JESUS’ FOSTER FATHER AS
A TIMELESS ROLE MODEL
Our extended family was enlarged last week when my wife’s niece, Jessica, gave birth to a baby girl.
This occasion brought to our in-box the requisite photo of grandparents, Chris and Joe, framing their daughter reclining in hospital bed with little Emily Anne in her arms.
Jessie bore the classic new-mother expression that blends joy with exhaustion (it was a long labor). Chris’ and Joe’s faces were all pride.
I was particularly struck by the image of Joe, who is considerably older than Chris and struggling with severe health complications. The family prayer during those months of Jessie’s pregnancy had been that Joe might live to see his grandchild.
Praise God, he made it.
Joe’s birthday is March 19, which on the liturgical calendar is the feast day of St. Joseph, for whom he was named. His patron saint also receives recognition on May 1, the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, which was established in 1955 by Pope Pius XII to provide a Christian alternative to the May Day labor celebrations promoted worldwide by the Soviet Union and the Communist Internationale.
“What if your brother was the most controversial figure in the history of the world and your job was to protect him?