Wow! The great Feast is here again! Today (March 19) the whole world celebrates one noble Saint of the family - Saint Joseph, the foster father of Jesus Christ and the spouse of the Mother of God - the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Whether it’s called St. Joseph’s Day, The Feast of St. Joseph or La Festa di San Giuseppe, the March 19 holiday is dedicated to the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to celebrate the feast, which is usually held two days after St. Patrick’s Day.
The Bible pays Joseph the highest compliment: he was a “just” and "obedient" man. The quality meant a lot more than faithfulness in paying debts.When the Bible speaks of God “justifying” someone, it means that God, the all-holy or “righteous” One, so transforms a person that the individual shares somehow in God’s own holiness, and hence it is really “right” for God to love him or her. In other words, God is not playing games, acting as if we were lovable when we are not.
By saying Joseph was “just,” the Bible means that he was one who was completely open to all that God wanted to do for him. He became holy by opening himself totally to God.
The rest we can easily surmise. Think of the kind of love with which he wooed and won Mary, and the depth of the love they shared during their marriage.
It is no contradiction of Joseph’s manly holiness that he decided to divorce Mary when she was found to be with child. The important words of the Bible are that he planned to do this “quietly” because he was “a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame” (Matthew 1:19). (How many men will accept their wives when they found them pregnant that they were not responsible???)
The Angel intervened!! The just man was simply, joyfully, wholeheartedly obedient to God—in marrying Mary, in naming Jesus, in shepherding the precious pair to Egypt, in bringing them to Nazareth, in the undetermined number of years of quiet faith and courage.
His obedience to the will of God gave him the honor and dignity of Saints. His being obedient and acceptance of his responsibility gained him a chair in heaven
Today as we commemorate the feast of St. Joseph the husband of Mary and the foster Father of Jesus, we pray through his example to grant us patience, modesty, listening ability to the voice of God, employment, chastity, humility, leadership ability and above all, the zeal to serve Jesus and honour Mary. St. Joseph, Patron of interior life, pray for us. Have a great day & happy feast day to all especially those that are named Joseph!!!
Readings for the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary
CollectGrant, we pray, almighty God,
that by Saint Joseph's intercession
your Church may constantly watch over
the unfolding of the mysteries of human salvation,
whose beginnings you entrusted to his faithful care.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.
First Reading - 2 Samuel 7: 4-5a, 12-14a, 16
The word of the Lord came to Nathan:
"Go and tell My servant David, 'Thus says the Lord: Would you build Me a house to dwell in? When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. When he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men. And your house and our kingdom shall be made sure for ever before Me; your thorne shall be established for ever.'"
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 89:2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29
R. The son of David will live for ever.
I will sing of thy steadfast love, O LORD,
for ever; with my mouth I will proclaim thy
faithfulness to all generations.
For thy steadfast love was established for ever,
thy faithfulness is firm as the heavens.
R. The son of David will live for ever.
Thou hast said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
'I will establish your descendants for ever,
and build your throne for all generations.'"
R. The son of David will live for ever.
He shall cry to me, 'Thou art my Father, my God,
and the Rock of my salvation.'
My steadfast love I will keep for him for ever,
and my covenant will stand firm for him.
R. The son of David will live for ever.
Second Reading - Romans 4: 13, 16-18, 22
A promise to Abraham and his descendants, that they should inherit the world, did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendents -- not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, for he is the father of us all, as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations" -- in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. That is why his faith was "reckoned to him as righteous".
Gospel - Matthew 1: 16, 18-21, 24a
Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with Child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to send her away quietly. But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, but knew her not until she had borne a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
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