Ave Maria Meditations
Saint Joseph in the divine plan: Together with Mary, Joseph is the first guardian of the divine mystery. Together with Mary, and in relation to Mary, he shares in this final phase of God’s self-revelation in Christ. … One can also say that Joseph is the first to share in the faith of the Mother of God… Joseph’s marriage to Mary is the juridical basis of his fatherhood. It was to assure fatherly protection for Jesus that God chose Joseph to be Mary’s spouse. It follows that Joseph’s fatherhood, a relationship that places him as close as possible to Christ, comes to pass through marriage to Mary, that is, through the family.
“Do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” (Mt. 1:20)
The Son of Mary is also Joseph’s son by virtue of the marriage bond that unites them. By reason of their faithful marriage both of them deserve to be called Christ’s parents, not only His mother, but also His father, who was a parent in the same way that he was the mother’s spouse: in mind, not in flesh…The Savior began the work of salvation by this virginal and holy union, wherein is manifested his all-powerful will to purify and sanctify the family, that sanctuary of love and cradle of life… through God’s mysterious design, it was in that family that the Son of God spent long years of hidden life. It is therefore the prototype and example for all Christian families.
Excerpts from Redemptoris Custos by Saint John Paul II
A prayer to Saint Joseph: O guardian and father of virgins, Saint Joseph, to whose faithful care Jesus Himself and the Virgin of virgins, Mary, were entrusted: for the sake of these two most precious treasures, I beg and treat you to preserve me from every sin so that I may always serve Jesus and Mary most chastely all my mind, heart, and body. Amen.
