Year of St. Joseph
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The Year of St. Joseph
This liturgical year has been dedicated to St. Joseph by the Holy Father, Pope Francis. There will be several special activities and events to celebrate St. Joseph, as well as prayers, such as the Novena to St. Joseph for Life. For more information on St. Joseph, check out the St. Joseph page under Faith Formation > All Things Catholic > SaintsThere will also be weekly reflections on St. Joseph from various sources.
During this Year of St. Joseph, we shall have a lamp burning weekly before his image in both churches. Anyone who wishes to dedicate this votive lamp for a deceased loved one or another special intention, please contact the parish. The suggested offering for this seven-day candle is $15.Relevant Radio also offers ways to experience the Year of St. Joseph.
https://relevantradio.com/yearofjoseph/#features
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Traditionally the Church has dedicated Wednesdays to St. Joseph. Thus, on each Wednesday during this year Relevant Radio will offer the Mass at Noon CT in honor of St. Joseph.
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Access to the monthly "19 on the 19th" speaker series, in which Fr. Rocky, Fr. Matthew Spencer, Patrick Madrid, Cale Clarke, and more offer 19-minute reflections on the person of St. Joseph, covering topics like "The Hidden Life of St. Joseph" and "St. Joseph in Scripture." If you sign up, these will be sent to your inbox on the 19th of each month, as traditionally the 19th of each month is dedicated to the memory of St. Joseph.
Weekly Reflections
October 10, 2021
In the workshop, Jesus was the apprentice and Joseph the master. Yet often the master looked to the apprentice to learn from him. As he saw him bending over the workbench, he remembered the words of the angel of the Annunciation to Mary, “He shall be great, and shall be called Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his Father, and he shall be king over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Lk 1: 32-33)
Joseph the Silent , Fr. Michael Gasnier, O.P., p. 127
October 3, 2021
There is not even a tradition concerning Joseph’s burial place, nor is there any spot where his relics are venerated. Silent in life, silent in death, he was stripped of all things not essential to true glory. He, above all, was that saint who understood, as Bossuet says, ‘That to be hidden in Christ Jesus is of all glories the greatest.’ He had sought not what the world admires, but what was pleasing to his Lord.
Joseph the Silent, Fr. Michael Gasnier, O.P., p. 144
September 26, 2021
From the example of Saint Joseph, we all receive a strong invitation to carry out with fidelity, simplicity, and modesty, the task that Providence has entrusted to us. I think especially of fathers and mothers of families, and I pray that they will always be able to appreciate the beauty of a simple and industrious life, cultivating the conjugal relationship with care and fulfilling with enthusiasm the great and difficult educational mission…May he help every Christian to fulfill God’s will with confidence and love, thereby cooperating in the fulfillment of the work of salvation.
Pope Benedict XVI
September 19, 2021
Jesus called him [Joseph] father, but Joseph knew well that he was not his son, and Jesus himself would confirm this: “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Mary was his wife, but Joseph knew that she belonged exclusively to God, and he watched over her in her mission as mother of the Son of God. Then, when his work was no longer needed, he disappeared in silence.
Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, OCD, Divine Intimacy
September 5, 2021
Faced with the confusing mystery of Mary’s motherhood, Joseph believed the angel’s words: “That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit, and, cutting short all hesitation, obeyed his command: “Do not fear to take Mary, your wife.” Even more than Abraham, he had to believe what was humanly unthinkable: the motherhood of a virgin, the incarnation of the Son of God. Because of his faith and obedience, he merited to have these great mysteries accomplished under his roof.
Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, OCD, Divine IntimacyAugust 29, 2021
Fr Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God, Vol 6, pp 150-151
It is possible that we may not feel God’s presence at times, perhaps for a lengthy period. We may not feel drawn to God because we are full of ourselves. In this kind of situation fidelity to God requires interior recollection. Fidelity requires personal effort to overcome egoism and to begin again a life of prayer. God wants us to be full of love, alert, brimming over with initiatives. The heart of the holy Patriarch was always alive with joy, even in the most difficult of trials. We ought to ensure that our journey to God is as new and original as love itself. Today let us ask Saint Joseph to give us a share in his youthful spirit. We ask this of him for the sake of those around us who might find thereby a road to Jesus.
Francis Fernandez: In Conversation with God, Vol. 6, p 173
August 22, 2021
Even though Saint Joseph does not say a word in the Gospels, no one has ever been a greater teacher. In human life, Joseph was Jesus’ master in their daily contact, full of refined affection, glad to deny himself in order to take better care of Jesus. Isn’t that reason enough for us to consider this just man, this holy Patriarch, in whom the faith of the old covenant bears fruit, as a master of the interior life? Interior life is nothing but continual and direct conversation with Christ, so as to become one with him. And Joseph can tell us many things about Jesus. [J.M. Escriva]
Francis Fernandez: In Conversation with God, Vol. 6, pp 167-168
August 15, 2021
There are times during life when God seems silent. It may seem that we have lost him. In some instances, this happens through our own fault. In other cases, however, it is almost as if God has deliberately hidden himself so that we will try to find him…We can only imagine the wave of joy which must have swept over Mary and Joseph when they discovered him. They would take the Child home between the two of them so as not to lose him again. If they did not actually fear losing him again, at least they wanted to make up for the three days they had lived without him. We ask Saint Joseph to help us never to lose Jesus through sin. Nor do we want to lose sight of him through our human weakness. We ask Saint Joseph to teach us how to look for Jesus with our whole heart if we should ever suffer the misfortune of losing him.
Francis Fernandez: In Conversation with God, Vol. 6, pp. 154-155
August 8, 2021
The justice of Saint Joseph is most evident in the testimony of his cleanness of heart, of his readiness to learn the will of God and bring it to fruition. He would have been a cheerful and friendly member of his community. Although the Gospels have not recorded anything Saint Joseph ever said, they do nevertheless give us a clear picture of his life and works. This record should serve as a point of reference for us in our efforts to achieve sanctity in ordinary life. What is crucially important here is the sanctification of daily life, a sanctification which each person must acquire according to his or her own state, and one which can be promoted according to a model accessible to all people. Saint Joseph…is the proof that in order to be a good and genuine follower of Christ, there is no need of great things—it is enough to have the common, simple, and human virtues, but they need to be true and authentic. (St. Paul VI)
Francis Fernandez: In Conversation with God Vol. 6, pp. 135-136
August 1, 2021
Saint Joseph is a great saint because he corresponded in a heroic way to the graces given to him. We should contemplate about how well we are corresponding to the grace in our own vocation in the middle of the world. We can never forget the maxim that whenever God chooses someone to do some important work for him, God grants that person the necessary graces. [St. Bernardine of Siena] How do we react to difficulties in our life of faith? Do we ever doubt God’s support in our struggle to raise a family, to give ourselves generously to God’s requests, to live a commitment of apostolic celibacy? Do we firmly believe that because I have a vocation, because I have the grace of God, I can overcome any obstacle? Do I put my faith in God so that difficulties only make me more faithful?
Francis Fernandez: In Conversation with God Vol. 6, p. 130-131
July 25
We know nothing of his death, neither the time nor the circumstances, but all writers agree that Joseph died before Jesus began his public ministry. This fact is implied in the Gospel. When the aged Simeon revealed the future at the Presentation in the Temple, it was to Mary alone he spoke of the sword that would pierce her heart. Had Simeon foreseen that supreme trial?
Joseph the Silent p. 142-143 Michel Gasnier, OP
July 18, 2021
During the public life, Jesus wept for Lazarus dead. How many tears must he not have shed for his foster father Joseph, and those who saw him weep spoke the words of those at Bethany: “See how he loved him!” The people of Nazareth followed in the funeral procession. His relatives, his neighbors, his customers were there. What praise they had for this just man, whose only ambition was to honor God and show respect for his neighbors. They spoke of his life which in itself had been a condemnation of pride and selfishness; of this silent man who had never said an unkind word to or about anyone; of this meek and gentle man who had never borne a grudge, never taken part in political quarrels; of this descendant of David, who reduced to poverty had accepted his lowly conditions without complaint.
Joseph the Silent p. 142-143 Michel Gasnier, OP
July 11, 2021
Joseph teaches us that true greatness consists in serving God and our neighbor; that the only real productiveness springs from a life indifferent to show and glitter, and that the really thrilling exploits are the conscientious and loving accomplishment of one’s duties, no matter how humble. They will please God who, seeking nothing but His good pleasure, submit to His design. They will fear but one thing, that of not serving Him as faithfully as possible.
Joseph the Silent p. 157 Michel Gasnier, OP
July 4, 2021
If he [St. Joseph] found any good in himself, he recognized it as a free gift from God. Only by his modesty and self-effacement was he distinguished from others. Even with more truth than Elizabeth was he able to say, “Whence comes this happiness to me that my God and the Mother of my God have deigned to live in my house?” And with more reason than John the Baptist: “Jesus must increase. I must decrease.” His only pride then lay in fulfilling God’s designs, quietly, peacefully, so silently that the Evangelist can give us no word of his. In all the strange situations in which God placed him, he remained calm and silent. He knew the duty of a servant was not to speak but to listen to his master’s voice, and that silence is the necessary condition for leading a life of union with God, of close contact with him.
Joseph the Silent, pp. 155-156. Michel Gasnier, OP
June 27, 2021
St. Joseph probably had little idea of how he was going to make ends meet for the Holy Family from one day to another. He had to rebuild a home and a clientele in a strange country. After a while he would have been able to give the family some financial stability. Being the kind of man he was, he would have used all the human means at his disposal. We do not know how long the Holy Family remained in exile. Once back in Nazareth, Mary and Joseph would recall their hurried escape along with the worries and problems of their first months on foreign soil. The Holy Patriarch humbly submitted to the divine plan, which he could not understand. We ought never, then, to despair, to be alarmed by contradictions, by pain, or by injustice; nor can we allow these setbacks to make us lose our peace of mind. Everything has been foreseen.
June 20, 2021
Because St. Joseph was a truly humble man, he was able to remain steadfast in his faith through every trial. When the angel explained to him the manner of the Savior’s conception, Joseph believed with any hesitation. It is reasonable for us to assume that Joseph found it hard to understand why God wanted his Son to grow up in such a poor family. How was Joseph supposed to react to the wicked threat posed by Herod? He must have found it strange that the Son of God would have to run away from a minor despot. How often have we found ourselves in tough situations where the logic of God stands opposed to the logic of men? St. Joseph knew how to see God in everything that happened. This is because he lived a very holy life.
St. Joseph’s hope grew as he awaited the arrival of the Redeemer. Later on, this virtue came into play as he watched the child Jesus develop into manhood. Perhaps he asked Jesus when He would manifest himself to the world. His sincere love for Jesus and Mary became deeper every day. No one will ever love them as he loved them. This affection was demonstrated in the ordinary events of his working day, of his family life and social relations.
Fr. Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God, Vol 6, p 134
June 13, 2021Fr Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God, Vol 6, pp 133-134.
One of the most important virtues we observe in St. Joseph’s life is humility. We can imagine that Saint Joseph would sometimes glance at the child Jesus and wonder to himself, why did God choose me and not another? What do I have to offer that has earned me this holy charge? He did not receive an answer to these ponderings, since the ways of the Lord are beyond the calculations of man. The humility of Joseph is also shown by his strong sense of gratitude to God. Our Lord wants us to imitate the Holy Patriarch in this disposition. We need to see all the events of our lives with the eyes of faith, with a real determination to live out our vocation in the middle of the world.
June 6, 2021
The same aura of silence that envelops everything else about Joseph also shrouds his work as a carpenter in the house of Nazareth. It is, however, a silence that reveals in a special way the inner portrait of the man. The Gospels speak exclusively of what Joseph “did.” Still, they allow us to discover in his actions—shrouded as they are—an aura of deep contemplation. Joseph was in daily contact with the mystery “hidden from ages past,” and which “dwelt” under his roof. This explains why St. Teresa of Jesus, the great reformer of the Carmelites, promoted the renewal of veneration of St. Joseph in Western Christianity.
~ [St. John Paul II]
May 30, 2021
…It was from his marriage to Mary that Joseph derived his singular dignity and his rights in regard to Jesus…yet there can be no doubt but that Joseph approached as no other person ever could, that eminent dignity whereby the Mother of God towers above all creatures…God, by giving Joseph to the Virgin, did not give him to her only as a companion for life, a witness of her virginity and protector of her honor; he also gave Joseph to Mary in order that he might share, through the marriage pact, in our own sublime greatness.
St. John Paul II…Redemptoris Custos
May 23, 2021
The growth of Jesus ‘in wisdom and in stature’ and in favor with God and man took place within the Holy Family under the eyes of Joseph, who had the important task of ‘raising’ Jesus, that is, feeding, clothing, and educating him in the Law and in a trade, in keeping with the duties of a father…For his part, Jesus ‘was obedient to them’ respectfully returning the affection of his ‘parents’ In this way, he wished to sanctify the obligations of the family and of work, which he performed at the side of Joseph…The Gospels do not record any word ever spoken by Joseph…But the silence of Joseph has its own special eloquence, for thanks to the silence we can understand the truth of the Gospel’s judgment that he was a ‘just man.’
St. John Paul II…Redemptoris Custos
May 16, 2021
Mary is the Lord’s humble servant, prepared from eternity for the task of being the Mother of God. Joseph is the one whom God chose to be the overseer of the Lord’s birth, the one who has the responsibility to look after the Son of God’s ‘ordained’ entry into the world, in accordance with divine dispositions and human laws. All of the so-called ‘private’ or ‘hidden’ life of Jesus is entrusted to Joseph’s guardianship.
St. John Paul II…Redemptoris Custos
May 9, 2021
It was to assure fatherly protection for Jesus that God chose Joseph to be Mary’s spouse. It follows that Joseph’s fatherhood…comes to pass through marriage to Mary, that is, through the family. While clearly affirming that Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and that virginity remained intact in the marriage, the evangelists refer to Joseph as Mary’s husband and to Mary as his wife. And while it is important for the Church to profess the virginal conception of Jesus, it is no less important to uphold Mary’s marriage to Joseph, because juridically Joseph’s fatherhood depends on it…Joseph is not deprived of his fatherly authority from the moment that he is told to name the child. Finally, even the Virgin Mary, well aware that she has not conceived Christ as a result of conjugal relations with Joseph, still calls him Christ’s father.
St. John Paul II…Redemptoris Custos
May 2, 2021
While it is true that Joseph did not respond to the angel’s announcement in the same way as Mary, he ‘did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took his wife.’ What he did is the clearest ‘obedience of faith.’ One can say that what Joseph did united him in an altogether special way to the faith of Mary. He accepted as truth coming from God the very thing that she had already accepted at the Annunciation…Therefore, he became a unique guardian of the mystery ‘hidden for ages in God.’ …Together with Mary, Joseph is the first guardian of this divine mystery…he is also the first to be placed by God on the path of Mary’s ‘pilgrimage of faith.’
[St. John Paul II…Redemptoris Custos]
April 25, 2021
St. Joseph behaved and felt like a father towards Jesus. He had an ardent love for the Son of God and for the Mother of God. This love was even greater than the natural love a natural father may have for his natural son. This is because Joseph cared for Jesus as a son and at the same time worshipped him as his God…Joseph loved Jesus almost as if he had really begotten him. He concentrated his energies, his time, his greatest concern, his care to Jesus. He sought no compensation other than the opportunity to give of himself. Let us ask the holy Patriarch to teach us how to love and cherish Jesus as he himself did.
[F. Fernandez: In Conversation with God. Vol 6: p. 132]
April 18, 2021
The life of the holy Patriarch was full of work from his time in Nazareth and Bethlehem, in Egypt and then once again in Nazareth. Everyone knew of Joseph because he was such a hard worker. He probably gave great importance to the development of a manly character, the type of character that shines through the episodes of the Gospels. St. Matthew repeatedly shows us how promptly Joseph responded to whatever God was asking of him.
[F. Fernandez: In Conversation with God. Vol 6: p. 132]
April 11, 2021[F. Fernandez: In Conversation with God. Vol 6: p. 132]
April 4, 2021
When one thinks of St. Joseph, one usually pictures a figure in the nativity scene standing next to Mary and watching over the infant Jesus in the manger. Joseph has been far overshadowed through history by his wife and and the Marian devotion accorded her as the Mother of God. Not much is known about his life—he left no words behind for hagiographers to study, and he apparently died before the crucifixion because he was not at Calvary with Mary. Still, to this day, he continues to attract the faithful in a quiet way, some to churches bearing his name, devoted to him for his fidelity to family and home. In fact, it is said that in the Roman Catholic Church, next to Mary, he and St. Jude are the most popular patrons.
[Jenny Schroedel: The Book of Saints, Fall River Press, 2007]
March 28, 2021
Fathers are not born but made. A man does not become a father simply by bringing a child into the world, but by taking up the responsibility to care for that child. Whenever a man accepts responsibility for the life of another, in some way he becomes a father to that person. Being a father entails introducing children to life and reality. Not holding them back, being overprotective or possessive, but rather making them capable of deciding for themselves, enjoying freedom and exploring new possibilities. Perhaps for this reason, Joseph is traditionally called a “most chaste” father. That title is not simply a sign of affection, but the summation of an attitude that is the opposite of possessiveness…A possessive love ultimately becomes dangerous: it imprisons, constricts, and makes for misery. God himself loved humanity with a chaste love; he left us free even to go astray and set ourselves against him. The logic of love is always the logic of freedom, and Joseph knew how to love with extraordinary freedom. He never made himself the center of things. He did not think of himself but focused instead on the lives of Mary and Jesus.
Pope Francis, “Patris Corde,” 2021
March 21, 2021Saint Joseph was a man who listened. Let us learn from him the capacity to be attentive to God so that we might be attentive to the children of God. Saint Joseph was a man who allowed himself to be guided by God with great docility. Saint Joseph was a simple laborer not one who lived amid riches. True riches are not to be found in what we possess but in who we are. The example of Saint Joseph points us to a different road: one that is more human, more beautiful, wiser, and happier.
Angelo Cardinal Comastri, “100 Omelie” pp. 85-86
March 14, 2021
We do not know when exactly the Holy Patriarch passed away. Joseph’s final appearance in the Gospel narrative occurs when Jesus had turned twelve years old. It seems likely that he died before Jesus began his public life of preaching. When Jesus returned to Nazareth to preach, the people asked one another: “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?” It was customary in the East to refer to sons through their father. People spoke of the mother only in the case of the father’s demise…Following the same line of reasoning, the fact that Jesus entrusted Mary to his beloved apostle Saint John, presupposes that Joseph was dead…Saint Joseph could not have wished for a happier or more peaceful death, attended as he must have been by Jesus and Mary. Jesus and Mary would have closed the eyes of Joseph and prepared his body for burial. It is perfectly fitting that Saint Joseph has been proclaimed as the “Patron of a Good Death.”…Let us go to Joseph whenever we are helping someone to prepare for death. Let us ask his help when our time arrives to go to the House of the Father. Joseph will lead us by the hand to Jesus and Mary.
Francis Fernandez “In Conversation with God,” Vol 2, pp 157-159March 7, 2021
Even though St. Joseph does not say a word in the Gospels, no one has ever been a better teacher. In human life, Joseph was Jesus’ master in their daily contact, full of refined affection, glad to deny himself in order to take better care of Jesus. Isn’t that reason enough for us to consider this just man, this holy patriarch, in whom the faith of the old covenant bears fruit, as a master of the interior life? Interior life is nothing but continual and direct conversation with Christ, so as to become one with him. And Joseph can tell us many things about Jesus.
Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God, Vol 2, pp. 167-168
Joseph’s great joy at the visit of the Magi did not last long. He had to abandon his newfound home and business to flee to a foreign land. Herod wanted to kill the Child. Joseph’s joy was changed to dread. Once again, God was testing him. Joy and sorrow are never far from one another in souls that love God. Heeding the message of the angel the Holy Family set out at once for Egypt. They could take with them only the bare essentials. St. Joseph had little idea of how he was going to make ends meet…from one day to another. He had to rebuild a home and a clientele in a strange country. The Holy Patriarch surely suffered…but he humbly submitted to the divine plan which he could not understand.
February 28, 2021Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God, Vol 6, pp. 149-151
February 21, 2021
By the example of their life in Nazareth, Jesus and Mary invite us to seek Joseph’s assistance. They frequently went to Joseph for his help in all kinds of needs. When we go to Joseph for help, we should have no fear at all. With the exception of God himself, Our Lady loved no one more than she loved St. Joseph her husband. The Church asks from St. Joseph the same support and protection as he gave to the Holy Family in Nazareth. ‘I am sure Joseph knew how to lend a hand in many difficulties…His skilled work was in the service of others; to brighten the lives of others in the town; and with a friendly word, a passing quip, he would restore confidence and happiness to those in danger of losing them.’ [J. Escriva, Christ is Passing By, 51]Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God, Vol 6, pp. 165-166
February 14, 2021Painters have traditionally depicted Joseph as an elderly man in order to emphasize the perpetual virginity of Mary. Yet it is more likely that Joseph was not much older than his wife. ‘You don’t have to wait to be old or lifeless to practice the virtue of chastity. Purity comes from love; and the strength and joy of youth are no obstacle to a noble love. Joseph had a young heart and a young body when he married Mary, when he learned of the mystery of her divine motherhood, when he lived in her company, respecting the integrity God wished to give the world as one more sign that he had come to share the life of his creatures.’ [J. Escriva, Christ Is Passing By, 40] Let us ask the holy Patriarch to teach us how to live this kind of love in the circumstances to which God has called us.
Francis Fernandez: In Conversation with God, Vol. 6: p.141
From “Joseph the Silent” by Michel Gasnier, O. P.
February 7, 2021
This week's reflection is from Carlo Maria Cardinal Martini
Even before Jesus was born, Joseph was a believer mature in faith. The events surrounding the conception and birth of Jesus reveal how differently he behaved and struggled as he moved towards a greater knowledge of God. His holiness and mature faith do not exempt him from the anxiety that comes with difficult situations. However, having taken upon himself the decision to do the honorable thing, which was the fruit of an attitude of charity, his maturity of faith is summarized as an openness to the power of divinely illuminated grace. In fact, the angel of the Lord arrives to resolve the situation: ‘Be not afraid.’ The angel reveals to him the deeper meaning of the event, thus overcoming his anxiety. The figure of Joseph allows us to grasp a fundamental teaching: we need to have a hope that is patient, that can wait as Joseph did, a hope that knows how to suffer with a humble spirit through difficult situations, sure that God will answer.
January 31, 2021
Certainly, Joseph was considered to be not only a fine workman noted for his skill, but a man of integrity. Everyone in the neighborhood knew the work given the carpenter would be carefully and conscientiously done…Before God, labor is not only a necessity; it calls for pride, nobility, a spirit of reparation. There is nothing slavish about it. On the contrary, it is a kind of prayer, a way of finding God, a means of salvation…Joseph understood perfectly that a work done in love goes straight to God.January 24, 2021
From “Joseph the Silent” by Michel Gasnier, O. P.
Joseph chose to become a carpenter. Perhaps his father was a carpenter before him. Perhaps it was by personal preference. We simply do not know. In any case, this occupation was to stand him in good stead when he opened his shop in Nazareth. Here it is enough to say that though it was so unassuming, so humble, it was far from humiliating, and the carpenter workman could look upon it as a badge of honor. At Nazareth, then, Joseph without worldly goods or station, lived uncomplainingly by the labor of his hands. Happier in his poverty than Augustus on the most powerful throne in the world, he was more than content with his lot since it was God’s will…he was satisfied to be where God had placed him, to do what God asked of him with as much care and ardor as if he ruled a kingdom.
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