It's been a while since I gave a shout-out to my favorite saint, Joseph of the Holy Family. Today, May 1, is one of his feast days; the other is celebrated on March 19. While May 1 is a recent addition, the March 19 feast day dates to the 10th century.
Two dedicated feast days in the Catholic calendar is a rare honor afforded to only four saints. Besides St. Joseph, St. John the Baptist, St. Peter, and St. Paul are the only others so lauded. Unlike those three saints, St. Joseph has no spoken words recorded in the New Testament. Two feast days for such a humble soul may seem striking. But considering the fact that Joseph accepted the divine, lifelong charge of protecting, supporting, and caring for Jesus Christ and the Blessed Mother, two feast days hardly seems sufficient.
St. Joseph died at an unknown time before Good Friday. There is a theory I've heard and read that God permitted his death before Christ's suffering because Joseph would not have been able to stop himself from trying to protect Jesus. It's interesting to imagine how differently the story of the Lord's Passion might have unfolded if St. Joseph had been alive. There would have been a few unexpected twists, I'm willing to wager.
But Good Friday had to happen as it did, so God made sure Joseph was safely home before then. After working so hard his whole life, both in physical labor and under such awesome responsibility, St. Joseph had definitely earned his rest.
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| St. Joseph, pray for us. |
