Saint’s Life Story

His Early Life

Most of what we know about Joseph comes from the first two chapters of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Of course, we know that Joseph was born before Jesus. Joseph was of royal descent from David and his father was Jacob (Matthew 1:16). Joseph’s family was from Bethlehem in Judea.

Engaged

Joseph was engaged to Mary and upon learning that she was pregnant; he had plans to divorce her. Described in Matthew as a righteous and upright man, he intended to dismiss her quietly. If Joseph knew Mary was pregnant, did the town gossip circle also notice? One can only wonder what shame and hurt he must have felt.

Joseph’s disappointment upon learning of Mary’s pregnancy was said to be assuaged by an angelic vision.

Then, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream to tell him, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21). “When Joseph woke from sleep he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.” (Matthew 1:24). Joseph and Mary were poor is proved by the offering of only a pair of turtle-doves at Mary’s purification in the Temple.

Joseph’s wise dealing with Mary is a model for us when we face complex moral and personal issues. He subordinated his feelings to do what God required. He was open to whatever God wanted, and when he sensed the divine will, he obeyed.

Foster Father

Joseph was with Mary in the stable at Bethlehem when Jesus was born. When the shepherds and the Magi followed the star and came to worship Jesus, Joseph was looking after the mother and child. He took Mary and Jesus to Jerusalem to present Jesus to God in the Temple.

Fled to Egypt and Later Returned

Joseph bore the responsibilities of a father perfectly. An angel in a dream told Joseph “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.” (Matthew 2:13) So to avoid King Herod, Joseph took Mary and Jesus away by night to Egypt and thus saved the life of the Savior. He kept the child hidden from King Herod’s son in case he, too, would have harmed Jesus.

Later in Egypt, Joseph had a second vision when an angel told Joseph “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the and land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead”. (Matthew 2:20). So, Joseph took Mary and Jesus and returned to Israel.

Joseph, a strict observer of the Mosaic law, journeyed each year at the time of the Passover to Jerusalem. Having participated in the usual ceremonies of the feast, the parents were returning with many of their neighbors and acquaintances towards Galilee, and never doubted that Jesus was with some of the company. After their visit to the Temple when Jesus was 12, Joseph shared Mary’s anxieties for her son when Jesus was presumed lost. After going back to Jerusalem and searching for Jesus for 3 days, Joseph and Mary “found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of he teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.” (Luke 2:46)

Paternal Example

Joseph watched over Jesus’ human development – his growth, as Saint Luke tells us, “in wisdom, age and grace” (Luke 2:52). Joseph’s paternal example helped Jesus to grow, on a human level, in his understanding and appreciation of his unique relationship to his heavenly Father. With Our Lady, Joseph guided the young Jesus as he responded to the working of the Holy Spirit in his heart and in his life.

Carpenter

We think of how Joseph, as the carpenter of Nazareth, taught the young Jesus his trade and the value of work. Joseph also quietly imparted to Jesus that wisdom which consists above all in reverence for the Lord, prayer and fidelity to his word, and obedience to his will.

Unknown Later Life

After this no more is heard of Joseph in the New Testament except in Luke 4:22, where he is named as the father of Jesus. The few Biblical particulars give an impression of Joseph as a just, kind, dignified and level-headed man who was prompt in action, but self-effacing and modest.

His Death

Of Joseph’s death, the Bible tells us nothing. As no further mention is made of Joseph, he must have died before the marriage feast of Cana and the beginning of our Jesus’ divine ministry. Joseph is not mentioned as being present at the crucifixion, a fact that persuaded many artists to portray him as an old man who had presumably died by the time Jesus was in his early thirties. Some say that Joseph was an old man when Jesus was born, but this appears unlikely when one considers the fact that he reared Jesus and fulfilled the family duties and worked as carpenter.

We cannot doubt that he had the happiness of the presence of Jesus and Mary at his death, praying beside him, assisting and comforting him in his last moments. Therefore, Joseph is invoked for the great grace of a happy death and the spiritual presence of Jesus in that hour.

Saint John Chrysostom pointed to the anxieties of Joseph as a pattern of the trials of all Christians – relieved as they are by God’s intervention. Saint Margaret of Cortona, Saint Vincent Ferrer, Saint Bridget of Sweden, and Saint Bernardine of Siena all propagated his devotion.

Saint Joseph’s Apparitions

Many know about approved apparitions of our Blessed Mother. But only a handful realize that there were apparitions in Itapiranga, Brazil from 1994-1998 in which Saint Joseph appeared along with Mary and Jesus. In 1994, while a student in Manaus, Brazil, 22-year-old Edson Glauber received an apparition of the Blessed Mother with Jesus and St. Joseph. The apparitions continued when he returned to his hometown of Itapiranga which is about 650 miles southwest of Sao Paulo and about 880 miles from Rio de Janeiro.

Saint Joseph’s major revelations began March 1, 1998. He spoke about devotion to his chaste heart and made the first of several promises. Next day, Saint Joseph came with the Child Jesus who reclined on his heart. Joseph revealed that God wanted to give countless graces through devotion to his heart.

“My son and Lord Jesus, that I brought up here on earth, with a father’s love, desires that all men practice devotion to my Heart, for all those in need of graces from heaven.”

Then, came a second promise.

“I promise to all that honor this Most Chaste Heart of mine and who do here on earth good deeds in favor of the most needy, especially of the sick and dying for whom I am a consoler and protector, to receive in their last moment of their lives the grace of a good death.”

Born:                  Before Christ

Died:                  1st Century

Beatified:          Pre-Congregation

Canonized:       Pre-Congregation

Feast Day:        March 19, May 1 (St Joseph the Worker)

Patron Saint:    Against Doubt; Americas; Archdiocese of Louisville, Kentucky; Austria; Carpenters; Catholic Church; Cologne, Germany; Craftsmen; Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin; Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire, USA; Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Diocese of San Jose, California, USA; Diocese of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA; Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston West Virginia, USA; Exiles; Families; Fathers; Immigrants; Korea; Laborers; Peru; Pregnant Women; Rome, Italy; Santarém, Portugal; Unborn Children; Universal Church; Vatican City; Working People

Source:

• • St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church by Catholic Fire
  • CatholicSaints.Info » Saints of the Day – Joseph, Husband of Mary by Katherine I Rabenstein
  • Major Apparitions of St. Joseph Are Approved| National Catholic Register
  • Saint Joseph – Saint for a Minute: Saints & Blesseds
  • Saint Joseph – Wikipedia

Prayers

Video Link

Saint of the Week: St. Joseph – YouTube (The True Enlightenment!)