In Honor of the Month for St. Joseph

Today's guest article comes from Totus Tuus Family & Catholic Homeschool and was originally published on March 10, 2009

March is the month the church honors St. Joseph - the man closest to Christ. Today, March 10th, we can start a novena to St. Joseph to culminate on his solemnity.God gave us quite a role model in this beloved and "just" saint he chose to protect his Son and Our Lady.

From Women for Faith and Family we read...

Pope Pius IX placed the whole Church under the Patronage of Saint Joseph in 1870.
In 1989, Pope John Paul II reflected deeply on the life and witness of Saint Joseph in Redemptoris Custos "Guardian of the Redeemer" (q.v).

Among the saints known to have had particular devotions to Saint Joseph are Saint Bernard, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Gertrude, Saint Bridget of Sweden, Saint Alphonsus and Saint Teresa of Avila.

In 2005, Pope Benedict XVI said that in a world which is "too noisy, and does not encourage reflection and listening to the voice of God", Christians should "allow themselves to be 'infected' by the silence of St Joseph".

Also humble, St. Joseph dedicated his whole life to the interests of Jesus - an example of faith, trust, he was obedient to God's call. I have prayed that the men in my family reflect St. Joseph's character to...

- Protect the unborn

- Be unselfish husbands/ Authentic fatherhood

- Serve God and His Church/ hard-working providers

- Devote themselves to The Blessed Virgin and the chastity of their vocation

No great words or deeds necessary as the Bible in Matthew 1 :18 notes. Just an example of holiness in being lovingly faithful, placing the Lord and Blessed Mother first. How could we not want our husbands and sons, our priests to not be JUST like St. Joseph?!

I hold St. Joseph dear to me and my family and have felt an affinity to him from very early on in my reversion to the faith. As a mother of 3 sons, I like to have our family watch this inspiring DVD on St. Joseph every March. (You can rent it at Netflix.)

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Totus Tuus Family & Catholic homeschool blog has focused on homeschooling/family life, traditional Catholicism and pro-life issues since May of 2007. It's author "+JMJ+" attempts to post everyday and finds it difficult to not include a picture with every story. If you would like a saint companion for your year visit the blog and click on the Saint's tab toward the top. www.TotusTuusFamily.blogspot.com