“Whoever fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge.” (Proverbs 14:26)
One of the great images I enjoy praying before is the image of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Whether it is Mary holding the child Jesus or Joseph, if it is an image of an older Jesus in the company of Mary and Joseph or, perhaps the most loving image of Jesus and Mary in prayer next to Joseph as he returns to his Heavenly Father. When I go the our diocesan Cathedral for a Mass the priest sit in the area where we have this image of the happy death of Joseph directly in front of us. A reminder of how death is at our door step at each moment and we must, like Joseph be always prepared…but to return to the Holy Family and Joseph as its head.
Archbishop M. De Langalerie writes in “The Month of St. Joseph, “He (Joseph) is continually brought before God by the weight of the double responsibility towards the mother and the Child. Joseph was obedient to God in all things.” (p 67) This is a wonderful image of fatherhood, of being a husband in living as a man of grace. St. Joseph chooses to come before God not out of force but in seeking a greater grace and understanding. St. Joseph, in his life and service of God, reminds us how fathers are first and foremost in the care of their wife and children given a double responsibility of showing forth the image of God as Father.
In a practical way I think the best way to describe this is through this experience. I visited a friend and his wife once for a bbq and as I entered their home i was greeted by hugs and then the offer of a drink and we went to the backyard where he was readying the bbq. During the next twenty minutes or so, he moved from that task to being wrestled to the ground by his three small children, heeding the request of his wife to get something from the garage, returning the bbq, seeking to hold an adult conversation with me, answering the random questions of a 5 year old and finally finishing in helping to set the table and being gracious the whole time. I know that this is in some ways an idyllic depiction of the day, and be assured in other visits it didn’t always go this smoothly, but it was the image of fatherhood in action as the head of his family.
“Being obedient to God in all things” for St. Joseph, as it is for all fathers, is to recognize the grace and blessings with the moment and share them with joy to the best of our abilities.
I know I could write the same about mothers in different ways, but this is about St. Joseph so as our Holy Father Francis reminds us, “Fathers are so necessary as examples and guides for our children in wisdom and virtue. Without father figures, young people often feel orphaned; left adrift at a critical moment in their growth and development.” (Pope Francis) and from the great basketball coach John Wooden “The best thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.”
St. Joseph….pray for us.
God Bless
Fr. Mark.