Happy St Joseph's Day 2012

 The Anxiety of Joseph by James Tissot from here

My previous post on St Joseph's Day here

Joseph, the forgotten Saint, is one of the most important people in the  Bible who doesn't have a single speaking line.  

The church honours him on May 1st as a Patron Saint of Workers. 

Can we be sure Joseph was a carpenter ? Jesus is described as the son of a “tekton.”  Click here for interesting article.

 In this video Jesuit priest Fr. James Martin gives us an excellent summary of the "hidden life of Joseph." 


"In an effort to contemporize the biblical record, some modern preachers speak of Mary as a pregnant, unwed, teenage girl and describe Jesus’ family as homeless.
These clever descriptions are ill-suited to Mediterranean culture and are unfair to Mary, Joseph, and Jesus." 
You can read the rest of this informed article here
which also speculates on the age of Joseph, the difference between visions and dreams and John Kavanaugh's thoughts on what was going on in the mind of Joseph from here.


Fr Austin at A Concord Pastor Comments has a lovely prayer for St Joseph, The Worker  here

Joseph's Song by Michael Card 





 Poem by U.A.Fanthorpe
I Am Joseph

I am Joseph, carpenter

Of David's kingly line,

I wanted an heir, discovered 

My wife's son wasn't mine.

 

I am an obstinate lover,

Loved Mary for better or worse.

Wouldn't stop loving when I found

Someone Else came first.

 

Mine was the likeness I hoped for

When the first- born man-child came.

But nothing of him was me. I couldn't 

Even choose his name.


I am Joseph, who wanted

To teach my own boy how to live.

My lesson for my foster son:

Endure.   Love.   Give.




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