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Hello everyone and welcome back to the Matthew Schreiner Podcast, and on this Thursday we celebrate the feast of St Joseph. There are several feast dates in honor of Joseph, including on May 1st, which is the feast of St. Joseph the worker. But on March 19th, we celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph. Who is St. Joseph? St Joseph is a very popular and well revered saint. Saint Joseph is a very common saint chosen for Confirmation, Joseph at times has also been a popular name for Catholics. He is called as the patron saint of fathers. Devotions and prayer and more to St Joseph are quite popular. This is how we see Joseph today as Catholics.

However, Joseph can be rightly called the quiet saint, as we have no recorded words spoken by Saint Joseph. Joseph is a saint recorded in scripture. He is the spouse of Mary, who we are told had a child by the Holy Spirit. Joseph wants to leave Mary, but is instructed by an angel to remain with her. He remains with Mary. He remains with Mary and Jesus including in the Temple in Jerusalem where Jesus is left behind, and as they flee to Egypt not long after Jesus was born.

We don’t have much detail about Joseph, besides that he was a carpenter. We have some things we also believe of Joseph, like that he taught Jesus the trade of carpentry, or that he died before Jesus’s ministry. This last belief is rather reasonable, as following Christ’s death, he leaves care of Mary to his disciple, rather than his father or a sibling, since we believe that Christ did not have any.

So, Joseph, even though we don’t have any quotes from him, not especially in the gospels, and even though we do not know much about him, he still remains an important and greatly revered figure in Christian history. What we know of him is that he was the foster father of Christ.

Which is why Joseph is so important. He protected Christ. We know this especially from the gospel accounts that he was instructed by an angel to bring Mary and Jesus to Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod in Bethlehem.

We see in this the providence and care of God. He chose Joseph to be the spouse of Mary, who would be the mother of the redeemer. Joseph had a special place in God’s plan, and this too is a lesson to all of us. In God’s plan there is a special place for each of us. Each of these parts has an importance, just as Joseph’s part had importance, even though it may seem small and insignificant, as Joseph so often seems. We are led to see this because of the little record and detail we have of Joseph. Yet we can imagine in Christ’s life the importance his foster father, his earthly father, had on his earthly life.

This is why the church recounts Joseph as the patron saint of fathers, because the church recognizes the importance of fathers. Who better to choose as a patron of fathers, than the earthly father of Christ? What greater respect can such role have than that of the foster father of the redeemer?

He is also an example of listening to God. He listens when he is told to remain with Mary. He listens when he is told to bring the child Jesus and Mary to Egypt. Joseph, like Mary, is an example of how to follow God’s will.

Joseph is also the patron saint of fathers. Joseph is an example for fathers. An example of care for children. An example of being a good father. We are told that Joseph protected the child Jesus and his mother. We are also led to believe that he was also an example for Christ, and taught Christ. We are also led to believe that he taught Christ in the trade of carpentry.

While little is ever told to us about Joseph, we do understand that he is important. Another lesson for Christians, that sometimes the most humble service is the most important. Though Joseph has very little recorded about him, he still remains a very important saint to Christians.

We have seen why we celebrate Joseph, the important witness and example he gave to the faith, and why he is revered throughout the generations of faithful believers. This is why we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph. Joseph is an example and lesson for Christian believers. Most especially of humble service, and of listening to the will of God. Second then is also his example of being a good father and husband. Because of his fidelity and goodness as a father, he is also a patron for fathers even until today.

So on this feast of St. Joseph, let us remember St. Joseph the foster father of Jesus. The humble and quiet servant of God, who serves as an example for all Christian believers, and who served as a faithful and true father here on earth for Christ the redeemer.