We rejoice in celebrating the Feast of the Patron Saint of the Universal Church: St. Joseph! The Church, from the beginning, has given him great honor and has recognized how special he is in God’s plan. His whole life was marked by humility, obedience, and love.
He is, in fact, a model of humility. He had to put aside his own desires and aspirations in order to raise the child Jesus. Although the Scriptures do not record a single word he spoke, we know by virtue of what he did that he never sought after his own glory.
St. Joseph’s humility led to his obedience. Whereas we see obedience as limiting or restrictive, St. Joseph evidently saw the bigger picture and the truth that God was very much worthy of his obedience. He recognized that there are occasions when blindly obeying another is unwise, but that is never the case with God.
Both of these virtues, humility and obedience, led St. Joseph to love in a way that was Divinely inspired and, again, a model for all love. He loved Mary as every husband should love – unconditionally. He was patient, pure, and selfless. He gave everything he could to Jesus and he now loves the Body of Christ, the Church, in the same way. He is our protector whenever we need him.
Humble obedient love is something our world needs right now, and we find it in St. Joseph. May we imitate him well today and every day. St. Joseph, pray for us.
***
For more: https://www.aciafrica.org/news/3069/today-march-19-we-celebrate-st-joseph
From the Vatican News on “The Year of St. Joseph”: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-12/pope-francis-proclaims-year-of-st-joseph.html
