What makes Saint Joseph such a great saint? We know very little about him from the Scriptures. We don’t know when he was born or even when he died. We don’t see him in prayer, or doing miracles, or helping the poor. But we do see two things. He was attentive to the voice of God. And he was probably the person who was the closest to Jesus and Mary in their lifetimes.
His attentiveness meant that he was willing to give up his own plans when they conflicted with the plans of God. He did not consider that his ideas were always the best. And even when the plans of God seemed very difficult or impractical, he followed them anyway.
And, in a certain sense, he took the place of God here on earth because he was a father to Jesus, the Son of God. This is truly an amazing role. As the father of the Holy Family, he spent his days in close union and attention to Jesus and to Mary. The verse from the first reading of today, was confirmed in Saint Joseph: “I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.“
Furthermore like Abraham, in the second reading, he believed in the promise of God. His faith made it possible for the will of God to be accomplished in this world. Therefore, it is truly right that we consider him to be our father. This is why he is the patron of the universal Church and why we turn to him in our needs.
His attentiveness was so great that he heard God’s voice even while he was asleep. What if any of us had a dream and then woke up and decided to act on it? Probably many strange things would be done. But Saint Joseph knew the voice of God and understood what God wanted him to do.
He was there at the key events in the early life of Jesus that are recorded in the Gospels: the birth of Jesus, his presentation in the temple, the flight into Egypt. He was also there when Jesus was lost for three days. Therefore, even though he was not there at the foot of the cross, he suffered ahead of time the three days without Jesus.
As we continue to go through Lent, let us take St. Joseph with us as a companion. He will help us to be attentive to the voice of God and to be very close to Jesus and Mary.