Word to the Wise
Wednesday, March 19, 2025 - March 19: St. Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary (transferred to Monday 3/20 if 3/19 is a Sunday; exception for 2008: transferred to Saturday, 3/15/08)
[2 Sam 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16; Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22; Matt 1:16, 18-21, 24a or Luke 2:41-51a,69]The Lord spoke to Nathan and said: "Go, tell my servant David, 'When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm. It is he who shall build a house for my name. And I will make his royal throne firm forever...[2 Samuel 7] "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary, your wife into your home..." [Matthew]
The key fact about St. Joseph in the New Testament is that he was descended from King David and played a pivotal role in the fulfillment of the prophecy given to David by Nathan, as quoted above. The reason given for the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem is that Bethlehem was the ancestral village of David. But Catholic tradition has gone well beyond those fundamental scriptural facts. It took a while for devotion to St. Joseph to develop, but when it did, he acquired all kinds of titles, including Patron of the Universal Church, patron saint of a happy death, patron saint of carpenters, patron saint of those who want to sell a piece of real estate by burying a small statue of St. Joseph on the property....... The immense Oratorio of St. Joseph in Montreal, Canada, is a tribute to the devotion to St. Joseph shown by a Holy Cross brother, St. Andre Bessett, CSC.
All of the devotion to St. Joseph could, in my humble opinion. be summed up in the words "quiet strength." His faith and trust in the message of revelation given to him about Mary's unexpected pregnancy, his protective action to save Jesus from the murderous decree of Herod, and his faithful observance of Jewish practice in bringing Jesus to the temple are all indicators of a quiet strength and determination. His feast day on the 19th of March has been observed since the 10th century. We continue to need that quiet strength! AMEN