St. Joseph is an incredibly important figure who nonetheless says few words, and worked diligently. His silence and work are something for us to meditate on. In being married to our Blessed Mother we look to him as a type of spiritual father. There are many things we might choose to reflect upon His life, but in particular I’d like to focus on this great saint seeing his role in protecting the Holy Family.

Not much unlike the Joseph of the Old Testament, St. Joseph heads to Egypt. Joseph of the Old Testament was known to safeguard of the wheat amongst other food-sources in Egypt, and St. Joseph protected and preserved the Bread of Life.

This previous year, I was ending my annual retreat, and decided to spend it reflecting on St. Joseph. In my prayer St. Joseph seemed to say to me: “Let me take you to Egypt with me.” It was a subtle, but loving voice I intuited from the Lord, and am still attempting to unravel exactly what this means. What I know about St. Joseph in all my prayers with him, is that he is an affectionate, protective, loving, and Christ-centered father.

For men, all of us, whether called to a family life, the priesthood, religious life, or single life, we are called to have a type of spiritual fatherhood with the world. We are called to protect, to offer affection, and to place with great effort Christ at the center of all our relationships.

On this solemnity we might do well to take time to abide in the protective care of St. Joseph, who is the Church’s patron and protector. If we abide in Christ, we abide in his protection, and paternal concern.

Ultimately the wisdom that St. Joseph shows us comes from his work and prayer. These two dimensions enabled him to discern the dreams God went to him. Without work, his rest would have been idle. Without prayer, he could not be able to identify the voice of God. If we as men would like to imitate his fatherhood, let us consider these two dimensions especially during this Lenten Season.