Our Heavenly Father

"An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.'” Matthew 1:20-21

When we talk about our Heavenly Father, we always refer to God. But today, I would like to talk about a different heavenly father. Today, I would like to talk about Joseph, Mary's husband and Jesus' earthly father.

We know very little about Joseph. We know that he was "a righteous man" (Mat 1:19). We know that he was "engaged to Mary" (Mat 1:18). We know that he was obedient because "he did as the angel of God had commanded him" (Mat 1:24). And from everything that we have read about him, we can conclude that he was humble and hard working. Joseph doesn’t get a starring role in the Bible story. He doesn't even get to utter a single word. But his part is very important. His task is to watch over Mary and the baby Jesus. Joseph had the important role of caring for the needs of others.

I must confess that I don't have a close relationship with Joseph. It's a shame because Joseph should be a very important part of my life. I could learn a lot from him about trust. Whenever my life takes a nasty turn, I cry out, just like Joseph must have cried out, "God, why?" But Joseph heard God's voice saying, "Trust Me." And God says the same thing to us when we don't understand why our life doesn't develop the way that we had planned. God’s ways are not always our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and we may never understand everything that God is doing this side of heaven, but God says, "Trust Me, and all things will work together for good."

Joseph can also teach us a lot about love. His love for Mary reflects Paul’s definition: "Love is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast; it is not proud or rude. Love is not self-seeking or easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but it rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres" (I Cor 13). Instead of being upset at the unexpected turn his life took, Joseph accepted Jesus as his own. Joseph followed God's instructions—journeying from Nazareth to Bethlehem, then to Egypt, then back to Nazareth. And in return for his obedience, God gave Joseph a gift. God gave him His own Son as a very precious gift.

A priest once told me that Joseph is a great intercessor for our finances. Whenever we are going through some financial issues, we can pray to Joseph to intercede for us. This priest told me that he was having some financial troubles at his church. The roof needed to be replaced but it was a poor parish and they didn't have the funds for such a huge improvement. He asked his parishioners to give what they could but most of them were very poor. One of the parishioners brought him a huge statue of St. Joseph. The priest thanked him but he thought to himself: "What am I supposed to do with this huge statue? The church needs a new roof not another statue." The priest placed the statue of St. Joseph in the garden and asked for his intercession in helping him raise the funds needed for the roof. Within a few weeks, he received by mail from an anonymous donor the money that he needed to replace the roof. He felt that St. Joseph played a key role in this and since then, he looked at St. Joseph with new eyes.

This Lent I'm going to try to improve my relationship with this heavenly father. I'm going to ask him to teach me how to trust the way he did, to show me how to love others in the same way that he loved  Mary and Jesus, and to help me imitate him when putting the needs of others ahead of my own.

"O Glorious St. Joseph, you who have power to render possible even things that are considered impossible, come to our aid in our present trouble and distress. Take this important and difficult affair under your particular protection that it may end happily. (mention your request)

O dear St. Joseph, all our confidence is in you. Let it not be said that we would invoke you in vain; and since you are so powerful with Jesus and Mary, show that your goodness equals your power. Amen."