dying, of the sick, of workers, and of marriages.
How many of us have parents, children, or loved ones who need help in some of the above areas ?? God has chosen Saint Joseph to be a special intercessor for these most fundamental of human needs.
Saint Therese of Avila says this of Saint Joseph : " To other saints the Lord seems to have given grace to help us in one or other of our necessities, but of this glorious saint my experience is that he succours us in them all and that the Lord wishes to teach us that as he was himself subject to him on earth, in like manner in Heaven, He still does all he asks".
As Jesus Christ, has given us his Mother Mary to be our Mother, so also he has given us Saint Joseph to be our guardian, helper, and protector in all things.
Credits : Don Bosco's Madonna Mumbai March 2014 Vol -15, No -11 Saint Joseph Page 30
Note : Check out an awesome website only on Saint Joseph
http://www.catholictradition.org/Joseph/joseph-index.htm
Saint Joseph is the Foster Father and Guardian of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
He was a humble carpenter. His witness in the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ was a "Quiet Witness".
Being a Guardian is the distinctive trait of Saint Joseph. Being the Guardian is his great mission.
Saint Joseph's Mission is certainly unique and unrepeatable, because Jesus Christ is absolutely unique.
My next post @ my blog as well as @ FR will be for Divine Mercy Sunday 2015. It will be a "Personal Story".
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