Written by Sr. Rosemary , O.P. - Feast of St. Joseph: March 19, 2019 http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/031919.cfm
For you Dads out there, do any of these lines sound familiar?
- “Ask your mother.”
- ”Do I look like I’m made of money?”
- ”Don’t make me stop this car!”
Today in our gospel we heard about a very prominent father, St. Joseph, but we don’t hear Joseph utter a single word in the Gospels. He is a model of listening and obeying. All we can do is imagine the conversations he had with the angel in his dream, and then with Mary. We can visualize him teaching Jesus about carpentry and protecting them as they travel to Jerusalem. The last we hear of him is when he made this pilgrimage to Jerusalem with Mary and Jesus, when Jesus was 12-years old.
That leaves us not knowing a lot about Joseph—where and when he was born, how he spent his days, what he said, when and how he died. It is widely thought that Joseph was much older than Mary, and when Jesus began His ministry, Mary appears alone, and although the Bible doesn’t say she’s a widow, it is surmised that Joseph has since died. A man of few words, Joseph did what he was supposed to do because he was a righteous, compassionate, and obedient man.
Joseph, like most of us, probably thought his life was pretty well planned. His marriage and his vocation were all arranged neatly for him, but then his world came crashing down. He discovered that his bride-to-be was pregnant. We know that Joseph was a man of integrity—he wanted to do the right thing, in the right way. He considered divorcing Mary when he learned of her pregnancy, but wanted to do so without calling attention to the reason, because Mary could have been publicly disgraced or even stoned to death for adultery. Instead, he risks being questioned about Mary’s pregnancy and marries her.
When our lives take an unexpected turn, we cry out, like Joseph must have cried out, "God, how can this be?" But like Joseph, we hear a still small voice from God saying, "Trust Me." God’s ways are not always our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and we may never understand everything that God is doing this side of heaven, but God says, "Trust Me, and all things will work together for good.
St. Joseph, as we try to imitate your virtues, pray for us.
