St. Joseph, our guide in times of trouble

​Hope — St. Joseph must have had a lot of it, leading his very pregnant wife through the hill country from Nazareth to Bethlehem to give birth to his son. I imagine it was an arduous journey filled with uncertainty. Sometimes amidst hard times, I’m tempted to let discouragement steal my hope; I forget that my circumstances will change in time.

I crawled over the 2020 finish line, exhausted and tired, only to be met with the dead of winter. January is an isolating month in the best of times, nevermind government sanctions restricting social contact. 

The reality is that life is hard for a lot of people right now; so much change and instability due to the ongoing pandemic. But what is unchanging is that our faith always gives us reason to hope. As Catholics, we carry the Good News of the Resurrection within us. With the eyes of faith, no time is wasted to perfect ourselves in love. And we can look to the great examples of the saints to help guide our path. 

In a special way this year, Pope Francis invites us to renew our hope by placing an emphasis on Our Lord’s foster father. He has declared Dec. 8, 2020 to Dec. 8 2021 — The Year of St. Joseph. 

What St. Joseph represents in my life is a husband and father who is a faithful, patient, humble, courageous protector. Joseph didn’t utter a single word in the Bible, rather he communicated volumes through his attentive presence.  

The Holy Father Pope Francis encourages each of us with these words found in his Apostolic Letter Patris Corde: “Each of us can discover in Joseph – the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence – an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble.”

My hope is to seize this opportunity to take a deeper dive into what St. Joseph’s secure, strong, safe, steadfast fatherly presence means in my life and the life of my family.

Our family has set a few goals for the coming year to get to know St. Joseph better, and grow in relationship with him. I hope a few of these ideas will inspire you to think of ways to discover the presence of St. Joseph in your life and keep you anchored in hope.  

• Read the Holy Father’s Apostolic Letter Patris Corde 
• Make a pilgrimage to St. Joseph’s Church in Calgary and/or St. Joseph’s Church in Vauxhall
• Visit the St. Joseph Chapel at Our Lady Queen of the Rockies in Canmore.
• Make a 33-day consecration to St. Joseph using the book Consecration to St. Joseph by Donald H. Calloway
• Receive an indulgence 
• Attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on the Solemnity of St. Joseph on March 19 as we mark the beginning the Year of the Family 
• Attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on the Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1
• Reflect on the importance of St. Joseph in the life of Canadian Saint Andre Bessette. 
• Prepare a St. Joseph Table, according to the old Italian tradition. To find what this is all about and for more inspiring ideas visit: yearofstjoseph.org  

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Written by Sara Francis for Faithfully