Sunday March 21st. 2010

On Friday, we celebrated the feast of St. Joseph, patron of our church at Spean

All that we know about the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus

comes from Scripture and that has seemed too little for those who made up

We know he was a carpenter, a working man, for the  Nazarenes asked about

Jesus, "Is this not the carpenter's son?" (Matthew 13:55). He wasn't rich for

when he took Jesus to the Temple he offered sacrifice of two turtledoves or a

pair of pigeons, allowed only for those who could not afford a lamb (Luke

Despite his humble work and means, Joseph came from a royal lineage. Luke

and Matthew  both mark his descent from David, the greatest king of Israel

(Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3:23-38). Indeed the angel who first tells Joseph

We know Joseph was a compassionate, caring man. When he discovered Mary

was pregnant after they had been betrothed, he knew the child was not his but

was as yet unaware that she was carrying the Son of God. He planned to divorce

Mary according to the Law as he was concerned for her suffering and safety. He

knew that women accused to adultery could be stoned to death, so he decided to

Joseph was man of deep faith, obedient to whatever God asked of him without

knowing the outcome. When the angel came Joseph in a dream and told him the

truth about the child Mary was carrying, Joseph immediately and without

question or concern for gossip, took Mary as his wife. When the angel came

again to tell him that his family was in danger, he left everything he owned, all

his family and friends, and fled to a strange country with his young wife and the

Joseph loved  the child Jesus so much. His one concern was for the safety of

this child entrusted to him. Not only did he leave his home to protect Jesus, but upon his return settled in the obscure town of

Nazareth out of fear for his life. We are told that he took his family  to Jerusalem every year for Passover, something that could not

have been easy for a working man. It was there that  Jesus stayed in the Temple, and Joseph and Mary searched with great anxiety

for three days for him (Luke 2:48). Joseph treated Jesus as his own son and  respected God wishes and  followed God's commands in