The Five Sorrows of Saint Joseph and the Five States of Happiness 

We meditate on the Seven Sorrows of the Holy Mother of God. In a similar way, Jesus’ foster father, like any ordinary person, suffers from sorrow and sadness. Saint Joseph too had the same. But with God’s special intervention, all the sorrows became happy for him.

1. Jesus had to be born in a stable. Joseph was sad that his baby could not be born in a clean place and that no one had given it such a place. Joseph was disturbed. But when the shepherds and the wise men of the east came to see and worship his child, he forgot the sorrow and rejoiced.

2. When the prophet Simeon spoke about Jesus’ future persecution when Jesus was seen in the temple, Saint Joseph was in great pain. But when Simeon added that Jesus would be a light to all the world and a source of glory to the people of Israel, that pain also changed into happiness.

3. Saint had to flee to Egypt through the desert with the toddler son. This was the cause of another grief for Joseph. But he was relieved to be well received in Egypt and to be able to grow up there.

4. At the age of twelve, Jesus was lost during the journey to Nazareth after attending the feast at Jerusalem. Joseph wandered in search of him for three days. This became another pain in Joseph’s life. But to forget that sorrow was to find Him in the temple and later to be able to raise Jesus in wisdom and wise.

5. Another crisis was the time when we had to say goodbye to Jesus and St. Mary at the time of death. However, he was able to die in the presence of two of the holiest men in the world. Joseph was delighted even though he was departing from his beloved Mary and Jesus.

Thus, Saint Joseph is a perfect example of how God can give a righteous person a reason to rejoice before God, no matter how many anxieties and sorrows he may have in life.

Daily Reading, Saints

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