Remembering Joseph, a model father and patron saint of workers

St Joseph, the husband of Mary, mother of Jesus, exerts a powerful and enduring influence on the Christian imagination. His feast day is celebrated this Wednesday, March 19. We know little of this man who lived 2000 years ago, except that he was righteous in the Lord and was a descendant of the royal line of David.

The gospels mention him, but we do not hear his own words. His actions speak of his character, a man who devoutly and courageously follows his Jewish faith. He accepted his role as father, protector and provider in a world where life was often short and brutish under the oppressive rule of the Pax Romana.

All fatherhood is shaped differently through the unique and irreplaceable domestic intangibles and intimacies of family life. As the patron saint of fathers, Joseph’s example heralds the ideal of fatherhood: faithful, firm, fair – and fun.

As the patron saint of workers, Joseph understood what it was to work hard at his trade, carpentry, to do his best, to take pride in his ability, to provide for those who depended on him. He understood the dignity of work and its value in providing meaning and purpose.

Saint Joseph, the husband of Mary the mother of God, was a carpenter, and is the patron saint of workers.Credit: James Davies

This is the man who accepted the will of God without question. This is the man who had visionary dreams and fled with his family to Egypt so that the infant Jesus would not be slaughtered – yes, they were refugees seeking safety.

This is the man who, with his wife, Mary, was beside himself with worry as their 12-year-old son conversed easily with rabbis in the Temple.

One imagines that Joseph spent time showing the young Jesus how to wood turn, how to saw and shave a block of wood, how to use his hands for good. The toddler released from his mother’s folds played at his feet, at home in the sawdust that was the byproduct of his father’s work.

They shared the joyous jousting of the father-son tug of love. Joseph may have hewn special wooden toys and told Jesus stories of the patriarchs, of the Exodus and the Exile to Babylon. Perhaps he embellished tales of the strange mythologies of Roman idolatry or played hide and seek with the child he treated as his own.

As we honour good St Joseph, let us thank God for all those other strong silent fathers – the dads who work hard, protecting, providing, loving; the dads helping with homework; the dads at the footy; the dads picking up the partying teenagers at one in the morning; the dads listening and laughing; the dads who are CEO of the couch or king of the BBQ; the dads telling lame dad jokes; dads working all hours for the love of their own holy families.

Ann Rennie is a Catholic educator and author.