By Holly Gustafson
In his latest letter Patris corde (“With a Father’s Heart”), Pope Francis proclaimed the new liturgical year the “Year of St. Joseph,” one hundred and fifty years after Pope Pius IX declared the saint the Patron of the Universal Church. These two popes, a century and a half apart, invite us to get to know St. Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, and to request his accompaniment, seek his guidance, and emulate his courageous and humble obedience.
The main feast of St. Joseph is March 19th, so the month of March is a good time to lean in to this invitation and make an intentional effort, if we haven’t done so already, to begin to acquaint ourselves with the saint, and model his many virtues. Here are some simple, low-labour ways to make space for St. Joseph in your home, your life, and your family, this month:
Give him a place of honour
The great thing about St. Joseph is that most families, even those who don’t have a substantial collection of saint statues on hand, have some sort of likeness of St. Joseph tucked away with their Christmas decorations. I’m patting myself on the back for having a rare moment of forethought back in January when I was putting away the nativity set – I kept St. Joseph back so that he can spend the entire year with us (and now I don’t have to crawl under the stairs to dig him out of the Christmas boxes for his upcoming feast day). We’ve placed him among the houseplants on top of the piano where we can be reminded of him every day; you could set him on the mantle if you’ve got one, or make a place for him in the middle of the dining room table for the rest of the year.
Ask for his intercession
The one thing I love about the saints, as the mother of a busy family of mostly teenagers, is that asking for their intercession is quick and easy. Tack a simple “St. Joseph, pray for us” right after you pray grace (it only takes two seconds).
Read about him in the Gospel
At some point during the month, read the Gospel passages that tell St. Joseph’s heroic story. The first two chapters of Matthew are a great place to start.
Celebrate his feast day
Mark St. Joseph’s feast day, March 19th, in a special way this year. Go to Mass if you can (or participate in one online if you can’t) or say a prayer to St. Joseph, asking for his blessing on your family in a special way this year; the prayer to St. Joseph included below dates back to the year 50! One tradition that’s not too hard to adopt is to make a meal that includes breadcrumbs (to symbolize sawdust) – since March 19th falls on a Friday this year, please feel free to share any ideas you’ve got for meatless meals that incorporate breadcrumbs! This is also a great day to give the kids a new set of building blocks or Lego, or just bring out the old ones and play with them with the new intention of remembering and modelling Jesus’ father on earth.
And if it’s complicated…
These are all sweet and simple ways to incorporate the feast of St. Joseph into your home and your family in a meaningful way this month, but if your family life right now is not sweet and simple, I see you. When you’re in need of serious healing, a breadcrumb-topped veggie casserole isn’t going to cut it.
Fortunately, St. Joseph is the perfect patron for families with complicated and critical issues. St. Joseph likely imagined a peaceful and quiet life for himself and his family, but instead, he was dealt one enormous complication after another: the supposed virgin to whom he was betrothed became pregnant, he had to flee the country with his family when the government was determined to kill his infant son, and then he lost his son entirely on a journey back from Jerusalem. So if your family is in need of serious intercession, go to the saint who was humble enough to hear God, brave enough to trust in His promises, and obedient enough to act on His guidance. You might try consecrating your family to St. Joseph (pick up Donald H. Calloway’s Consecration to St. Joseph for a day-by-day guide), pray the 30-day Holy Cloak of St. Joseph Novena throughout the month of March, or simply pray this ancient prayer, placing your family under the protection of the man God trusted with His only Son.
O St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires.
O St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ our Lord, so that, having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers.
O St. Joseph, I never weary of contemplating you, and Jesus asleep in your arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name, and kiss His fine head for me, and ask Him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, patron of departing souls, pray for us.
Amen.
Holly Gustafson lives with her husband, James, and their five children, in Regina, where they attend Christ the King Parish. Holly received her Masters in Linguistics at the University of Manitoba, and now pursues her love of language through art, writing, public speaking, and unsolicited grammatical advice. The best advice she ever received was from her spiritual friend, St. Faustina, who told her that when in doubt, “Always ask Love. It advises best.”
