“St. Joseph was chosen among all men, to be the protector and guardian of the Virgin Mother of God; the defender and foster-father of the Infant-God, and the only co-operator upon earth, the one confidant of the secret of God in the work of the redemption of mankind.”
St. Bernard of Clairvaux
It is enough for you to know that Mary is the Mother of Jesus…She loves us so much that she offered to God the Father His only natural Son to save His adopted sons…She is a great and inestimable treasure who encloses in herself an infinite treasure, the Son of God.”
St Padre Pio
Bas Relief of the marriage of Mary and Joseph / St Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh Ireland / Julie Cook / 2015)
During these mystical days of Christmas, as we recall and remember the birth of the Savior of all mankind, may we also pause, taking care to reflect upon the dutiful two who were charged with the care of the very Son of God.
Examples of obedience, faithfulness, dutifulness, devotion, sacrifice and unconditional love…
But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 1:20
cookiecrumbstoliveby 
I needed that St. Padre Pio quote today, thank you
Now, let me recommend Padre Pio to you—first it was Edith, now it must be the humble capuchin monk from southern Italy
I really find him fascinating. Something about Him.
I’ve read a great deal about this humble little saint—even the transcripts from the Vatican when he was under investigation because of his “miracles” while he was alive. He and Karol Wojtyla had met years before Karol was known as we know him today… Pope John Paul —it was when John Paul was then Archbishop of Krakow. Upon the meeting Padre Pio remarked that he was shaking hand with a future pope….he’s not the warm fuzzy sort of monk–but one who did physical battle with evil and never minced words
Any specific books you’d recommend?
I’ll look over what i have and will e-mail you a list 🙂
I love journeying!!!
well, I’ll hand you the compass, pointing you in the right direction and then I’ll let you press on 🙂
Love you my friend! Press on!
🙂
We did our convalidation of our vows on his feast day this year
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
Thank you Vincent—watch those spicy foods as well 🙂
You’re very welcome Julie! Embracing my new eating plan 🙂
I love this. Our posts are quite similar today. I can’t imagine what must have been going on in their minds during this time. What a miracle to be caring for the Son of God – God incarnate!
Great minds Kathy 🙂
I can’t even begin to imagine their thoughts and feelings about all of this—just sheer obedience–coupled by awe, bewilderment and always a could of worry
Lovely post as always. I have heard St. Joseph described as the first Adorer. As in Adorer of the Blessed Sacrament. That would make the Blessed Virgin the first monstrance. We are big fans of St. Joseph here. But also, I often think about Sts. Joachim and Anne. How amazing must they have been to have raised the Mother of God?
I know right—can you imagine knowing that your entire role as a parent is for something really so much bigger than yourself—most parents do understand the gravity involved in parenting–but wonder if you were literally God’s earthly partners…
Hope ya’ll are truly enjoying Christmas with little paddler—
Hugs from a wet and too hot Georgia
Having a lovely Christmas with the Little Paddler. Thanks. 😊 Mr. Fairweather was off work so we all went to Christmas Eve Mass. LP fell asleep at it. So I brought her up to see the baby Jesus in the crib after Mass today instead. Mr. F back at work so it was just us girls. Precious time together. 😍
sounds divine
It is time for quiet reflection now as we try to take in all that happened and the implications of it all for us. Jesus has come and how does that change our hearts, we have to ask. 🙂 ❤