Guest Post: St. Joseph

21 June 2009 View Comments

Happy Father’s day to all you Father’s out there. Today Todd Lemieux shares his reflection on St. Joseph.

Sainthood Sunday: Saint Joseph
By Todd Lemieux

I have no idea if my experience in family is anything like St. Joseph but being the father of two girls means that I am wrong more than I am right. I think that St. Joseph can relate to me on that one. When you think about it, who else would it be?

I don’t know if that means that he took the blame for “losing Jesus that one time we went to Jerusalem.” I don’t know if that meant that every time someone had to take out the trash they looked to him.

I do know that when it came time for the family to make some big decisions, it was Joseph who led the way.

He was the one who had to go down to Jerusalem.

He was the one who packed the family up for Egypt.

He was the one who received the message to go back to Nazareth.

Now I have some theories about Joseph that most people don’t accept and I am fine with that. (I think he lived in Bethlehem and was never a Nazarene, only settling there because it was Mary’s hometown. If you want more on this theory then email me and we can talk, or make a comment below!) I think everyone agrees that the reason the Holy Family is a model is the quiet example and leadership that Joseph showed in these difficult times.

Joseph displayed all kinds of Virtue, and definitely the Fruits and Gifts of the Spirit when dealing with the pregnancy of Mary. He certainly needed to use those Virtues on the road to Bethlehem and if you don’t think that a trip to Egypt trying to escape the prying eyes of the local authorities requires a certain amount of Fortitude then I have to say that you need to get your spiritual eyes checked out.

All in all, I think that as a man and as a father, St. Joseph becomes a personal intercessor for me more and more. I have to believe that even though they were the Holy Family, there were time when the money was tight. There were probably times when Joseph felt that he couldn’t measure up, that somehow he had failed Mary and Jesus.

There are times that I feel that way.

There are times when the only thing I can do is drop to my knees and ask God for guidance.

At those times I feel close to Joseph. At those times I feel like I am finally doing what I need to do.

For Joseph, fatherhood was not about ordering everyone around and being the “big guy” in charge and forcing everyone to do whatever he wanted them to do.

For Joseph, fatherhood was about being a holy man of God. Following the will of God by recognizing that God was his father and the Father’s Day was every day. It was every day that you could acknowledge the Creator and let yourself be humbled in order to do His will.

So today, on Father’s Day, give recognition to the Father.

Let your will be the will of the Father.

There will be no need to bark orders.

There will be no need to exert your authority.

Your humility before the will of God will give you the fortitude needed to lead by example.

Happy Father’s Day to all of you fathers out there! I hope that you lead by example.

I hope the rest of you will pray that we do so.

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Sainthood Sunday is a regular feature on Todd Lemieux’s www.sainthoodandsurrender.com – this article was published with permission of the author.

Todd Lemieux has been involved in youth ministry for over ten years. After graduating from Pepperdine University, Todd worked in production for television while starting his own theater company in Los Angeles.

After moving to New York, he left the entertainment industry to follow the call of youth and music ministry on a parish level and diocesan level. In the last 10 years of ministry, Todd has served as youth minister, music minister, high school religion teacher and chaplain, and college campus minister.

Todd has written for Life Teen, Ascension Press, and Catholic Exchange. He is a regular guest on Real Life Radio. He has presented, prayed, shared comedy, and trained audiences on all types of Catholic topics at all types of venues to all types of audiences around the country.

His books include “100 Things Every Catholic Teen Should Know” (2007) with Mark Hart, and as a contributor on the Life Teen Youth Bible (2009), and the Life Teen Movie Guide (2008). He is currently working on a new book with Mark Hart, set to be published in 2010.

Recently, he founded The Sainthood Project and The Sainthood Challenge as a way for people to come together to change the world. He and and his wife Dominique have been married for six years and currently live on Long Island with their daughters Gianna and Gabriella.

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