|
1 October 2011
Extracted from Matthew, Chapter 2: The visit of the Magi
1 After Jesus had been born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of King Herod, suddenly some wise men came to Jerusalem from the east
2 asking, 'Where is the infant king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him homage.'
3 When King Herod heard this he was perturbed, and so was the whole of Jerusalem.
4 He called together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, and enquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 They told him, 'At Bethlehem in Judaea, for this is what the prophet wrote:
6 And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, you are by no means the least among the leaders of Judah, for from you will come a leader who will shepherd my people Israel.'
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men to see him privately. He asked them the exact date on which the star had appeared
8 and sent them on to Bethlehem with the words, 'Go and find out all about the child, and when you have found him, let me know, so that I too may go and do him homage.'
9 Having listened to what the king had to say, they set out. And suddenly the star they had seen rising went forward and halted over the place where the child was.
10 The sight of the star filled them with delight,
11 and going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and falling to their knees they did him homage. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.
12 But they were given a warning in a dream not to go back to Herod, and returned to their own country by a different way.
The flight into Egypt. The massacre of the Innocents
13 After they had left, suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Get up, take the child and his mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and do away with him.'
14 So Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him, left that night for Egypt,
15 where he stayed until Herod was dead. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: I called my son out of Egypt.
16 Herod was furious on realizing that he had been fooled by the wise men, and in Bethlehem and its surrounding district he had all the male children killed who were two years old or less, reckoning by the date he had been careful to ask the wise men.
17 Then were fulfilled the words spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
18 A voice is heard in Ramah, lamenting and weeping bitterly: it is Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted because they are no more.
They returned from Egypt to Nazareth
19 After Herod's death, suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt
20 and said, 'Get up, take the child and his mother with you and go back to the land of Israel, for those who wanted to kill the child are dead.'
21 So Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him, went back to the land of Israel.
22 But when he learnt that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as ruler of Judaea he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the region of Galilee.
23 There he settled in a town called Nazareth. In this way the words spoken through the prophets were to be fulfilled: He will be called a Nazarene.
Extracted from Luke, Chapter 2: Joseph & Mary searching for the missing Jesus
41 Every year his parents used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover.
42 When he was twelve years old, they went up for the feast as usual.
43 When the days of the feast were over and they set off home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it.
44 They assumed he was somewhere in the party, and it was only after a day's journey that they went to look for him among their relations and acquaintances.
45 When they failed to find him they went back to Jerusalem looking for him everywhere.
46 It happened that, three days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them, and asking them questions;
47 and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies.
48 They were overcome when they saw him, and his mother said to him, 'My child, why have you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.'
49 He replied, 'Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?'
50 But they did not understand what he meant.
Jesus, the Son of God lived under the authority of Joseph & Mary
51 He went down with them then and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority. His mother stored up all these things in her heart.
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom, in stature, and in favour with God and with people.
Personal details of Saint Joseph:
Age: He was about 30 years old when Jesus was born, so please compute yourself. 8-)
Occupation: Carpenter, Builder, Teacher to all priests and fathers, good & caring Father to his children all over the world.
Extracted and summarized based on the writings from “The Poem of the Man-God” by visionary Maria Valtorta, Volume One: (for this passage, “present tense” is being used, to be consistent with the original text.)
Joseph is a handsome man with short and rather curly hair, dark brown like his beard and his moustache, which cover a well shaped chin and rise towards his rosy-brown cheeks, which are not olive-colored as is normal in most people with brown complexion. His eyes are dark, kindly and deep, very serious. But he smiles often and when he smiles, they become gay and young looking. He is sometimes seen dressed in light brown, very simple but very tidy.
Joseph is a quiet person. However, when he speaks, his words are always life-giving to his hearer. He clearly has an impeccable character, he is temperate, discreet, courteous, hospitable and a good teacher, especially to Jesus and all his nephews & nieces. He is not a heavy drinker, nor hot-tempered, but he is kind and peaceable. He is definitely not a lover of money. Obviously, he has with him the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, truthfulness, gentleness and self control. He is filled with the wisdom of God and has a strong trust and dependence on God’s Divine Providence. As he is always obedient to God’s promptings, thus enabling him to be a powerful guardian and reliable protector of the Christ Child and His Mother Mary throughout his entire life, especially in harmful situations...
The Child Jesus likes to sleep on the chest of Joseph...
Joseph is a dedicated and responsible professional in his field of carpentry & building. Jesus spends a lot of time with Joseph and learns from him the good teacher, he has guided Jesus to the point of being capable of working and has nourished Jesus’ young mind with the ideas which are necessary to life. Jesus definitely spends more time with Joseph than Mary as they are always seen working together as a perfect “Father & Son” Team. Joseph worked very hard to give Jesus the necessities of life and comfort, and though he’s a father, he has the loving kindness of a real mother...
Based on the above records, don’t you think you also want Saint Joseph to be your father? 8-)
Joseph is the patron of the dying because, assuming he died before Jesus' public life, he died with Jesus and Mary close beside him, the way we all would like to leave this earth.
Joseph is also patron of the universal Church, fathers, carpenters, and social justice.
We celebrate two feast days for Joseph: March 19 for Joseph the Husband of Mary and May 1 for Joseph the Worker.
Scripture has left us with the most important knowledge: who he was - "a righteous man" (Matthew 1:18).
Speed Call to Saint Joseph is here:
Prayer to Saint Joseph over 1900 years old (as extracted from the PIETA) (Important Note: Though named a “prayer”, this is actually a special request to Saint Joseph to ask him to intercede for us.)
Oh, St. Joseph whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the Throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires.
Oh St. Joseph do assist me by your powerful intercession and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, our Lord; so that having engaged here below your Heavenly power I may offer my Thanksgiving and Homage to the Loving of Fathers.
Oh St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press him in my name and kiss His fine Head for me, and ask Him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath.
St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for us. Amen
It has been advised traditionally for one to say for 9 consecutive mornings for anything you may desire.
There is one thing I can confirm is that St. Joseph will hear you and intercede for you, then Jesus is going to grant you whatever is best for your well-being, so that you can be happy. 8-)
This prayer was found in the 5oth year of Our Lord Jesus Christ. In 1500’s it was sent by the Pope to Emperor Charles when he was going into battle.
Whoever reads this prayer or hears it or carries it, will never die a sudden death, nor be drowned, nor will poison take effect on them. They will not fall into the hands of the enemy nor be burned in any fire, nor will they be defeated in battle.
Make this prayer known everywhere. Imprimatur Most Rev. George W. Ahr Bishop of Trenton
See the Prayer used by Pope Francis I daily stated in item (10) below of this page Apostolic Letter PATRIS CORDE. Dearest Saint Joseph, please come quickly, we thank you for your help in advance. 8-)
1 October 2011 Last updated: 26 April 2021, 08:30 SGT
|
