Catholic Church gives more prominence to Saint Joseph. The Catholic Church celebrates the saint’s death anniversary on 19 March. Many prayers in honor of Saint Joseph we have dedicated a year to this Saint of humility.
Some young people may raise two questions about the necessity of the observance of the month dedicated to Saint Joseph. First, why do we worship saints? Secondly, what transformation does honor Joseph bring about in our lives?
In order to answer the question of why we respect saints, we must first understand the answer to the question of why we should respect others. There are many questions like why to respect parents, why to respect spouse, why to respect children, and why to respect teachers. The goodness of those whom we respect flows to us. The evils of those whom we hate flow to us. When we bless others, we are blessed. When we curse others, we are cursed. In the words of Jesus, ‘With the same measure with which you measure, you will be measured. You will receive the same judgment as you judge. Some houses have a reality that can be seen if you take a closer look. No matter how bad the parents are, the children will rise to the top. This happens because such children respect their parents. “Honor your father and mother- this is the first commandment with a promise: so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” (Ephesians 6:2-3).
He who respects teachers gets knowledge, and he who respects elders gets wisdom.
Similarly, when we honor the martyrs who gave heroic testimony in life, we get their qualities and abilities. Honouring Saint George and Saint Sebastian also become valiant, and those who honor the Virgin Mary receive sexual purity, Saint Augustine and Saint Aquinas, too, are honored by a pearl of higher wisdom. Respecting Saint Alphonsa gives endurance.
What benefits do we get from honoring Joseph? To understand this, it must be clear what kind of possessive love parents do. Are our children our own or are they given to us by God to raise for God? For many, children and spouses are their personal property. Psychologists call this a kind of possessive love.
This love is demonic. Parents who love their children in this way will get mentally disturbed if they see their children married and loving their spouses. The possessive love of parents plays a role in many divorces. Such people will object to their children wisely following their own decisions as they grow older. “You just have to do what I say” will be heard from such parents. Children will not get peace of mind if they go to work abroad too. If the children die due to any reason, all their power will be drained.
Once when a son went to a far country to study, a father said thus: ‘I feel that like he’s coming home, or get a notion that he’s calling me. I can’t even sleep because of him.’ If we want to overcome such crises, we should fill our lives with the virtues of Saint Joseph. Jesus is just a child that God gave to Joseph to raise. Our children are not our own, the fruit of the womb is a gift from God. If you want to grow in this conviction, you must follow the example of Joseph.
Jesus disappeared from the temple at the age of twelve and his parents found him there only on the third day. When Jesus’ parents found him, Mary told we are saddened not to see you. Jesus replied: “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”(Luke 2:49).
This is the message to every parent given by Jesus. Parents are only custodians who accept their children as a gift from God and raise them for God. In other words, parents are not the owners of their children, but their custodians.
Mary is not an object of use to Joseph, he is the protector of Mary and her son. For those who fall in love and cheat on their spouse and child on the street, Joseph is an illusion. But he is righteous to those who want to live in holiness. When we honor Joseph, we are saved from possessive love. We become those who raise our life partners and children to goodness. We rejoice when our children accept any kind of life for the glory of God. But the adoptive parents will say that the mission God gave me has been completed and that my children are fulfilling the Father’s will; that is the true happiness of man.