St Joseph – a giant of a saint

On November 1, the Universal Church celebrated the Solemnity of All Saints. In preparation for this unique feast day, we approached a few people to tell us about their favourite saint. We conclude with Chaguanas parishioner Allan Julien on St Joseph.

I went to St Joseph Boys’ RC School. I made First Communion at St Joseph RC Church, I was confirmed there as well, and I also got married in this Church.  To stamp my finale, I will be buried at a plot that I have at St Joseph RC Church cemetery.

I note all this to show that from my early life, there has been a connection to this phenomenal saint, St Joseph, the man, the myth, the legend.

In all of Christendom and of all the saints, there is one man who holds the highest esteem and rank after the Blessed Virgin Mary, and it’s St Joseph. The only man who called God ‘son’, and the only man who God called ‘daddy’.

Most of the artistic representations of St Joseph depict him as an old feeble man and yet scripture gives us his age range when we delve into the theology and literary translations of the gospels.

In the Gospel of Luke, Joseph is referred to as a man using the Greek word Aner (Lk 1:26). An Aner (man) age ranges between 28 to 49 years old. St Joseph was within this age range; strong and full of God’s Spirit, he led the Holy Family away from danger and in so doing became the saviour of our Saviour Jesus Christ.

But what of the power and grandeur of this man whom Jesus would make Himself obedient to? This man called Joseph would be God the Father’s best representation of Himself here on Earth.

St Joseph was no ordinary man. According to some scholars, St Joseph would have walked more than 1200 miles when they fled Herod into Egypt to their return to Nazareth.

This was a man of physical strength, determination, endurance, patience and faith in all that God had directed him to do through an angel. And yet we have no words recorded of this giant of a saint.

What we have is a man of action and deep faith who protected his family from both physical and spiritual danger.

In recent years, I have been intrigued by one of the titles of St Joseph, ‘The Terror of Demons’! It is no surprise that many exorcists and priests call upon St Joseph for protection against evil and the deliverance of demons.

The closest man to the Saviour would truly be the terror of demons. It is not difficult to conclude that St Joseph was Jesus’ first male disciple.

All those years of living and bonding with the Saviour would have been divine lessons in the classroom of love. It is fitting that Jesus loves and honours His father Joseph, to the extent that demons would flee just at the calling of his name.

It is a true picture of real masculinity, and a true picture of who we are to become when we have a deep love relationship with the Lord.

In my trek to become the man God intends me to be and a divine whisper that got me involved in men’s ministry, St Joseph showed up as a phenomenal model, friend and protector.

His obedience to God’s instruction; his love and sacrifice for his wife, and his protection and love for his son Jesus, all displays what we are called to be as men of God.

We are called to be men who will be the priest of their homes; men who will serve limitlessly; men who will love God above all else and be obedient to His will. This is the man we all should become…the man I am called to be.

In this present time, in the now of our existence, St Joseph, the Terror of Demons, the Glory of Home Life, the Patron of the Catholic Church is most needed.

As the family construct created by God continues to be bombarded by several movements, let us call on St Joseph to stand and lead us as he led the Holy Family.

In December 2020, when Pope Francis declared a year to St Joseph for the Church, he opened the flood gates of grace and blessings from this most powerful man, whom God called daddy.

Let us continue to call upon St Joseph as we journey with our families to Heaven.