Saint Joseph: Silent and Powerful

flight, Christmas, Holy Family, Bethlehem

As many of us wonder how we can both protect our families and stand up for what we believe is important in the midst of the current events, Saint Joseph is a perfect example of the strength that can be present in silence.

Joseph’s Most Important Calling

Chosen to be the earthly father-figure of God’s Son, Saint Joseph had an immense responsibility to approach his calling with care.  He not only had to protect the Savior of his people, he also had to provide for his wife, the immaculately conceived Virgin Mary (CCC 490).  He had to do this while both being judged by his community and dodging many early attempts to kill Jesus.

In spite of the vital role Saint Joseph played in salvation history, there are no recorded words of his in the Bible.  We hear of his intentions and of the angel’s directions to him at pivotal points in the infancy and childhood of Christ, but not his verbal response.  There are not even words commonly associated with him through oral tradition.  How could such an important person have a silent legacy?

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Although Saint Joseph’s words may not be recorded, his obedience shouts from the pages of the Gospels.  Many demands were made of this “righteous man” (Matthew 1:19), and they were always met with a ready and willing spirit.  Joseph takes Mary into his home, although he knows how it will be misinterpreted.  He moves several times to protect his family, as instructed by angels.  And when they find Jesus in the temple, Mary declares “Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety,” (Luke 2:48) showing Joseph’s active involvement in the daily affairs and Mary’s close relationship with him.

Joseph is a constant presence throughout Jesus’s childhood and in the early years of the Holy Family.  He may not speak words that are shared, but his actions prove he understood the importance of his role.  Pope Leo XIII described Saint Joseph’s duties in his encyclical Quamquam Pluries, or “On Devotion to St. Joseph,” saying:

Joseph became the guardian, the administrator, and the legal defender of the divine house whose chief he was. And during the whole course of his life he fulfilled those charges and those duties. He set himself to protect with a mighty love and a daily solicitude his spouse and the Divine Infant (QP, 3)

Saint Joseph’s Example for the Church

Saint Joseph lived intimately with the only two perfect people to walk the earth: one the Son of God incarnate, and the other the blessed woman, chosen as His mother.  God chose Joseph because he had the virtues necessary to embrace the heavy responsibilities of leading these two in goodness and keeping them in safety.  His silence shows that Joseph did not allow this calling to make him prideful, rather, he recognized his own littleness and prayerfully played his part in salvation history to the best of his ability.

Saint Joseph’s success in fulfilling this role led him to be declared the Patron of the Church.  Just as he did in Nazareth, he continues to quietly watch over our Church today, a model of quiet strength and constant prayer.  As Pope Leo writes,

These are the reasons why men of every rank and country should fly to the trust and guard of the blessed Joseph. Fathers of families find in Joseph the best personification of paternal solicitude and vigilance; spouses a perfect example of love, of peace, and of conjugal fidelity (QP, 4)

His Example for Us Now

As many of us try to discern how to protect our families while also taking a stand for causes we believe in, Saint Joseph is a good person to emulate.  Though many troubling things were going on outside them, Saint Joseph kept the Holy Family safe and faithful to God’s plan.  While others judged them, Saint Joseph only cared about God’s opinion and led by example.  By doing so, he took a firm stand against the culture by boldly living a godly life.

As members of the domestic church, parents cannot always be as open, involved, or aggressive in their activism.  Many times, they are home-bound and responsible for their children’s needs first.  But as St. Joseph demonstrates, the most powerful protest can often be a life lived in faith.  Though there is a place and time for words and proactive witness, Saint Joseph proves that the quiet activism that starts in the home can be equally important, perhaps even more important in the grand scheme of salvation.

As parents, we prepare future generations.  By taking time to form and fashion our children into faithful, informed disciples of Christ, we keep the Gospel message moving through society.  Saint Joseph was necessary to helping Jesus prepare for His public ministry, by ministering to Him in private first.  We can follow his example, prepare our children in the safety of our homes, then encourage them to be passionate witnesses to God as Christ was.  By doing so, we become a powerful force for right, even while being silent in the eyes of the world.

Prayer to Saint Joseph

May Saint Joseph bless our efforts!  Pope Leo XIII’s prayer below is perfect for these times:

Prayer to Saint Joseph

To thee, O blessed Joseph, we have recourse in our affliction, and having implored the help of thy thrice holy Spouse, we now, with hearts filled with confidence, earnestly beg thee also to take us under thy protection. By that charity wherewith thou wert united to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God, and by that fatherly love with which thou didst cherish the Child Jesus, we beseech thee and we humbly pray that thou wilt look down with gracious eye upon that inheritance which Jesus Christ purchased by His blood, and wilt succor us in our need by thy power and strength.

Defend, O most watchful guardian of the Holy Family, the chosen off-spring of Jesus Christ. Keep from us, O most loving Father, all blight of error and corruption. Aid us from on high, most valiant defender, in this conflict with the powers of darkness. And even as of old thou didst rescue the Child Jesus from the peril of His life, so now defend God’s Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity. Shield us ever under thy patronage, that, following thine example and strengthened by thy help, we may live a holy life, die a happy death, and attain to everlasting bliss in Heaven. Amen. (QP, 7)

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6 thoughts on “Saint Joseph: Silent and Powerful”

  1. One cannot us “Techno scientific” methods to prove faith. This is about faith not science, it is about Scripture and Tradition. The Magisterium comes way before private revelation or an unapproved and uncommissioned “study.” The bishops decide doctrine and dogma, not an individual.

  2. Just saw Somar’s post.
    St. Joseph is equal to the Virgin?
    No according to Scripture or Tradition, not according to the Magisterium.
    If Somar wants to treat St. Joseph that way in his personal piety, no one can stop him. But as far as the faith of the Church is concerned this is overreach and excessive.

    1. Everything, including us and our surroundings, is wonderful, sublime and marvellous.
      Please hear the words of Jesus:
      “17 For nothing is hid that shall not be made manifest, nor anything secret that shall not be known and come to light.” Lk. 8:17
      This is an encouragement from Jesus to man to think aloud and reach the TRUTH.
      FR. KHOURI, I have the explicable scientific evidence to prove my claim. I will definitely come up at CS at an appropriate time.

  3. Who is greater, St Joseph or St. John the Baptist? Of course, I am sure they defer to each other in heaven, but what of their veneration on earth.

    “I tell all of you with certainty, among those born of women no one has appeared who is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least important person in the kingdom from heaven is greater than he.” (Mt 11:11)

    The Church venerates St. Joseph but mostly forgets about St. John the Baptist.

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  5. I am, in fact, forced to make a solid and strong comment on the following sentence noticed in the article:
    “Saint Joseph lived intimately with “the only two “perfect people to walk the earth: one the Son of God incarnate, and the other the blessed woman, chosen as His mother.”
    It is not “the only two” but three including Joseph. I am always hurt and sad to note that St. Joseph is not being given a due recognition at many of the relevant and renowned platforms throughout history.
    I cannot understand why?
    I, for my part, made a thorough study and research on the topic, spread over a period of a couple of decades. And, at last, I came to recognize that St. Joseph is no less than St. Mary. It means Joseph is equal to or more than Mary in all respects. Of course neither recorded evidence nor from-mouth-to-mouth-evidence is available though. But it is the TRUTH which is provable in a techno-scientific way.

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