I find it interesting that St Joseph has not been fully appreciated throughout the history of the Church the way he is today. It wasn’t until 1962 that St Joseph’s name was inserted into the first Eucharistic prayer by Pope John XXIII, and not until 2013 that it was added into the other Eucharistic prayers by Pope Francis. Each year, we celebrate St Joseph on March 19 in the midst of our Lenten journey, and also on May 1 with the feast day of St Joseph the Worker, which was established by Pope Pius XII in 1955.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of St. Joseph and commemorate this day by reading how the Holy Family began. The Holy Family is the model of family life: a hard-working father, a nurturing mother, and an obedient child. It’s a hard model to live up to. In our journey of faith, we are always to strive toward perfection, even if we will not meet that perfection. We can imagine Joseph’s struggles in his own life of holiness as well.
Today’s Gospel does show us both Joseph’s struggle as well as his acceptance and trust. Joseph is betrothed to a woman who is found with child. Jospeh is a good man who doesn’t want to “expose her to shame,” which he could have easily done. I imagine he struggled greatly in his decision to “divorce her quietly.”
Joseph is given a message in a dream to take Mary into his home. Joseph accepts this message conveyed to him by the angel in the dream. Joseph places his trust in God’s plan for him and for his family.
Family life is a blessing, but also a struggle at times as well. All of us know this from our experience. This was likely not the only time St. Joseph had doubts or struggles in his family life and in his marriage with Mary. We honor Joseph today as a saint because of his trust in God’s plan. Like Joseph, sometimes it is hard for us to place our trust in God’s plan. No matter how much we can struggle with God’s plan for us and our families, we can learn day by day to place our trust in God just like St Joseph did.
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