One of the greatest tragedies in a man’s life is to find out that your fiancée or your wife to be, is not faithful. It causes heartbreak and devastation, loneliness, betrayal and it hits the core of our humanity. “Am I worth being loved?”

Hence, you can just imagine what St. Joseph felt when he found out that Mary was with child. What then, did Joseph do? He first forgave Mary and he too, forgave himself by planning to dismiss her quietly. No more shaming, no more blaming, no more quarrelling and no more drama. After forgiveness, came the reality that God also had a plan for Joseph. That he would still be the husband of Mary and he would be the foster father of Jesus.

It is because of his fatherhood, that another title of Joseph was “Terror of Demons”. How this did come about?

• God acknowledged the authority of the fatherhood of Joseph. It was in the flight to Egypt that Joseph, the head of the family, was given the message of the angel. As a father, it was the role of Joseph to protect Mary and Jesus. Hence, he was given so many graces.
• If Mary is “Most blessed among women,” Joseph may also be considered as the most blessed among men, as he was given the vocation of raising Jesus, protecting Jesus, feeding Jesus and teaching Jesus carpentry works. The bible tells us that the prayer of a blessed person is very powerful.
• The first miracle of Jesus was because of Mother Mary in Cana. This shows the very special bond of Mother and child. Also to be recognized is the special Father-Son bond of Joseph and Jesus.

In this Mass, we continue to ask the very powerful intercession of St. Joseph especially when we are tempted by the snares of the devil. 

St. Teresa of Avila:  The Lord wants us to understand that just as he was subject to St. Joseph on earth — for since bearing the title of father, being the Lord’s tutor, Joseph could give the child commands — so in heaven God does whatever he commands.