Reception
St Joseph
watch over me
and care for me
just as you cared for
the child Jesus;
and by your help,
may I come to know
your Son,
and so grow
in strength
and wisdom
and the favour of God.
Amen.
St. Joseph
Feast Day: 19th March
St. Joseph was the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus. According to the earliest Christian traditions, he was a carpenter or woodworker. The Gospel of Matthew calls him a “righteous man,” meaning he was an observant Jew who obeyed God’s law. God chose Joseph to be the foster father of Jesus and the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
After they were engaged to be married an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him that Mary would give birth to a Child who would be the Son of God. Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem to register for the census. They could find no place to stay except a stable. There Mary gave birth to her Son and laid Him in a manger. At the word of an angel Joseph took Jesus and Mary to Egypt and stayed there till the angel told him to go back to Nazareth. At Nazareth Joseph worked hard for Jesus and Mary. Later, Jesus worked with Joseph in the carpenter shop and learnt how to make things out of wood. Joseph died in the arms of Jesus and Mary. Mary referred to Joseph as Jesus’ father, honouring his role in caring for and protecting Jesus, and raising him in the Jewish faith; the reply of Jesus refers to God as his Father, and introduces a common theme in his preaching: Our faithfulness to God must come before even our closest human relationships.
Class of St. Joseph of Nazareth
God chose Joseph, a young carpenter of Nazareth, to be the foster father of Jesus and the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary. After they were engaged to be married an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him that Mary would give birth to a Child who would be the Son of God.
Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem to register for the census. They could find no place to stay except a stable. There Mary gave birth to her Son and laid Him in a manger.
At the word of an angel Joseph took Jesus and Mary to Egypt and stayed there till the angel told him to go back to Nazareth. At Nazareth Joseph worked hard for Jesus and Mary. Later, Jesus worked with Joseph in the carpenter shop and learnt how to make things out of wood. Joseph died in the arms of Jesus and Mary.