St. Joseph
1. If it is true that the importance of his God-given role upon earth is the measure of a Saint's greatness, then with the exception of Mary none is greater than St. Joseph. He was chosen by God as the head of the Holy Family, as the most chaste spouse of the Mother of God and the foster-father of Jesus Christ. The Word Incarnate, the Lord and King of Heaven and earth, was obedient to Him, as was the Blessed Virgin, the holiest of creatures. He lived for thirty years in the company of Mary and was the chaste guardian of her virginity and divine motherhood. He had the privilege of clasping the holy Infant to his breast and of providing by his labour for the needs of Him whose omnipotence causes the corn to sprout and brings forth the many fruits of the soil. In. this regard St. Joseph is greater than any of the Angels, for none of them was ever entrusted with such a sublime mission. For this reason we should love him in the same way as he loved his most chaste spouse, Mary, and his foster child, Jesus. Knowing that he will certainly protect us, we should entrust all our cares and needs to him.
2. Joseph is described in the Gospel as “a just man.” (Mt. 1:19) Perfect justice, such as St. Joseph possessed, is directed towards God, ourselves and our neighbours, and embraces in itself all the other virtues. A pious tradition claims that he was born wealthy, as well as being from a royal stock, but he distributed his goods among the poor and for the greater part of his life worked as a humble carpenter. He loved silence and obscurity. His only aim in life was to please Jesus and His Blessed Mother. It is believed that he was confirmed in grace from the moment of his birth and that when he reached the use of reason he consecrated himself to God by a vow of perpetual virginity. He was always peaceful and hardworking and never complained about his position in life. Even when grave misfortunes overtook him, he endeavoured to do God's will from the simple motive that this was what God wanted. We have a great deal to learn from this tremendous Saint. Let us love him, pray to him, and imitate him.
3. Let us turn to St. Joseph in times of necessity. He is very powerful, because his blessed Spouse will refuse him nothing, and the Son of God loves him with the love which a son has for a father. He worked for Jesus and Mary all his life and endured hardship, danger and exile for their sakes. He loved them as nobody else in the world ever loved them. It is impossible that he could be denied the favours for which he asks and which we should request him to obtain for us. Let us go to him trustingly, but let us remember that the surest way of being heard by him is to imitate his wonderful virtues, especially his humility, his spirit of prayer, his purity and his calm desire always to do God’s will.
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