With our attention upon St. Joseph today, it might be good to look back at the Old Testament figure for whom Mary’s chaste spouse was most likely named. That would be Joseph, son of Jacob, grandson of Isaac, and great-grandson of Abraham. Joseph is a popular name for Jewish boys precisely as a memorial of this […]
Today is the Feast of St. Joseph. He is special to us because he was special to Jesus. I would like to reflect on a title from the Litany of St. Joseph: Lover of Poverty. As Catholics, Jesus teaches that we are to be poor in spirit. St. Joseph is a wonderful example of this […]
Pope Francis reflected on the meaning of fatherhood during his weekly General Audience held on the Feast of St. Joseph—the Foster Father of the Lord. The Pope asked all the ‘daddies’ in the crowd estimated at 60,000 to raise their hands and then he shared his special wish for fathers and their children: “Be for […]
In the drama of the incarnation, Jesus is, of course, the star. That’s the way it is at every birth. All eyes are on the baby. The co-star, though, is definitely mom. Without her love and labor, the event could not have happened. In this case, without mom’s faith it couldn’t have happened either. According […]
Mary and Joseph’s marriage didn’t exactly get off to an easy start. They were engaged and Joseph had promised not to “defile” Mary, because she was a consecrated virgin. He was really only marrying her because, in that day and age, there was no security in being a single woman. And then she turned up […]
Father’s Day, in the United States especially, has become a day to recognize the important place of dad. While the celebration itself may be focused on a Father’s Day card, a gift, or a special meal, at its heart is the recognition that a father plays a singularly important role in the life of a […]
We and our 4 daughters, ages 13 down to 1, needed a home, and we needed it soon. Our 6-month lease was soon to expire, and our family was living a make-do lifestyle in an apartment. Everything about our living space spoke the language of “temporary” — some nearly-weightless plastic chairs; a white, wobbly table with […]
