Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Joseph, Husband of Mary

 Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Joseph, Husband of Mary 3/19/2024 the biblical passage, "The just man shall blossom like the lily" is applied to St. Joseph in the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church for his feastday, March 19. Thus, in religious art the lily is used as an emblem of St. Joseph, and similarly in religious flower symbolism the names "St. A St. Joseph medal is said to protect wearers, as he protected and cared for Jesus. St. Joseph is the holy person for specialists and a defender of the Catholic Church. To foster deep devotion to Saint Joseph among Catholics, and in response to the “May Day” celebrations for workers sponsored by Communists, Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker in 1955. This feast extends the long relationship between Joseph and the cause of workers in both Catholic faith and devotion. Beginning in the Book of Genesis, the dignity of human work has long been celebrated as a participation in the creative work of God. By work, humankind both fulfills the command found in Genesis to care for the earth (Gn 2:15) and to be productive in their labors. Saint Joseph, the carpenter and foster father of Jesus, is but one example of the holiness of human labor. The Bible pays Joseph the highest compliment: he was a “just” man. The quality meant a lot more than faithfulness in paying debts. When the Bible speaks of God “justifying” someone, it means that God, the all-holy or “righteous” one, so transforms a person that the individual shares somehow in God’s own holiness, and hence it is really “right” for God to love him or her. In other words,  By saying Joseph was “just,” the Bible means that he was one who was completely open to all that God wanted to do for him. He became holy by opening himself totally to God.