Go to St. Joseph

Today is a big day — the Solemnity of St. Joseph — which is basically one of our biggest feast days of the year. It’s such a big day, that all of our Lenten fasts are dispensed of in order to truly celebrate the gift that St. Joseph is to our Church.

Did you know that St. Joseph is recognized as the Universal patron of the Catholic Church? After the Triune God and Mary, he is our greatest supporter, our greatest champion and protector against evil.

The list of his given titles are quite enlightening, and they give us little glimpses into the type of Saint that Joseph was. When you ponder titles like “terror of demons” “savior of the Savior” and “Joseph the silent” you can begin to see Joseph as the warrior that he was — and still is today.

One of my favorite titles is “terror of demons” because it greatly refutes the images of a decrepit man, hardly able to bear his own weight.  It kind of brings into perspective the strength of the man chosen to protect the Savior of the world and his mother and the strength that comes in living a life of holiness.

It’s also nice to know that you don’t have to be the loudest guy in the room to be a warrior — in fact, the silence of St. Joseph made room for that union with God.

It was in his silence, in his prayer, that he found his strength and then used that strength to protect the Holy Family.

There’s a time for words and a time for silence. St. Joseph teaches us that all of our most beautiful actions begin in the silence of our hearts — where  we meet God — we call that prayer.

If St. Joseph can teach us anything, it is that silence and listening is a necessary part of growing in union with God and accomplishing His will. Beyond that, St. Joseph can teach us to act definitively and not waffle back and forth in indecision.

Think about it, if St. Joseph had not acted in response to his dreams, what would have happened to Mary and Jesus at the massacre of the innocents in Bethlehem? If Joseph had not been willing to give up everything to head off to a distant land and protect his family, where would we be?

Last year, when the world came to a halt, John and I decided to take our little domestic Church through the Consecration to St. Joseph.

It was a beautiful way to bring something good out of a pretty bad situation.  As the world was reeling with uncertainty, we got to know the rock of a man named Joseph. In many ways, our family’s life began to change after that consecration.

I can’t explain it, but to say, it’s so nice to know we have a powerful intercessor in St. Joseph, and I am so grateful to have taken the time to get to know this amazing Saint who loves us as one of his own children. Just as Mary has been given to us to be a mother, so is St. Joseph like an adopted father — looking out for all the details of our life, offering protection, and leading by example.

Think about it, if you’re God and you chose one man out of so many to be the father of Jesus, that man would have to be pretty amazing — and so he is! Don’t take my word for it, here’s what Blessed Chaminade has to say about Joseph.

“To give life to someone is the greatest of all gifts.  To save a life is the next. Who gave life to Jesus? It was Mary. Who saved His life?  It was Joseph. Ask St. Paul who persecuted Him. Saint Peter who denied Him.  Ask all the Saints who put him to death. But if we ask. ‘Who saved his life?’ Be silent, patriarchs, be silent prophets, be silent, apostles, confessors and martyrs.  Let St. Joseph speak, for this honor is his alone; he alone is the savior of his Savior”.

Blessed William Joseph Chaminade

Dang, quite the mic drop of a quote here!  So good and so true! I feel bad that St. Peter and St. Paul had to be thrown under the bus in order to make the point of how amazing St. Joseph is (ha, ha!), but pretty sure they’d agree that St. Joseph was pretty epic and a model for all men everywhere.

Ponder for a moment the fact that St. Joseph saved Jesus on numerous occasions — overcoming peril and difficulties all along the way.  We owe St. Joseph all the love we can muster. After all, he was the man who ensured the Savior of the world would complete his mission and eventually die for us on a cross — so that we might live!

Where would we be without Joseph? His strength of character, his faith, and his “yes” to God were an integral part of our salvation story.

May we all imitate Joseph as we risk it all for Jesus. Happy Solemnity of St. Joseph!