What adjectives best describe Joseph, the Husband of Mary? Hard-working, strong, tender, loving, compassionate, faithful, bold, daring, trusting, protective, obedient. Ah, obedient! What a marvel to read of his obedience when he had made up his mind to divorce her when her pregnancy during their engagement became apparent, and then at the message of an angel, did as commanded and took Mary as his wife. Obediently, he made the journey to Bethlehem to register in the census; again, obediently at the word of an angel, fled to Egypt, and returned to Nazareth after several years in Egypt to begin again. He was like Mary, open to God's will, not his, and obedient to the point of making these very dramatic moves. The more we reflect on Joseph, the more we are moved to see in him all those qualities summed up in the phrase, "a just man", a good man, a man of God, and the more we come to love him. No wonder he is the protector, patron of the universal church and the perfect model of husbands and fathers. No wonder the admonition, Ite ad Joseph, et quidquid dixerit vobis facite, "Go to Joseph and do all the he shall say to you" holds so true century after century. May Joseph guide and protect us as he did Mary and Jesus.
Bro. Rene
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