SAINT(S) OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ MARCH 19TH

SOLEMNITY OF SAINT JOSEPH, HUSBAND OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY: FEAST DAY ~ MARCH 19TH: Today, we celebrate the great Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the silent yet powerful guardian of the Holy Family, a man of deep faith, unwavering obedience, and profound humility. He is the model of a perfect Christian life. Saint Joseph holds a place of great honor in the Church, not only as the earthly father of Jesus but also as the Prince and Patron Saint of the Universal Church, unborn children, fathers, families, immigrants, workers, employment, travelers, engineers, realtors, explorer, pilgrims, traveller, carpenters, engineers, realtors, doubt and hesitation, and of those seeking a happy death. He is the patron of the dying because Jesus and Mary were at his death-bed.

As we celebrate this great Solemnity of St. Joseph, let us all seek the intercession of this great protector of the Church, and ask him to pray for our sake, for the Church of God facing all sorts of challenges and persecutions. We also pray for all Fathers and workers all over the world. Let us all devote ourselves to the Lord through His role model, St. Joseph as our model and example that through this season and time of Lent we may become ever closer to God and be ever more attuned to His will and His truth. 🙏🏽

Saint Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary ~ Pray for us 🙏🏽

SAINT JOSEPH, HUSBAND OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY: The Feast of Saint Joseph or the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, is also called Saint Joseph’s Day is a solemn occassion honoring the earthly father of Jesus and the chaste spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. St. Joseph has two feast days: St. Joseph the Husband of Mary on March 19th, and St. Joseph the Worker on May 1st.  However, when St. Joseph’s feast day on March 19th falls on a Sunday it is moved to the Monday and celebrated on March 20th. As we honor Saint Joseph, we reflect on his quiet strength and his unwavering trust in God’s plan.

The Gospel of Matthew recounts how, upon discovering Mary’s pregnancy, Joseph was faced with a difficult choice. He was a righteous man who sought to obey God’s law, yet he also wanted to spare Mary from shame. His decision to divorce her quietly reveals his compassion. However, God had greater plans for him. In a dream, an angel reassured him, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her” (Matthew 1:20). Upon waking, St. Joseph did as the angel commanded, accepting his divine calling with obedience and trust. He was a man who listened to God in the silence of his heart and responded with immediate trust. He guided and protected Mary and Jesus, leading them safely to Egypt when King Herod sought to destroy the Christ Child. He worked tirelessly as a carpenter, providing for his family with dignity and labor. Saint Joseph’s silent faithfulness reminds us that true greatness is found not in status or recognition, but in humble service to God. His life exemplifies the call to trust in God’s plan, even when it challenges our expectations. How often do we hesitate in fear when God calls us to something greater? Saint Joseph teaches us to step forward in faith, knowing that God’s ways are always higher than our own.

St. Joseph (1st c.), the pure spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and foster-father of our Blessed Lord, was an ordinary manual laborer although descended from the royal house of Israel’s King David. Though the Gospels record no words from Saint Joseph, his actions speak louder than any words could. He was probably born in Bethlehem and probably died in Nazareth. His important mission in God’s plan of salvation was “to legally insert Jesus Christ into the line of David from whom, according to the prophets, the Messiah would be born, and to act as his father and guardian”. The darkest hours of his life may well have been those when he first learned of Mary’s pregnancy with the Son of God; but precisely in this time of trial Joseph showed himself great. After a time of uncertainty, was encouraged by an Angel to continue with the marriage plans. Because of his complete faithfulness and obedience to the will of God, St. Joseph was chosen to become the spouse of the Mother of God and the adoptive father of Jesus Christ. St. Joseph is the virtuous and “just man” of the New Testament, the lowly village carpenter of Nazareth, who among all men of the world was the one chosen by God to be the husband and protector of the Virgin Mother of Jesus Christ, God Incarnate. To his faithful, loving care was entrusted the childhood and youth of the Redeemer of the world. This feast encourages us to look at St. Joseph’s role as husband and head of the Holy Family. As the divinely-appointed earthly guardian and protector of the Holy Family, St. Joseph provided and cared for the material needs of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Child Jesus. After the Mother of God, not one of the children of men was ever so gifted and adorned with natural and supernatural virtues as was St. Joseph, her spouse. In purity of heart, in chastity of life, in humility, patience, fortitude, gentleness, and manliness of character, he reveals to us the perfect type and model of the true Christian. Poor and obscure in this world’s possessions and honors, St. Joseph was rich in grace and merit, and eminent before God in the nobility and beauty of holiness. Because St. Joseph was the representative of the Eternal Father on earth, the divinely appointed head of the Holy Family of God, the Church of Christ, on December 8, 1870, Pope Pius IX, solemnly proclaimed the foster-father of Jesus as patron and protector of the Universal Church, and from that time his feast has been celebrated on March 19th as one of his high rank. In some places it is observed as a Holy day of Obligation but not a holy day of obligation for Catholics in the United States.

In the West, the oldest reference to the cult of Saint Joseph (Ioseph sponsus Mariae) connected with March 19th appears around the year 800 in the north of France. Thereafter, reference to Joseph, the spouse of Mary, becomes more and more frequent from the 9th to the 14th centuries. In the 12th century, the crusaders built a church in his honor at Nazareth. But it was in the 15th century that the cult of Saint Joseph spread due to the influence of Saint Bernadine of Siena, and especially of Jean Gerson (+ 1420), Chancellor of Notre Dame in Paris, who promoted the cause that a feast to Saint Joseph be officially established. There were already some celebrations in Milan in Augustinian circles, and in many places in Germany. It was in 1480, with Pope Sixtus IV’s approval that the feast began to be celebrated on March 19th. It then became obligatory with Pope Gregory XV in 1621. In 1870, Pope Pius IX declared Saint Joseph the Patron of the Universal Church, and Pope Saint John XXIII inserted his name into the Roman Canon of Holy Mass in 1962. More recently, Pope Francis approved seven new invocations in the Litany to Saint Joseph: Guardian of the Redeemer, Servant of Christ, Minister of Salvation, Support in difficulties, Patron of exiles, Patron of the afflicted, and Patron of the poor.

Devotion to St. Joseph, fervent in the East from the early ages, has in later times spread and increased in such a marvelous way that in our day the Catholics of all nations vie with one another in honoring him. At present are the two major feasts in honor of St. Joseph. On March 19th our veneration is directed to him personally and to his part in the work of redemption, while on May 1st we honor him as the patron of workmen throughout the world and as our guide in the difficult matter of establishing equitable norms regarding obligations and rights in the social order. Promulgated in 1955, it replaced the older “Solemnity of St. Joseph” which had been celebrated since 1847—first as the “Patronage of St. Joseph” on the third Sunday after Easter and after 1913 as the “Solemnity of St. Joseph” on the Wednesday before the third Sunday after Easter. While Pope John XXIII inserted the name of St. Joseph in the Roman Canon of Holy Mass in 1962, Pope Francis, in 2013, added his name to the three other Eucharistic Prayers. On December 8th, Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Letter called “With a Father’s Heart”, in which he recalls the 150th anniversary of the declaration of Saint Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. To mark the occasion of this Apostolic Letter, Pope Francis proclaimed a “Year of Saint Joseph” from December 8, 2020, to December 8, 2021. In his Apostolic Letter, the Pope describes Saint Joseph in a number of very striking ways – as a beloved father, a tender and loving father, an obedient father, an accepting father; a father who is creatively courageous, a working father, a father in the shadows.

From his throne of glory in heaven, St. Joseph watches over and protects the Church Militant, and no one who calls on him in need ever calls in vain. There are indications that he died before the beginning of Christ’s public life. His was the most beautiful death that one could have, in the arms of our Lord Jesus Christ and our Blessed Mother Mary. His passing was one of peace, surrounded by love, an example of how we should hope to leave this world—faithful, trusting, and embraced by God’s mercy. He is the model of a perfect Christian life and the patron of a happy death. His patronage extends over the Mystical Body of Christ, over the Christian family, the Christian school, and all individuals who in their need appeal to his charity and powerful intercession, especially in the hour of death; for he who, when dying, received the affectionate ministry of his foster-Son, Jesus, and his Virgin spouse, Mary, may well be trusted to obtain for us the mercy of God and the grace of a peaceful and holy death. St. Joseph is invoked as Patron for many causes and many religious orders and communities are placed under his patronage. He is the patron, guardian and protector of the Universal Church. He is the patron of the dying because Jesus and Mary were at his death-bed. He is also the Patron Saint of fathers; families; married couples; children; unborn children; expectant mothers; workers; laborers; carpenters; cabinet makers; social justice; emigrants; engineers;  immigrants; bursars: interior souls; dying people; happy death; holy death; house hunters; people in doubt; people who fight Communism; travelers; confectioners; craftsmen; protection of the Church; against doubt; against hesitation; Americas; Austria; Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; California; Belgium; Bohemia; Canada; Carinthia; China; Croatian people (in 1687 by decree of the Croatian parliament); Florence, Italy; Korea; Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin; Archdiocese of Louisville, Kentucky; Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire; Mexico; Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee; New France; New World; Oblates of Saint Joseph; Peru; pioneers; Diocese of San Jose, California; diocese of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; social justice; Styria, Austria; Turin Italy; Tyrol Austria;  Universal Church; Vatican II; Vietnam; Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston West Virginia; wheelwrights.

From his throne in heaven, Saint Joseph continues to intercede for us. He watches over the Church, families, fathers, and all who turn to him in need. As our protector and guide, we can confidently entrust our worries to him, knowing that he will present them before the throne of God. As we reflect on the life of Saint Joseph, let us ask ourselves if we truly trust in God’s plan, even when it seems unclear. Are we open to listening to God’s voice in our hearts, as Saint Joseph was? How can we imitate his virtues of humility, obedience, and silent strength in our daily lives?

PRAYER:  O God, who chose Saint Joseph as the faithful guardian of your Son and the protector of the Holy Family, grant that through his intercession, we may follow his example of humility, obedience, and unwavering trust in your divine will. May we, like him, listen to your voice and embrace our calling with courage and love. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. 🙏🏽

Almighty God, You entrusted to the faithful care of Joseph the beginning of the mysteries of our salvation. Through his intercession may Your Church always be faithful in her service that Your designs will be fulfilled. Amen 🙏🏽