 It is such a privilege and honor to be with you. Did you get enough time to stand? Why don't you stand for just one more moment and I'll lead in prayer. Thank you. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for the privilege of gathering together in your name for these precious days of breaking open your word. We thank you for the men and the women who have brought your word to us, who've inspired our prayers, who are challenging us to go back into the world and bring this life-giving truth. And we ask that you would help us to focus on your precious gift to us of St. Joseph in this last hour together before we enter into the sacred mysteries of mass. And we pray all of this in the precious name of Jesus. Amen. You may be seated. One day after Scott became Catholic and I was not yet, I had a friend call. I was having a difficult day. I had three little rabble rousers and it wasn't going well and our friend also converted the same night. Scott did and so he was always on a mission to move me in that direction. And he said to me, Kimberly, have you prayed to Mary? I took a deep breath. I said, how many children do you think she had? One. Yes, and I have three. And the one she had, was he sinless? Of course he was. Yes. And how much did Mary struggle with sin? Well, she was sinless. Yeah, something went wrong with the dinner table. Had to be Joe. I said, if I talked to dead people, which I don't, it wouldn't be Mary, it would be Joe. Now I was being a little sarcastic, but honestly that was where I was at the time. And yet by the grace of God, through a very painful two bowl miscarriage, God brought to my heart Hebrews 12, one and two and shared with me that precious gift of the communion of saints. And as I lay there broken in body, so sad, the reality that I was at that moment surrounded by the cloud of witnesses that St. Paul speaks of in Hebrews 12, filled my heart with hopefulness and opened something new in terms of the communion of saints. You know, as an evangelical, I always imagined, and I would say this is typically true, that Mary was just the box Jesus came in. And even though children tend to play with the box, you know, when you give them a gift at Christmas, you keep thinking, okay, it's not about the box, it's about the gift. And Joseph wasn't even the box. He was kind of a placeholder. Like we don't want Mary to look bad, so probably Joseph's a prop and that gives it a feeling of family. And we never even talked about them actually being disciples. But I wanna share with you that through this breakthrough, the intercession of saints and then even more coming into the fullness of the faith of the church, I realized Jesus chose Mary as his first disciple and Joseph as his second. And though we don't have any quotes of Saint Joseph, we can learn so much from his example because truly actions do speak louder than words. So I wanna walk through Joseph's life and offer some thoughts that have come to my heart. We begin with Joseph's enunciation, which follows Mary. You know, they were betrothed, but they weren't yet living married life. Like Mary, Joseph is in the line of David. He's royalty. He's the son of patriarchs and kings. As we know from the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1.16, quote, Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ, end quote. As Jesus' first disciple, Mary brings Jesus to Joseph. She shares this incredible prophecy that the angel of the Lord had given her. His greeting, hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you. And her mission, quote, do not be afraid, Mary, that you've found favor with God and behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and would be called the son of the most high. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there will be no end end quote, that's Luke 1.30 to 33. Why would the angel tell her not to be afraid? Because this is overwhelming news. There's so many unknowns. She's been chosen to bear the son of God, to be his mother. Now her response is different than Zechariah's. Mary doesn't question with a lack of faith but she also does not comprehend how this is going to occur. She says in verse 34 of Luke one, how shall this be since I have no husband? That's an odd question because you might expect it to be a timing issue. She is going to get married. Wouldn't the question be when is it going to happen? And the implication of her question how instead of when is that most likely Mary and Joseph intended to wed without having sexual relations? And so it wasn't a timing issue. How could it occur? And the angel's response again is utterly amazing quote, the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called Holy, the son of God in verse 35. And the angel also reveals another miraculous conception, Elizabeth, her cousin who had been barren her whole life and Zechariah are now expecting. And it had just been made public back in I'm Kareem. That knowledge wouldn't have traveled to Nazareth yet. Mary's response is quote, behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word and the angel departed from her. Verse 38. Now Mary doesn't withhold this news from her betrothed. She has nothing to hide. Mary brings Jesus to Joseph first. She wants to share the news and the joy and the wonder. They will have a child and he will be the long awaited Messiah. Joseph withdraws from Mary after hearing the news. This is a lot to process. He's a godly man. He knows she is a godly woman. I'm gonna read Matthew one 18 to 25. Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph before they came together, she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit and her husband being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered this behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel which means God with us. When Joseph woke from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took his wife and knew her not until she had borne a son and he called his name Jesus. Joseph was a just man. He was unwilling to put her to shame. And currently you hear a lot of conversation that maybe what he didn't wanna do is have her noticeably pregnant and he knew he wasn't the father and so he decides to divorce her quietly. But there's another view I wanna mention and that is he may have so believed Mary's words incredible though they would be and felt so unworthy to be the father of a child conceived by the Holy Spirit that he thought I need to step back from this. Mary is holy, the child is, will be holy and what will his humble response be? Can he imitate Mary's response? Behold the manservant of the Lord. Can he yield his will to God's? A different plan for his family and as he ponders his course of action he has his own enunciation. He's visited in a dream by the angel who again says be not afraid. You know the angels tend to say that a lot so there have to be fearful things about these because it would be a natural response. The angel urges, commands and consoles him with the truth. Do not be afraid to take Mary your betrothed in marriage. God has a plan. He's at work and you Joseph are a significant part of this plan for this child. The angel reminds Joseph of who he is by calling him son of David. Remember your bloodline. You are a descendant of the king David just as Mary is. And then he says and you will call him Jesus. That's the prerogative of the earthly father and Jewish custom. And Jesus Yeshua is a name meaning savior. He will save his people from his sins. Last night when we were singing makes me tear up. When we were singing Jesus over and over it just hit me the first person to utter the name of Jesus was St. Joseph. He's the one who reveals the name to Mary. We don't have any recorded words but we can know for a fact that he said Jesus. This is the savior for whom you've been praying, searching, hoping, believing him, trust in him the angel says this is your part of the incredible plan Joseph. Take Mary as your wife, husband well, offer Mary and Jesus love, protect them, provide for them, embrace Jesus as your very own child. Welcome him, teach him, guide him, love him. So we assume that they wed before Mary went on to Elizabeth. St. Joseph isn't the spouse of Mary just to provide cover for him, for her. He's not a prop so they look like a family. He is truly her husband and they become the holy family. And that way the incarnation takes place in the context of marriage and family life. Mary and Joseph access sacramental graces of marriage and together they anticipate the birth of the baby. Mary is eager to take Jesus to others to share the joy of this incredible secret with her dear cousin and she's also eager to serve. It's possible that Joseph wanting to take on this role of protector and defender may have gone with her at least to make sure that she got their safe and sound in on cream. And there's an artist that has this beautiful painting in the background behind Elizabeth is Zechariah looking on and behind Mary is St. Joseph looking on and they're just observing the joy between the two women and of course we know the joy between the two babies. And then he goes home. Now while Mary stays with Elizabeth until the birth of John the Baptist, Joseph is alone in Nazareth for three long months. He becomes the great secret keeper. In Nazareth he alone knows the incredible reality that the longed for savior of the world is growing within his beloved. St. Joseph has time to think and to pray and to prepare for fatherhood and he embraces this virginal fatherhood. Yes, we can refer to Joseph as Jesus foster father but that doesn't mean false father and sometimes when people say it it almost seems like yeah, yeah, he had a role. No, no, apart from biology, Joseph will fully father Jesus as a living icon of God the father to Jesus. After our Lady Joseph will be the closest human person to our Lord fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies as the custodian of the Redeemer. This is incredible, joyful news. How is he to raise the son of God? There is so much to ponder and while she's away, St. Joseph prepares to welcome Mary home. He may even have already made the cradle for the little one. He has a carpenter. He doesn't know that God's will involves a major move just before Jesus' birth. God's will unfolds gradually for St. Joseph just like it does for us. He didn't know the whole plan but as a faithful disciple, he trusts God is in the details and he keeps saying yes. Since Joseph and Mary are in the royal family line of King David, the Roman census demands they traveled to Bethlehem and she's nine months pregnant. They have to uproot and they don't know when they'll return. As a carpenter, Joseph has to leave his shop and just pack up a few tools they can take along. If he's made a cradle, he has to leave it. Mary also won't have relatives right there to deliver the baby but God will provide and they will trust he will. It's an arduous trip. I don't know if you've ever been nine months pregnant but if you have, wouldn't you like to get on a donkey and go 86 miles? Wow. Joseph's compassionate heart had to know it was difficult even if Mary didn't complain but they are determined to be obedient to the law. They are fulfilling the scriptures because the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem even if they didn't know that it was prophecy they were fulfilling. Where was God? In the midst of caravans, strangers, ins that were full, he was in their midst. He was a manual God with us as the angel proclaimed and Joseph and Mary had to trust the Lord with the details. Then Joseph witnesses the miraculous birth of Jesus and knowing how birds go, Joseph may have been the first to have seen the holy face of our Lord and then the one to hand Jesus to Mary to meet his mother face to face. Together they got something we are all tempted to do. When you have a baby, you come pretty close to adoration when you're looking at that child and they actually got to adore him and they're the first ones who offer him worship. Imagine the humility of St. Joseph instead of laying him in a cradle of his own making he had to use the cattle trough. After the exhaustion of the travel and then the birth Joseph and Mary could have chosen privacy with Jesus, close the doors. Let's just be a little family but instead in the middle of the night they choose to welcome the shepherds, the angels, eventually the magi who are sent as witnesses. They get to share the joy with someone who also understands as faithful disciples, Joseph and Mary don't set limits on serving our Lord. I'll do this and no more. And doesn't he challenge us? Say yes again, be open again. St. Joseph embraces Jesus as his own son. He is the human icon of his heavenly father and Jesus embraces Joseph as his earthly father. St. Joseph participates most fully in God's fatherhood because he is called to provide for and protect and defend and raise the Son of God. St. Andre Bassette, known as the apostle of St. Joseph said that St. Joseph is quote, the example of love, humility and dedication to Jesus and Mary, end quote. And another St. Madeline Sophie Barat said, quote, the two greatest personages who ever lived on this earth, Mary and Jesus subjected themselves to him. Pope St. John Paul wrote quote, St. Joseph was called by God to serve the person and the mission of Jesus directly through the exercise of his fatherhood. No matter how much our Lord asks us to give, ask them to give, Mary and Joseph continued to say yes as faithful disciples. He gives them the grace to cooperate with his plan. 40 days after Jesus' birth, it's time to present Jesus in the temple according to the law. And Mary and Joseph are obedient. They bring the actual giver of the law, the word of God made flesh, the Lord of the temple to the temple for the first time, his father's house. Every good father wants to provide well, but Joseph embraces poverty with humility. What a contrast. They're bringing the king of kings to his own temple and they can only afford the smallest gift of two turtle doves. They're met by Simeon, elderly Jew in the temple who affirms Jesus' identity. He knows their secret. He shares their joy. And I'm gonna read a few verses from Luke two, beginning in verse 27, well, 25. Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon and this man who was righteous in devout, looking for the consolation of Israel and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he saw the Lord's Christ. And inspired by the Spirit, he came into the temple. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, now let thy servant depart in peace according to thy word for my eyes have seen thy salvation which thou has prepared in the presence of all peoples a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to thy people Israel. And his father and mother marveled at what was said about him and Simeon blessed them. And then he goes on and he speaks only to Mary. Behold this child is set for the fallen rising of many in Israel and for a sign that is spoken against and a sword will pierce through your own soul also that many thoughts, sorry, thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed. There is no prophecy for Joseph. Clearly he will not be there at that time and Mary will have to shoulder that alone. What an incredible burden for both of them to have that knowledge but especially for St. Joseph who's the one who's to protect and defend. He will not be there when they need him most but he will help shoulder the burden of that knowledge with his beloved. In Bethlehem, St. Joseph sets up shop again, second shop. As faithful disciples, they get to know Jesus and begin to share life with him and it's not clear how old Jesus was but the scriptures say the magi came to a house. So probably he was somewhere under the age of two and in fact, when the magi leave King Herod, you remember, the order to kill the little boys, it was to be two and under because he wasn't exactly sure how old Jesus would be. And again, an angel comes to St. Joseph in a dream, Matthew 2, 13 to 15, quote, rise. Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt and remain there till I tell you for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him and he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt. Mary doesn't contradict him. She doesn't say, hey, usually the angels come and tell me the plan. She allows him to lead her spiritually and also physically. They share heartbreak because there is no time to go knocking on doors, to tell other parents they need to flee. Joseph has to save the savior. He has to do his duty and get Mary and Jesus to safety and again, he leaves his carpenter shop with just a few tools. Though many paintings depict St. Joseph as elderly, some people posit that that's the artist's attempt to try to say there weren't sexual relations between Mary and Joseph because he was too old to try to pursue that. I love the response of Mother Angelica. Old men don't walk to Egypt. And St. Josemaria Escobar says this, quote, I see him, St. Joseph, as a strong young man, perhaps a few years older than our lady, but in the prime of his life and work, end quote. The Holy Spirit was there to protect their purity. We don't need to have him be grandfatherly age. Now it was an arduous trip. They had to cross the desert and enter a foreign land. It was unknown and difficult terrain. And certainly in the desert, you had the heat by day and cold at night. How much food and water were they able to quickly pack up? On the one hand, the desert represents a place of great danger and isolation. And on the other hand, as we read through the scriptures and have been mentioned in other talks, the desert is where God meets people in profound ways and cares for their needs. The Holy Family goes into exile, becoming refugees in a foreign land. And this is Jesus' missionary trip as they take him to Egypt. Did Joseph know the prophecy out of Egypt? I called my son. We don't know. How long will they be there? Joseph doesn't know. Though Mary and Joseph don't know the specifics, they trust God. Like another Joseph, son of Jacob and son of Israel, Saint Joseph keeps safe the bread of heaven, his son in Egypt, so that someday the whole world will be fed. Blessed Pius IX said this. Like Joseph in the Old Testament, God made Saint Joseph the Lord and Chief of his household and possessions, the guardian of his choices treasures. And Joseph, Joseph, Joseph, Joseph has another dream. It's safe to return home. Again, Mary doesn't second guess. Joseph, she follows. And Joseph brings his family to Nazareth, again with just a handful of his carpentry tools. Saint Joseph trusts the Lord to lead him. Mary trusts the Lord to lead through Joseph. And Jesus entrusts his life to Joseph and Mary. Saint Joseph is a model of the love, humility, and dedication to Jesus and Mary that we should share. Mary and Joseph live their faith in their words and their deeds united, and they raise their son, the son of God, with joy. Saint Jose Maria wrote, quote, Saint Joseph, more than anyone else before or since, learned from Jesus to be alert to recognize God's wonders, end quote. Yet they were always aware of what my husband frequently says that this world is not a playground. It is a battleground. In Ephesians, Saint Paul has his longest teaching on marriage right before his longest passage on spiritual warfare. Simeon's prophecy was never far from them. There were so many unknowns. Mary and Joseph trusted the details to God. What a joy and blessing their home had to have been. As faithful disciples, they were the original community of believers. And once again, for the fourth time, Joseph sets up his carpentry shop, and he would train Jesus in those skills. Pope Benedict XVI offers this, quote, in the rhythm of the days he spent in Nazareth in the simple home and in Joseph's workshop. Jesus learned to alternate prayer and work, as well as to offer God his labor in earning the bread the family needed. Joseph would have taken him to synagogue to hear God's word read. Can you imagine the moments when certain scriptures were read and the two of them looked up each other and smiled? They have no idea. They have no idea, but we have an idea of what that means. And of course, following custom, they traveled three times a year on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Pope Saint John Paul II says Jesus' growth, quote, took place within the holy family under the eyes of Joseph, who had the important task of raising Jesus, that is feeding, clothing, and educating him in the law and in a trade, in keeping with the duties of a father, end quote. Saint Joseph's spiritual leadership, as well as protection and provision for the holy family were essential to the wellbeing of Mary and Joseph, sorry, Mary and Jesus. Think of his humility. He had the perfect wife and the perfect son. He had to rely on God's grace to make up for whatever he lacked as we do. No matter how holy your wives or children may be, husbands and fathers, your spiritual leadership is needed and the spirit will lead you to lead them. Father Don Callaway writes in his book, Consecration to Saint Joseph, the wonders of our spiritual father, quote, Fatherhood has rights and privileges to accompany its duties and responsibilities and the fatherly mission of Saint Joseph required greater graces than any saint has ever received, end quote. As faithful disciples, Mary, Joseph, followed God's revealed will going with many to Jerusalem. And so when Jesus turned 12, it was a special joy because at age 12, he was now officially a son of the law. Afterwards, without knowing it, Jesus remains in Jerusalem. They assume he's with family and they travel almost a full day. He's obedient. Surely they know their desires for him. There is no perfect parent apart from God the Father. And try as we might. We don't know all things and sometimes we make mistakes and can feel crushed by inadequacies. No matter how holy Joseph and Mary are, they are not omniscient. They didn't know everything before it occurred. They have to search for Jesus. Once they realized he was missing, they search for three days. Did they even stop to rest? Did they stop to eat? Did anyone help them? How fervently did they pray? Did they resist the temptation to blame each other? I thought he was with your sister. I thought he was with your brother. Surely this was too soon for Simeon's prophecy to be fulfilled. When they find him in the temple, Mary rebukes him. Astonished that he seems to be calmly sitting with the religious leaders, just conversing. She says, quote, son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously, end quote. It's like my sister who found her little boy had wandered off at the mall and everybody was searching when she found him. She didn't know she was gonna hug him or spank him. It's like, why would you do this? And her comment, your father and I is just such a wonderful statement of how really, truly he was Jesus' father. And his calm answer is a rebuke that gives them pause. Quote, how is it that you sought me? Did you not know I must be in my father's house? End quote. I know who I am, Jesus is saying. There's nothing quite like being parented by your children. Even Mary and Joseph aren't immune to that. Now he's not saying, Joseph, you aren't my father and your home is not my home. What he's saying is I belong here. This is my father's house. There's so much to ponder. Joseph isn't quoted as saying anything and I think it's probably because he didn't need to. Mary had expressed his heart and now both of them had a lot to ponder. Jesus also knows he is the son of Mary and Joseph and so he obediently leaves to go home with them and St. Joseph continues to parent Jesus as his earthly father. His public ministry doesn't start for 18 more years and this will be precious time spent together as a family. I know some of us through COVID had some very precious time as families, as couples. And I think we need to ponder a lot more these years of hidden life. Sometimes we're so bent on talking about career and advancement and making money and yet the holy family chose to have a hidden life for years. Jesus spent 30 years with Mary and only three years in ministry. We need to value the hidden life within our homes and the home that we can offer. St. Luke writes as they leave in 252, quote, and Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. Now after this event, there's no further mention of St. Joseph. Tradition says that he died sometime before Jesus began his ministry and let's be honest, is there any good father if his son was being crucified would not be at the foot of the cross? There's only one reason Joseph isn't there and it's because he died. The tradition is that he died a holy death in the arms of Mary and Jesus and his desire, his death is our desire to also be with Mary and Jesus when we die. Along with his heavenly father, St. Joseph, his earthly father would have welcomed Jesus on the other side of the cross. When Jesus gives his blessed mother to the beloved disciple, he's asking John to imitate his own father, St. Joseph, welcoming Mary into his heart and home and then asking us as beloved disciples to do the same. Father Lawrence Lovesick wrote in favorite novenas to the saints, quote, we should love and honor him whom Jesus and his mother loved so tenderly and through his intercession, we can obtain the grace to love Jesus and Mary with some of that tenderness and devotedness with which he loves them, end quote. St. Joseph was Jesus' second disciple. He chose to welcome Jesus into his heart, his marriage and his home. He walked with Jesus. He talked with Jesus and listened to Jesus. Joseph shared life with Jesus and loved him. He said yes to God's will without knowing the whole plan of God. He responded with trusting acceptance and active obedience and he had the humility to lead a wife and son who were perfect. He's given us an amazing example for our families to imitate, to become holy families in our homes through intimate communion, sacrificial love and selfless service. St. Joseph, pray for us, pray for us. God bless you. Thank you for letting me share.