March 19, 2021: Feast of Saint Joseph
Today's Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031921.cfm
St. Joseph is one of the hidden heroes of the New Testament.
Sure, we know a few things about him: that he was a carpenter; that he was engaged
to Mary; that he was a “righteous” man who did not want to expose her to shame
when she became pregnant; that he believed in dreams; and that he was obedient
to God. Other than that, there’s not much more we know! We picture him as an
old man and assume he died before Jesus began his public ministry. Poor St.
Joseph! His feast day falls two days after the huge bash thrown annually for
St. Patrick, so he is overshadowed here too – unless, of course, you are
Italian and associate him with the famous pastries we for some reason honor him
with on his special day…
Yet, despite all this, St. Joseph is very much needed in
today’s America. We live in a nation overshadowed by glitz and obsessed with
celebrity, a world where “ordinary” things and “ordinary” people are minimized
if not belittled. St. Joseph may have been an ordinary man, but therein lies
his greatness. He was loyal to his God, his wife, and his adopted son. He was
even obedient to the dictates of a tyrannical government that demanded he
undertake a perilous journey to meet the needs of the state. He provided a home
for his family, protected them, and taught his son a trade. Most important of
all, he provided a model for the boy Jesus – and for us – of what a father
should be.
Fatherhood – today’s readings all speak of this – yet fatherhood,
sadly, is a forgotten vocation in a world beguiled by feminism and Homer
Simpson! We have come a long way from
“Father Knows Best.” It seems that in our haste to raise the aspirations and
visibility of women and girls, we have failed our young men. Numerous
psychological and sociological studies repeatedly remind us of the importance
of families and especially fathers to the success of young men, and this is
what I, as a Catholic, a historian, and the mother of two boys think of when I
think of St. Joseph.
Quite tellingly, Pope Francis has proclaimed this year to be
the “Year of St. Joseph.” He did this to commemorate the 150th
anniversary of Joseph’s proclamation as patron of the universal Church. In the
words of Pope Francis, “each of us can discover in Joseph – the man who goes
unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence – an intercessor, a support
and a guide in times of trouble. St. Joseph reminds us that those who appear
hidden in the shadows can play an incomparable role in the history of
salvation.”
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