+ Everything we know about Joseph, the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus comes from Scripture. We know he was a carpenter, a working man (St. Matthew tells us). He wasn't rich, for when he took Jesus to the Temple to be circumcised and Mary to be purified, he offered the sacrifice of two turtledove or a pair of pigeons, allowed only for those who could not afford a lamb (St. Luke tells us).
But despite his humble work and means, Joseph came from a royal lineage. While Luke and Matthew disagree some about the details of Joseph's genealogy, they both mark is descent from David, the greatest king of Israel. The angel who first tells Joseph about Jesus greets him as "son of David," a royal title used also for Jesus.
We know Joseph was a compassionate, caring man. When he discovered Mary was with child after they had been betrothed – he knew the child was not his – and in order to protect Mary from being stoned to death (for committing adultery) he decided to divorce her quietly. But Joseph was above all a man of faith and obedient to whatever God asked of him without wanting to know the outcome. When the angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him the truth about the child Mary was carrying, Joseph immediately and without question or concern for gossip, took Mary as his wife. When the angel came again to tell him that his family was in danger, he immediately left everything he owned, all his family and friends, and fled to a strange country with his young wife and the baby. He waited in Egypt without question until the angel told him it was safe to go back to Nazareth.
We know Joseph loved Jesus. When Jesus stayed in the Temple we are told Joseph, along with Mary, searched with great anxiety for him for three days. Joseph was a good father to Jesus, spending time with him and teaching him the family carpentry business.
Since Joseph does not appear in Jesus' public life, at his death, or resurrection, many historians believe he probably died before Jesus entered public ministry. Joseph is the patron of the dying because, assuming he died before Jesus' public life, he died with Jesus and Mary close to him, the way we all would like to leave this earth.
Joseph is patron of the universal Church, fathers, carpenters and social justice; he is also patron saint of many countries including Canada. The most impressive monument to Joseph is the basilica dedicated to him in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, inspired by Brother Andre Bessette (who will be named a saint in October of this year). Many religious congregations, hospitals and churches are dedicated to him, and his name has been popular for baptisms and confirmations alike.
In short, next to the Blessed Mother herself, there has never been a human being as pure and as holy as St. Joseph. It is only fitting – as he was chosen by God to be her husband and the foster father of his only-begotten Son. We honor him today and ask his intercession throughout our lives and especially at the moment of our deaths, Amen!
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