Feast day · March 19
St. Joseph
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary
“He rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt.”
The just man who guarded the Redeemer, said nothing in Scripture, and obeyed every word of God.
The story
A carpenter of Nazareth descended from David, Joseph received Mary and the Child on the word of an angel, fled to Egypt, returned, and raised the Son of God in obscurity. Not one of his words is recorded; four dreams and a lifetime of quiet faithfulness are. Pius IX named him patron of the Universal Church in 1870; Pope Francis called him a father "in the shadows" in Patris Corde.
What Joseph teaches
Holiness is mostly hidden. Joseph shows fathers, workers, and everyone who feels unseen that God builds His kingdom on faithful ordinary days.
Patronage
the Universal Church, fathers, workers, a happy death.
Prayer
St. Joseph, guardian of the Holy Family, protect our homes, bless our work, and be with us at the hour of our death. Amen.
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