Blessings of Fatherhood

~~~Feast of Saint Joseph~~~

 

~~~ 2 Samuel 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16 ~~~ Psalm 89 ~~

~~~Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22 ~~ Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a ~~~

 

 

If I had a daughter Joseph would be the kind of man I would want her to marry.

Joseph was a man of character and integrity.

He exhibited great compassion for Mary under extreme circumstances.

Pregnancy out of wed lock would have been a disgrace for both of them.

Their respective families would also have been embarrassed.

It should not be surprising that God would have hand picked such a man

to accompany Mary for this holy event.

Dreams and angels were all the assurance Joseph had to convince him

staying with Mary was the right decision.

Joseph had no idea that the Holy Spirit was overshadowing everything.

 

Mary respected Joseph so much that she even refers to Joseph as

Jesus' father when he is twelve.

She says,

“Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”

 

Jesus, as we know, had remained in the temple

instead of leaving with his parents.

Jesus did not act a typical rebellious teen;

instead he respected their wishes. He returned to Nazareth with them.

Jesus was doing the work of his heavenly Father, but he is also

obedient to his earthly father...Joseph.

Jesus himself never tried to deny or trivialize the fatherhood of Joseph.

This is a beautiful tribute to the person of Joseph.

He was deprived of biological fatherhood

 yet put in the place of honor as the father of Jesus.

 

Jesus probably never told Joseph that he didn't have to obey him

 because he was not really his father.

In today's world, unfortunately, that would not be uncommon.

 

I believe Joseph was strong yet meek and humble.

Joseph, as a carpenter, could look at a chunk of wood and envision

how it could be transformed into something useful.

He could plan take a piece of wood into his shop and create something

useful and beautiful.

Most likely he took great pride in his finished products.

Mary surely was proud of what he could make for them

and how he could provide for her and Jesus.

 

Joseph was a builder. Jesus was a builder too.

Jesus is still building up the kingdom here on earth.

He calls us to join him in his mission of building.

 

 

Being a father does not rely solely on biology.

It is much more.

Blessings to those men who are fathers with no gene connection.

Love will make up for more than any thing else; we see it here with Joseph.

 

Saint Joseph, pray for all fathers.

Saint Joseph, pray for my father, Joseph,

who was also a gifted wood worker.