St. Joseph: Role model of committed fatherhood, total trust in the Lord

Dear Young Church:

We recently completed a year in honor of St. Joseph. On March 19, we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph. St. Joseph is known as the foster father of Jesus, the husband of Mary and the universal patron of the Catholic Church.

We do not know a lot about St. Joseph from the Scriptures. We believe that he died before Jesus. At the death of Jesus, it is only Mary who is present. Therefore, we assume that Mary buried both her husband and her son, and certainly did so with a broken heart.

In the Scriptures, we see that Joseph is to marry Mary, and when he understands the circumstances of the upcoming birth of Jesus, he becomes afraid. The angel appeared to him and told him not to be afraid but to trust in the Lord. St. Joseph is a model for us of someone who placed himself in God’s hands in difficult times, truly trusted in God and allowed God to lead him and guide him.

We also know from the Scriptures that after Jesus was born, Herod was looking for Jesus to kill him, because Herod was jealous that this “newborn king” would have more power than he. Joseph and Mary protected Jesus from death and raised him with great love and care. We often see pictures drawn by artists of Jesus and Joseph working in the carpenter shop when Jesus was a little child.

St. Joseph is a sign to us of trusting in God even in those difficult times. It may be something going on at home, in your family, at school, or with some friends.

When the tough times come, we cannot give up, but like St. Joseph we believe, we trust and we place ourselves in God’s hands.

Wishing you God’s blessings, I am a brother in Christ,
 
Most Rev. Gregory M. Aymond
Archbishop of New Orleans