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Catholic Charities USA
Solemnity of Saint Joseph
Readings of the Day
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Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Saint Joseph - the
foster father of Jesus, husband of Mary, and Patron Saint of the
Universal Church. Celebrated with a special feast day in the Eastern
Coptic Church since the 5th Century, and in the Western Church on
March 19th since at least 800 A.D., Saint Joseph is patron of a myriad
of countries, and arguably the most popular member of the
Church's Communion of Saints.
And yet, for all of Joseph's ubiquity - particularly in
Nativity scenes at Christmastime - few facts are known about his life.
Appearing only in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, the Scriptures tell
us more about Joseph's genealogy than his life story. We are
informed that Joseph was a carpenter, that he had spent at least some
of his life as a refugee in Egypt, and that he was a
"righteous" man who - in his mercy - did not
want to expose his betrothed to the harsh laws of the time for her
pregnancy before marriage. And yet, much else about Joseph's
life - his age in relation to Mary, whether he was originally
from the town of Bethlehem or Nazareth, even how old Jesus was when
Joseph died- is left to the Biblical exegetes to debate and ponder.
Despite this, through stories told about Saint Joseph in the Gospels,
we learn much about the person that Saint Joseph was, as well as his
deep faith in God. Unlike the dramatic encounters that Moses had with
God in the burning bush, Saint Joseph's encounters with the
Almighty took place in the realm of dreams. No less than four times
did an Angel of the Lord speak to Joseph in a dream: first when he had
decided to quietly divorce Mary after learning of her pregnancy, then
again when the Angel instructed Joseph to flee to Egypt to protect the
infant Jesus from Herod, next when the Angel told Joseph to return to
Israel upon the death of Herod, and finally when the Angel warned Mary
and Joseph not to settle to Judea, resulting in their decision to
return to Nazareth instead. For Joseph, his dreams did not remain
sweet thoughts. Instead he trusted what he heard in his heart and
acted to protect those in his care.
One of my favorite devotions to Saint Joseph is one that Pope Francis
shares as well. It involves the image of a sleeping Saint Joseph that
the Pope keeps on his desk at the Vatican. Francis has been quoted as
saying that whenever he has a problem, he writes it down and places it
under the image, and that he then knows that Saint Joseph is working
it out in his dreams.
I think that this image has particular resonance for us today as our
world begins to slowly awaken and recover from the terrible slumber of
the COVID-19 pandemic and social distance and isolation that it
required from us. As we emerge from the difficult year that we have
all passed through, may we - like Saint Joseph - emerge
from our collective slumber and move towards action to protect and
provide for the vulnerable in our midst.
Tom Dobbins Jr. is the Justice and Peace Coordinator of Catholic
Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, a Producer for the
"JustLove" radio broadcast on Sirius/XM's Catholic
Channel, and Chair Emeritus of the Roundtable Association of Catholic
Diocesan Social Action Directors.
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