“Saint Joseph, bearing the title of father and being His guardian, could command Him – so now in Heaven Our Lord grants all his petitions.” (Saint Teresa of Avila).
I have been reflecting on Saint Joseph…
Saint Joseph is a Saint who is barely mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures. However, when we do hear about him, we are told that he dreamed and based on a DREAM, he made decisions that impacted not only the entire course of his life, but the course of the lives around his as well. The decisions that Saint Joseph made affected my life – both then and now…
You see, the Blessed Virgin was a woman who was in grave danger, having conceived a Child, but NOT by her betrothed or husband. If this discovery were made the Blessed Virgin would be stoned to death and as a result the Son of Man would not be born and I (and you) would not be saved…
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in 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 Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to send her away. 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’...When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.” (Matthew 1:18–25).
And God was able to entrust His Holy Plan for Salvation on a man – a mere man – and communicate that intention to Saint Joseph in a DREAM. And Saint Joseph was such a holy man that he was able to rely on that dream to act according to the Holy Will of God…
Saint Teresa of Avila said, “To other Saints Our Lord seems to have given power to succour us in some special necessity - but to this glorious Saint He has given the power to help us in all. As He was subject to St. Joseph on earth – for Saint Joseph, bearing the title of father and being His guardian, could command Him – so now in Heaven Our Lord grants all his petitions.”
And I have been reflecting on this. For I have MUCH to be grateful to Saint Joseph for. I am grateful that he heeded a dream. And I am grateful that he raised the Son of Man and protected the Blessed Virgin. And I am grateful that he continues to help me and watch over me and minister to me in all my necessities.
And today, I pray for the Grace to be able to act on the Holy Will of God according to His Word, delivered to me in my life in a manner that is no more substantial than a dream…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.