Feast of St. Joseph

Happy Feast Day fellow parishioners! Today (March 19th), we honor the life and legacy of our patron saint, St. Joseph. I would imagine that many of us are still elated from the grand celebrations which took place last Sunday (March 16th) at the First Capital Park. Also, since this feast falls within the Lenten period, it is not known as a day of fast since it is a feast day.  Let us now remember our patron saint for his great works and legacy. St. Joseph is traditionally known as the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the foster father of Jesus and by profession, he was a carpenter. One of the notable moments in his life came when he received a calling from God to take Mary in as his wife and help raise the child which she was carrying. Knowing very well that the child which Mary was carrying was not his own, Joseph was filled with natural human instincts and decided to divorce Mary. Now, during those times, any woman caught in the act of adultery would be stoned to death so Joseph's intentions would have been to quietly divorce her without publicly exploiting her. Then God spoke to Joseph in a dream and reassured him that what he is called to do is indeed right so Joseph, concerned for the safety of Mary, answered the call of God and accepted the roles of husband and foster father. As such, Joseph left everything he owned, including his family, and went into a foreign land and obeyed the commands of the angel who guided their travels.

We see that the life of Joseph was filled with basic trials that any family goes through but what we notice is that despite all the hardships, he and his family kept the faith. As Archbishop Harris noted on Sunday, Joseph was a 'righteous' man. We all are called to fashion our lives like Joseph! How? You see, God calls each one of us into ministry because he needs his people to continue the work of Mother church. Joseph and Mary were obedient individuals and more so, obedient parents so we too must be ready to answer the will of God because he knows us more than we know ourselves. As we reflect on this great man of faith, may we be open to God's call and ready to act. St. Joseph Pray for us! Glory to God!

THE FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH WILL BE CELEBRATED WITH HOLY MASS AT 6.30PM IN ST. JOSEPH R.C. CHURCH AS THE 3-NIGHT LENTEN RETREAT COMES TO A CLOSE WITH

FR. ARNOLD FRANCIS.

Prayer to St. Joseph

O blessed Joseph, faithful guardian of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ,

Protector of thy chaste spouse, the virgin Mother of God, I choose you this day to

be my special patron and advocate and I firmly resolve to honour you

all the days of my life. Therefore I humbly beseech you to receive me as you client, to instruct me

in every doubt, to comfort me in every affliction,

to  obtain for me and for all the knowledge and love of the Heart of Jesus,

and finally to defend and protect me at the hour of my death. Amen. 

-- B. Durham, 2014