ST. JOSEPH, PRAY FOR US!

Having just celebrated the year of St. Joseph, we all know that St. Joseph is the patron of the Universal Church and the principal patron of Canada. 

In the Gospels, Joseph plays a significant role in the life of Jesus and Mary, yet so little is written about him. We know that he was a husband, a just man, a carpenter, a protector, a descendant of David, a dreamer, a good and holy man. After Joseph and Mary find Jesus in the Temple, he is not mentioned again. His humility and his discerning spirit are something we all desire. 

Composer Michael Card wrote a song that speaks about the questions that Joseph may have asked as he came to realize what it meant to be foster father to Jesus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT4VDAIaMwU

How could it be this baby in my arms
Sleeping now, so peacefully
The Son of God, the angel said
How could it be
Lord I know He’s not my own
Not of my flesh, not of my bone
Still Father let this baby be
The son of my love
Father show me where I fit into this plan of yours
How can a man be father to the Son of God
Lord for all my life I’ve been a simple carpenter
How can I raise a king, How can I raise a king
He looks so small, His face and hands so fair
And when He cries the sun just seems to disappear

But when He laughs it shines again
How could it be.

O good St. Joseph, guide us as we continue to navigate through this ongoing pandemic. Give us courage. 

Give peace, especially in war-torn Ukraine, and in all places in the world that suffer violence and persecution.                                                         

Our world is troubled and tired. Share with us the gift of discernment.

Ease the tensions and show us how to be joyful and to laugh again.

Teach us all the lessons we need to learn, and help us to hold hope close in our hearts and our minds.

In Jesus’ name, we pray,                                                                               

Amen.

Pat Carter, CSJ is a disciple, a teacher and an advocate for the poor. She has been a Sister of St. Joseph for more than half of her life and loves to use words to inspire faith and laughter. She is a cantor at her parish of St. Jerome’s in Sault Ste. Marie.