St. Joseph

“If you cannot find a guide to teach you contemplative practice, appeal to St. Joseph, and I assure you this wondrous master will not lead you astray.” Teresa of Avila, The Book of My Life (1562)


Yesterday all across the United States and in other parts of the world there were St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. It seems everyone knows about St. Patrick’s Day now, even people who do not practice the Christian faith. Although there may be some who only think of it as an Irish holiday, most people know that St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated because St. Patrick evangelized the Celts of Ireland to adopt Christianity.

As a Spanish Catholic living in Renaissance times, Teresa of Avila did not celebrate St. Patrick’s Day; however, she was very fond of St. Joseph, husband of Mary and father to Jesus, and enjoyed celebrating his feast day on March 19. “I used to observe Saint Joseph’s feast with great ceremony,” Teresa writes. My friend Sister Katherine McLaughlin, CSJ, is affiliated with the St. Paul order of the Sisters of St. Joseph. Three years ago tomorrow my husband, Brad, our friend Patricia Hagen and two St. Scholastica students drove from where we live in Duluth to St. Paul for Sister Kathie’s 50th Jubilee anniversary on the Feast of St. Joseph.

What an excellent celebration it was! Good food, singing and rituals came first. Sister Kathie did some preaching—the sisters chose her to deliver the message—and there was even an appearance by St. Joseph himself, a giant puppet who slowly walked through the crowded room greeting all the celebrants. I think Teresa would have enjoyed the Feast of St. Joseph on Sister Kathie’s Jubilee.

St. Joseph is sometimes overlooked, but Teresa writes, “It is amazing to see all the mercy God has shown me and the perils, both physical and spiritual, from which he has rescued me through this blessed saint.” When she founded the Covent in Avila, she named it “St. Joseph’s” and she believed he had intervened on her behalf to cure her paralysis and other illnesses. She found much healing comfort in her prayer practice and gives much credit to St. Joseph for guiding her devotions.

May we find ourselves loved, healed and comforted by God, every day of our lives.