Go to Joseph

Joseph teaches us chaste and trustful surrender to Divine Providence:

 Joseph was resourceful enough to find lodging for Mary to give birth. He entrepreneurially found work in Bethlehem, Egypt and in Nazareth to support the Holy Family. St. Paul VI said that he “turned his human vocation to domestic love into a superhuman oblation of self,” living what St. John Paul II called the “epitome of the Gospel of Work” as he provided for Jesus and Mary. For this reason, the saints throughout the centuries have compared him to Joseph the Patriarch (Genesis 37-50). They share the same name, the same receptivity to God’s word through dreams, a similar chastity, and the know-how to provide for God’s family. Each was a “wise and faithful servant whom the Lord put in charge of his household” (Luke 12:42). 

Pharaoh called Joseph the Patriarch the “Savior of the World” (Genesis 41:45) for storing wheat for bread that sustained the world during seven years of famine. Joseph of Nazareth provided for the Living Bread, who would be the world’s true salvation. With confidence, the Christian faithful has, therefore, never ceased to follow Pharaoh’s advice to “go to Joseph.” https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/school-of-saint-joseph

In this Josephite Year, let us abide by his example. If we can go to Jesus through Mary, let us join her in going to Jesus through Joseph.