St. Joseph is my favorite patron saint side by side St. Therese of Lisieux. My mother recommended me to develop filial love for this great saint, who is known to Catholics as the foster father of Jesus. And since he has attained this status by no means without the grace of God, so do I refer to him also as my foster father. And this has never became more apparent to me than when my own father died during my high school period.
Fatherless at 16, I prayed to him for guidance. God is truly merciful to have given me a father figure in the person of my uncle, who, albeit an avowed atheist was a very stern but patient man who stood as my father. He was my mother’s brother, and would come over to our place or write to me to give me sound guidance. I learned so much from him and valued his directions. He loved to give me pop quizzes on grammar and trivia, which nurtured my love for reading and writing even more. More than ever, I never failed to thank St. Joseph’s intercession.
St. Joseph the Matchmaker (!)
As I finished school and began to work, St. Joseph took on a different level to me. My mother was worried I might end up with the wrong guy so encouraged me to make a novena to St. Joseph to find me a good man. I followed her advice and not ashamed to say it, asked to find me a responsible and God-fearing man. I was ready to play the field for a long time, even if I went pass the child-bearing stage. 🙂
True enough, on May 1, considered also as the feast day of St. Joseph the Worker, I found myself in a relationship with a guy I had known since high school. He was a devotee of St. Joseph as well. We married 7 years later and are still married to this day.
St. Joseph as Our Family Protector
My affection for St. Joseph has taken a different turn now. He is now our family protector. As head of the Holy Family during his earthly existence, so do I call on him to protect our family home from danger. And there has never been a time when I did not feel his special protection.
Just recently, we took on a trip that others felt was a little risky because of the political situation (okay, it was in Thailand). I updated myself with the current situation in the area, and though social media reported it was fairly safe I wasn’t entirely convinced. So I started on a novena to St. Joseph, asking him to give me a sign that would put my fears to rest. A day before the flight, the answer came clearly–a lily that I saw in a flower shop. That was the sign I needed to give me conviction to take the trip. True enough, we enjoyed the trip with nary any hitch.
The Trains Closed After We Returned
But we did almost encountered a hitch. We were in a market to do some shopping one time. Because the heat had zapped all my energy, I told my husband that we should return to the hotel to rest. Just like that, my husband did not ask any questions. We took the train and was back at the hotel in 30 mins. Another 30 minutes later, we received news that the train decided to close operations after protesters got into a skirmish with the police. That would have meant us taking the bus and the horrible traffic below.
Had we taken more time at the market we would have been in a more terrible situation. But I believe in St. Joseph’s protection. The trip turned out to be a very enjoyable one for us. There was never a time when we felt our
St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus Christ
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