St. Joseph's Day
Being Italian, Catholic and named Joseph this day and the Feast of St. Joseph have always had a special interest for me. This is a powerful day if you are Catholic but the day also can have a special meaning for any spiritual person. For those of you not aware of what this day is about let me give you a little history.
The celebration of St. Joseph's day essentially began in smaller towns in Italy where they would prepare a feast with several (Minimum of 13 ) courses of meatless dishes (Lent). Three random people were chosen to represent Jesus, Mary, and Joseph and often a parade/symbolic march through the center of town began the feast. Before starting the meal they would recite prayers to St. Joseph seeking for his help and guidance in caring for all families, as he is the patron saint of family. The dishes were served one at a time to the each of the three who would in turn taste each one, but would not finish them as the point of the feast was to give the leftovers to the poor of the village (Obviously this worked better in smaller population centers).
For those of you wanting to know more about St. Joseph and how he relates to the Catholic faith I have put together a little information courtesy of Catholic Online. St. Joseph is descended from the family of David (King of Israel) and therefore royalty, however, it was a a title with no real social rank or fortune attached to it. All information regarding his early years and his family belonging to Bethlehem of Judea indicates he was essentially poor. At a young age he moved to Nazareth in Galilee to take up the occupation of a carpenter.
There he betrothed Mary and when discovering her pregnancy (Not of his own) and not knowing that she was caring the Son of God he quietly left in order to protect her from public scorn or even death as he wished no harm to come to her. A while later Joseph was visited by an Angel who instructed him as to who Mary and the unborn child were and that his family was in danger. Obedient to God's wish he immediately married Mary and at that point regardless of public scorn or danger (Keep in mind that this was not 1980) he took on the role of husband, father, protector and provider without question for the rest of his life. Joseph remained a dedicated father protecting Jesus in his early years but essentially disappears (Assumed death) around the 11th year after the birth of Christ. Nothing of great detail is really known or told regarding the beginning or final years of his life as the main focus is given to his dedication and loyalty towards God and family.
The Catholic Church celebrates two feast days for Joseph; March 19th for Joseph the Husband of Mary and May 1st for Joseph the Worker. The item I like to dwell on is that we do not celebrate St. Joseph for performing "Miracles" but for being eternally loyal to God, his wife and family by loving and providing for them. Regardless of your religion or faith I think we can appreciate St. Joseph and all people who recognize that their wives (spouses) and children deserve the highest respect, devotion and love and that not doing so is the greatest sin we can commit. Happy St. Joseph's Day.
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