St. Joseph Learned from His Dreams and Taught by His Example

Statue of St. Joseph and Child Jesus at St. Joseph Renewal Center, St. Augustine, FL.

Chosen by God to be the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and foster father of Jesus Christ, St. Joseph, a simple carpenter, remains mostly in the background in the New Testament. As we are still in the Year of St. Joseph in the Catholic Church, this month I want to reflect on St. Joseph.

In the New Testament, St. Joseph is described as a just or upright man, and as a carpenter from Nazareth. God communicates with Joseph through his dreams. When Mary of Nazareth, his betrothed, is discovered to be pregnant before she had come to live with him, Joseph decides to divorce her quietly until an angel in a dream explains how she conceived by the Holy Spirit and will bear the Son of God, the Savior of the world. Joseph shows an openness to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit and a humble trust in the message that must have been difficult to accept.

St. Joseph the Worker Statue in Our Lady of Lourdes Convent courtyard in St. Augustine.

Although Joseph remains in the background, we know that Mary and Jesus depended on his protection, his earning a living to provide food and shelter, and his example as a male Jewish role model for the young Jesus. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph - the Holy Family - show us that God works in our ordinary, everyday lives and relationships. Jesus spent most of his life in Joseph and Mary’s home in Nazareth, and yet we have no record of any spoken word of Joseph anywhere.

In the New Testament, it is mainly in the infancy narratives in Matthew and Luke’s gospels where we hear about St. Joseph. Joseph takes his pregnant wife Mary with him to Bethlehem for a government-mandated census and has to resort to staying in a stable for the birth of Jesus as there are no rooms available. Then, Joseph has to flee with his family to Egypt to protect Jesus from Herod. They are exiles in Egypt until it is safe to return to Nazareth.

Statue of St. Joseph and Child Jesus in Motherhouse foyer in St. Augustine.

Joseph begins his role in salvation history by welcoming Mary and Jesus into his home, showing cordial charity. From there, to me, he demonstrates courage, resourcefulness, strength, faithfulness, gentleness and compassion. Dear St. Joseph, be our inspiration during this Year of St. Joseph during a pandemic. Help us to be open to God’s inspirations as you were, and to trust in God as you did. Help us to walk the talk as you did!