Everything we know about the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus comes from Scripture and that
has seemed too little for those who made up legends about him.
We know he was a carpenter, a working man, for the sceptical Nazarenes ask about Jesus, "Is this not the
carpenter's son?" (Matthew 13:55). He wasn't rich for when he took Jesus to the Temple to be circumcised
and Mary to be purified he offered the sacrifice of two turtledoves or a pair of pigeons, allowed only for
those who could not afford a lamb (Luke 2:24).
Despite his humble work and means, Joseph came from a royal lineage. Luke and Matthew disagree about some of
the details of Joseph's genealogy but they both mark his descent from David, the greatest king of Israel
(Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3:23-38). Indeed the angel who first tells Joseph about Jesus greets him as "son
of David," a royal title used also for Jesus.
We know Joseph was a compassionate, caring man. When he discovered Mary was pregnant after they had been
betrothed, he knew the child was not his, but was as yet unaware that she was carrying the Son of God. He
planned to divorce Mary according to the law but he was concerned for her suffering and safety. He knew
that women accused to adultery could be stoned to death, so he decided to divorce her quietly and not
expose her to shame or cruelty (Matthew 1:19-25).
We know Joseph was man of faith, obedient to whatever God asked of him without knowing the outcome. When
the angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him the truth about the child Mary was carrying, Joseph
immediately and without question or concern for gossip, took Mary as his wife. When the angel came again to
tell him that his family was in danger, he immediately left everything he owned, all his family and
friends, and fled to a strange country with his young wife and the baby. He waited in Egypt without
question until the angel told him it was safe to go back (Matthew 2:13-23).
We know Joseph loved Jesus. His one concern was for the safety of this child entrusted to him. Not only did
he leave his home to protect Jesus, but upon his return settled in the obscure town of Nazareth out of fear
for his life. When Jesus stayed in the Temple we are told Joseph (along with Mary) searched with great
anxiety for three days for him (Luke 2:48). We also know that Joseph treated Jesus as his own son for over
and over the people of Nazareth say of Jesus, "Is this not the son of Joseph?" (Luke 4:22)
We know Joseph respected God. He followed God's commands in handling the situation with Mary and going to
Jerusalem to have Jesus circumcised and Mary purified after Jesus' birth. We are told that he took his
family to Jerusalem every year for Passover, something that could not have been easy for a working man.
Since Joseph does not appear in Jesus' public life, at his death, or resurrection, many historians believe
Joseph probably had died before Jesus entered public ministry.
Joseph is the patron of the dying because, assuming he died before Jesus' public life, he died with Jesus
and Mary close to him, the way we all would like to leave this earth.
Joseph is also patron of the universal Church, fathers, carpenters, and social justice.
We celebrate two feast days for Joseph: 19th March for 'Joseph the Husband of Mary' and 1st May for
'Joseph the Worker'.
There is much we wish we could know about Joseph -- where and when he was born, how he spent his days, when
and how he died. But Scripture has left us with the most important knowledge: who he was -- "a righteous
man" (Matthew 1:18).
aint 
oseph
