St. Joseph, Intercessor and Model

We ask, through his intercession, that we may always seek to understand God's call in our lives and in the lives of others.

Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day's journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.

When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, "Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety." He said to them, "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. - Luke 2:41-51

REFLECTION

Reading this passage, I wonder how Joseph and Mary must have felt, not only about losing Jesus in the first place, but also about his response. Did they question what was wrong with them that they did not understand why Jesus had stayed behind? It must have been hurtful to them to have their twelve-year-old son answer them in this way.

I think Joseph must have struggled often with what his role was. He must have prayed on this occasion to know if he needed to accept what his adolescent son answered or to challenge his behaviour. It could not have been easy to live with the mystery of raising Jesus.

The finding in the temple was just one incident in a difficult vocation for Joseph. In the beginning, he had to struggle with what to do when Jesus was conceived without his knowledge and with the meaning of the message he received in his dream (Matthew 1:18-21). Then he must have agonized at not being able to find appropriate lodging at the time of Jesus' birth (Luke 2:7). What anxiety he must have experienced when they had to flee by night to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15). All along, Joseph had to be concerned about parenting Jesus well, teaching him all the ordinary things about prayer and life. Joseph must have prayed hard to know what God was asking of him each day and to understand his vocation as Jesus' foster father.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

For all these reasons, I felt Joseph was a good intercessor in a difficulty I experienced when I entered the Sisters of St. Joseph. I grew up in a good Catholic family in Vancouver. My parents loved each other very much and had a wonderful relationship. When I talked to my mother about joining the Sisters of St. Joseph, she could not understand why I would not want the happiness she had found in marriage. However, she said she wanted me to be happy and I should do what my heart desired.

I found it very painful that my mother could not understand what I was doing. I decided to pray to St. Joseph each day when I made my visit to the chapel. As a parent, Joseph must have struggled, I thought, with understanding Jesus' vocation.

How surprised and overjoyed I was when, about eight months after I entered, my mother wrote an article for the B.C. Catholic newspaper, which showed she now accepted my choice. The heading on the article was, "My soul rejoiced but my heart wept". In the article, Mum spoke about my letters home and the happiness that was expressed in them. All I had seen was her heart weeping. Now I knew that her soul and heart were one in rejoicing at the happiness I was finding.

I thanked Joseph over and over again for seeing that my prayers were answered. I learned a powerful lesson about what a wonderful intercessor he is. Many people can attest to this with their own personal stories. Of course, Joseph is also a wonderful model for all of us, whatever our Christian vocation may be.

PRAYER

We thank you, loving God, for the example St. Joseph gives us as a man of prayer, seeking each day to live his vocation well. We thank you for his trust in you through his struggles. We ask, through his intercession, that we may always seek to understand God's call in our lives and in the lives of others. We ask this through Jesus, who throughout his childhood learned much from Joseph. Amen.

Pat Boucher CSJ

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