+ Although there is not a lot said about Joseph in the Bible, nor are there many words spoken by him in the Bible.
What is said of him is praiseworthy. He was a just man. He was a hard worker. He was a man of faith and questioned nothing when he discovered it in faith.
When he had those angelic moments — literal or deeper than that — he was open. He heard, he listened deeply, he did not question; he took it to heart, he obeyed immediately, he followed the instructions, and he clearly was at peace with whatever God asked of him.
It’s kind of like when a man or woman dies and the immediate communal comment about that person’s life is simply, “He/she was a good man/woman.”
We see today his place in the lineage of Abraham.
He was the son of Jacob, who was the grandson of Abraham.
That in itself is the fulfillment of so many promises and dreams. He certainly had strains of the same kind of righteous faith of Abraham.
And all it took was a dream — a dream in which an angel spoke to him.
A dream in which the confusion of a surprise pregnancy became known, now as an act of God; a dream which would change his life forever, and a dream which drew him into the divine activity of his God.
Not a lot is said about Joseph.
But what is said marks him as a man of real faith, a man who knew how to listen, and to both discover and trust in God’s actions in his life.
Enough said. It is no wonder that the church sees Joseph as the universal patron of the church.
As one timely quote put it —
“Joseph is the patron saint of the Universal Church, families, fathers, expectant mothers, travelers, immigrants, house sellers and buyers, craftsmen, engineers and working people, among others.”
