Catholic Heroes… St. Joseph, Patron Of Fathers

By DEB PIROCH

This week’s column is a personal labor of love. You see, our family has had a special devotion to St. Joseph (Josef) going back generations. My Father’s grandparents on both sides, maternal and paternal, were immigrants from Slovakia. And because it was quite common to name the eldest boy after St. Joseph, protector of families, most of my male relatives are named Joseph. For instance, my great-grandfather, Josef, had four children — the son named Josef. Two of his three daughters married a Joseph.
My father, brother, and his son are among the Josephs. Sadly, I have no children . . . but if I had had a girl and worried about future children, perhaps there would have been the first Josephine! In honor of St. Joseph, every March my father and brother would receive a card March 19, in honor of his feast and the month dedicated to him.
Even if there are no Josephs in your own home, have you thought of honoring his feast day? Of asking him daily or weekly for guidance? My mother is a widow; my father was named Joseph; I pray to St. Joseph that I may continue to care for her as my father, also a Joseph, did, in his absence. I remind St. Joseph that we have honored him, and in this day and age, why not ask him to preserve the family, Your Family!
On Father’s Day, and throughout the year, it is imperative that St. Joseph not be forgotten. So often he is the quiet one. Of the Gospel writers, most of what we know is due to St. Matthew first, then St. Luke. St. Mark made no references at all and St. John only one to the saint. What we do learn from the Gospels is that Joseph was key to protecting the Blessed Virgin and the literal survival of the Christ Child.
And: Because Christ was to come from the line of David, two Gospel writers clarify different lines of his heritage which establish the genealogical link.
He was betrothed to Mary, lived in Nazareth, but finding out she was pregnant, understandably planned to quietly separate from her — until he received a dream in which an angel assured him (Matt. 1:20) that all would be well and that he was to marry our Lady.
He is mentioned largely in reference to Christ’s birth. Because of the census required in Bethlehem, a very pregnant Mary needed help to even get there, and elderly as we think he probably was, he took these realities seriously. He got her there and must have grieved that the only housing he found for the birth was in a stable — but he always did his best, and it happened as God intended.
Joseph is also mentioned at the Presentation of the Temple, the feast celebrated in the Old Rite as the Circumcision, changed in the New Rite to the Feast of the Holy Family. The Circumcision is notable as the first time Christ would shed His Sacred Blood.
He is again warned by an angel before Herod massacres the Holy Innocents, and told to flee into Egypt to save the life of the Baby Jesus. This he does, again safeguarding the Holy Family, and coming back only when he is told by God that it is safe to return.
There are no relics of St. Joseph (nor of the BVM). There is no certainty where he was buried. Some in Church tradition feel that it may have been that St. Joseph could have been assumed into Heaven, but that is only speculation; the Church has never stated this with authority. Only Mary was assumed, meaning there are no extant first-class relics, as she was taken body and soul to Heaven.
God rewarded Joseph. This dear holy man, think how hard it must be to live with two people more perfect than yourself in every way! And to have his son, Christ, at his deathbed…we must all pray to St. Joseph for the holy death that he was granted, that we may be prepared when it comes.
There is no better patron for families than St. Joseph. Many traditions are associated with him, yet little is known about him. Even his age is in dispute, though many think that as the BVM was very young at the time of the Incarnation, and he was older.
Some biblical references make mention of Christ having siblings, but the Church has always emphasized these were more distant relatives, like cousins to Christ. The virginity of Mary Immaculate was preserved her entire Life, as befitted the Mother of God.
While we are not required to believe in such manifestations, it is worth mentioning that there have been reported apparitions of St. Joseph. In Brazil 1994-1998, he is alleged to have appeared and Bishop Carillo Gritti sanctioned the appearances in 2010 after much prayer and thought. Joseph’s message included stressing chastity and devotion to his chaste heart. He asked those tempted by the flesh to call on him for intercession, saying the Devil attacks chastity to erase the image of God in man, and explained that his name also evokes terror in Hell.
He said his Son desired special devotions to his chaste heart on Wednesdays (Fridays and Saturdays already being reserved for devotion to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary).
Also, he stated that no one will be turned away that practices the devotions detailed, but will receive only protections and hope. Among the words he is said to have told the visionary — having died with Christ by his side — is that he will protect those who have helped the sick and dying themselves at the hour of their deaths:
“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. I myself will be to these souls their petitioner to my Son Jesus and, together with my spouse, Most Holy Mary, we will console them in their last hours here on earth, with our holy presence and they will rest in the peace of our hearts.”
Additionally, a second vision was alleged sixty years ago this year in Ohio, to a Sr. Mary Neuzil, known for the supposed Our Lady of America apparitions. However, one of the statements Joseph reputedly told her was theologically flagged and so the vision was not approved for public devotion. (He identified himself as co-redemptrix. Also, the nun retained copyright to all her visionary material.) Osvnews.com reported (May 7, 2020) that a U.S. bishops’ commission said the Our Lady of America apparitions were not supernatural.
O Joseph, Holy Guardian of Jesus and Mary, assist us in our prayers in all the necessities of life. Ask of Jesus that special grace which He granted to thee, to watch over our home at the pillow of the sick and dying, so that with Mary and with thee, Heaven may find our family unbroken in the Sacred Heart of Jesus. — Excerpt, Consecration of the Family, My Sunday Missal (1942).