St. Joseph

Husband, Guardian, and Man After God's Own Heart

St. Joseph was of the house of David, and even more than was his royal father, Joseph was a man after God’s own heart-- for like the Lord His God Himself, his greatest desire was for mercy, and not sacrifice (cf Mt 9:13). His betrothed Mary's virtue seemed lost when she was found to be with child apart from him, but Joseph chose to spare her life and dignity rather than subject her to the tenets of the Law—under which he had every right to demand that the pregnant Mary be stoned as one who had supposedly committed adultery.

When God asked even more of Joseph, that he not only let Mary and her baby live, but based on the word of the Lord alone, that he consent to live as husband and father to them. Like a true son of Abraham, he gave the Lord his fiat without a word; without hesitation. But St. Joseph was not silent; he was unquestioningly obedient to the will of His God.

St. Joseph was more like Jesus and His Heavenly Father than any other man born of woman. While many may argue that no word of Joseph is recorded in the Bible, such is not the case. Like Jesus’ Heavenly Father, it was Joseph’s works which spoke for him—the greatest of which was preserving and caring for the life of the Son of God as though He were his own.