“Happy Father’s Day”

A belated Happy Fathers Day to all the fathers out there. I hope you had a good day…maybe breakfast in bed or your favorite meal …  perhaps a few gifts.. a new tie ?!? 

Father’s Day is celebrated worldwide to recognize the contribution that fathers  make to the lives of their children. Many countries observe this day on the third Sunday in June. In Catholic Europe it dates back to at least 1508, and is usually celebrated on March 19, the feast day of Saint Joseph. I have a greater appreciation for St. Joseph as the years go by. What a great man.

In Matthew’s gospel we read, 

“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; he took his wife…”(Mt. 1:20-24) 

Wow, there are dreams and then there are dreams….but that must have been some dream…. it was a compelling dream !!! 

Consider that almighty God chose Joseph to be the foster father of Jesus. For this most critical role in the history of mankind, Joseph was chosen. Joseph was certainly a good man, a just man, an exemplary father. Joseph provided, protected, and led the Holy Family thru very difficult times. Joseph was a great father. We often refer to the father as the head of the home, while the mother is the heart of the home. A good father helps enable his wife and family to prosper. Joseph did that for the Holy Family. Imagine the responsibility that Joseph carried in taking care of Mary and Jesus… at his birth in Bethlehem, off to a foreign land in Egypt, then back to Nazareth, teaching and training Jesus. How about the pressure when Jesus was 12 years old and was lost for three days…. panic lurking around the door? Boy there had to be times where Joseph must have thought “are you kidding me…is this really happening…. I need another conversation with that angel… mumble, mumble, mumble”?  

Joseph was a great man…a great husband to the Blessed Mother, a great father to Jesus. Consider the respect that Jesus must have had for Joseph. Can you imagine the welcome that Joseph received from God when he died. Joseph was a giant! And isn’t it amazing that there are no recorded words of Joseph in the scripture. I’m sure he had plenty to say, but nothing recorded….. Joseph, a humble man. 

Well anyway, Happy Father’s Day St. Joseph. Please pray for all of us fathers on this earth who are still in the fray. Pray that we may be faithful as you were faithful. I look forward to meeting St. Joseph one day and getting some of the inside scoop on how it really went on that cold night in Bethlehem….