The Feast of Saint Joseph

March 19 is a much-awaited feast day. In many countries, the holy spouse of Mary is honoured with solemnity and enthusiasm on “Saint Joseph’s Day”. Many chapels and churches are dedicated to him; in Quebec alone there are forty “Saint-Joseph” parishes today. “Patron of workers, especially those who work with wood, joiners and carpenters, Saint Joseph is above all the model of husbands and fathers and, even more, of virgin hearts and interior souls, to whom he gives a love of silence, contemplation and faithfulness to the divine will.”

With Saint Joseph, the child Jesus learned what fatherhood means. In him he saw the reflection of God’s fatherhood, and passed it on to humanity. From Saint Joseph the child Jesus learned how fathers behave: “Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?” (Matthew 7:9-10).

Joseph is the man of steadfast faith and the man of obedience to God’s will. At the beginning of humanity came man’s disobedience to God’s command. Man wanted to take God’s place and decide for himself what was good and evil. He obeyed his passions and desires, and brought suffering and misery into the human family. But in this new beginning we have before us Joseph, the man of complete submission. He falls asleep and dreams of God’s will, and he wakes up to carry out that will, however difficult it may be.

Happy feast day to everyone, and especially to all who bear this name or have Saint Joseph as their patron.