Head of the Household

Today, we're going to talk about one of my favorite saints, St. Joseph. In the Catholic world, St. Joseph is a very important man, though he is often overlooked. He barely appears in scripture or tradition, and very little is actually known about him, beyond the fact that he was a carpenter and died before Jesus began his public ministry. There is a pious legend that he died in the arms of Jesus and Mary (which makes sense), and this story is the reason that he is the patron saint of a peaceful death.

However, St. Joseph is the patron of a great number more things that people seem to forget about all the time. In fact, there is a whole litany of St. Joseph, that shows him interceding for a number of things. The titles of St. Joseph are:

Renowned offspring of David

Light of Patriarchs,

Spouse of the Mother of God

Chaste guardian of the Virgin

Foster father of the Son of God

Diligent protector of Christ

Head of the Holy Family

Joseph most just

Joseph most chaste

Joseph most prudent

Joseph most strong

Joseph most obedient

Joseph most faithful

Mirror of patience

Lover of poverty

Model of artisans,

Glory of home life

Guardian of virgins

Pillar of families

Solace of the wretched

Hope of the sick

Patron of the dying

Terror of Demons

Protector of the Holy Church

Given the number of his titles, it’s a bit strange that he isn’t invoked more often. His life isn’t one that we can look to closely for guidance, but we can still invoke his intercession. As the foster father of Jesus, it would be a powerful intercession. Every man should have some level of devotion to St. Joseph, because this was the man who had to deal with raising Jesus. If raising God isn’t a difficult job, nothing is. Not because God is a bad child, but because, who as a father wants to be stuck with wondering if God is going to hold a grudge for being put in time-out?

St. Joseph is also a great person to turn to if trying to discern a vocation, daily protection, and pretty much every problem under the sun. St. Francis De Sales, credited with writing one of the first books on spirituality for lay people, recommended asking for the intercession of both St. Joseph and Mary. St. Therese of Lisieux said daily prayers to St. Joseph for protection, and said that it made her feel safe and protected. St. Theresa of Avila credited the intercession of St. Joseph with a return to health after a particularly nasty illness. People have been turning to St. Joseph for intercession since at least the 8th century.

This has been a rather short post, so I’ll end this with a few depictions of St. Joseph in art and let them be a reminder of the place he holds in the Holy Family.