St. Joseph the Stepfather of the Lord

I did some research on St. Joseph and have decided to put it together as a tribute to this wonderful man. Please enjoy, and may God bless you all.

Died A.D. 22
St. Joseph, whose glory is as old as Christianity and as wide as the world, was nobly descended from the ancient patriarchs and the greatest of the Kings of Judea. His life has not been written about by many men. The Holy Spirit has recounted the principal actions in his life.

Joseph (which in Hebrew means "He shall add") was born in Nazareth, but reverses of fortune, in which we can trace the hand of God, led him to Jerusalem. The divine redeemer was about to visit our sinful world. In the natural order of things, He would require a protector and the most Holy Mary would need a companion. But who could be found worthy of these lofty distinctions? There was only one. It was Joseph.

At the age of 33, he was married to the Most Blessed Virgin, he was then well made, agreeable in person; and with a countenance which beamed with inexpressible modesty and goodness.

St. Joseph seemed for a time to have been unacquained with the fact that the Holy Spirit had accomplished the mystery of the Incarnation in his Immaculate spouse. He was aware of his own chaste conduct towards her; but many an anxious thought crossed his upright mind on finding that, in spite of the holiness of her life, he might well be assured that she was about to be a mother.

He was, however; "a just man", and of course possessed of all the virtures, especially mildness and charity. So after carefully weighing the whole affair in his mind, he determined to leave our Blessed Mother without saying a word. He neither accused nor condemend. He committed the matter to God, and God mercifully sent an angel from heaven to clear away his doubts, and to reveal to him the mystery of the Incarnation.

"Behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep saying 'Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost'"

"And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins."

"Now all this was done that the word might be fulfilled, which the Lord spoke by the prophet, saing; 'Behold a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call him Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us'"

"And Joseph, rising from his sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him."

And this began our saviors birth, death and resurrection.

The Bible makes no metion of St. Joseph after Jesus has grown, but we are not denied of valuable information I discovered in a Chapel in Eastern Oregon. I did some research and here is some of what I found out.

The cares, travels, and ceaseless fatigurs which the great St. Joseph had undergone for the support of the Most Holy Virgin and the divine child soon took a toll on his delicate constitution. g before old age, his health began to fail. It seems that during the last eight years of his life he ceased working because of his growing infirmities and at the urgent request of the Most Holy Mother herself.

"I beg of you to cease from this incessant toil and repose yourself" said the Blessed Mary to our Saint one day.

"I will now labor for you in testimony of my gratitude and as long as the Lord shall give us life."

He was thus relieved from labor, and for the rest of his days he himself to the practice of virtue and the contemplation of those sublime mysteries of which he had been a grateful witness to. With the Son of God and His Blessed Mother so near, it is no wonder to learn that our Saint arrived at so high a degree of sanctity, that next to his Immaculate spouse, who stands alone among mere creatures, he surpassed all men.

Thus God graciously conducted His servant Joseph along the royal road of suffering. There is no doubt that in the last years of his life he was visited by certain maladies, exceedingly acute, maladies which caused great disability that racked his feeble body.

"But when his last hour drew nigh, oh, full of joy was his breast; seeing Jesus and Mary close by as he tranquilly slumbered to rest."

During the nine days leading up to his death, he was tenderly watched day and night by Christ and our Mother. It was so arranged that one or the other was always present at his bedside. Three times daily the angels chanted celestial music for the holy patient. The end came with his head supported on the bosom of the Son of God and he received a last benediction from his Divine lips, brightening the path to eternity. This glorious guardian of the Holy Family, at the age of 60 years left to be in heaven for eternity.

Devotion to St. Joseph began at an early period. Canada chose him as it's first patron saint in 1624. Indian war chiefs converted to the faith gloried in bearing his name. In 1773 the first Catholic church in Philadelphia was erected under the name of St. Joseph. The cathedrals of Wheeling, Columbus, La Crosse, and Buffalo are all dedicated to God under the patronage of St. Joseph. Countless churches bare his name. Towns and rivers have been called after the head of the Holy Family.

"To all who would live holy,
To all who would happily die,
St. Joseph is ready to give sure guidance and help from on high."