Saints Patrick and Joseph

So in case you have forgotten tomorrow is the feast of St. Patrick our favorite day to eat fake Irish food, extreme amounts of green dyed foods, and drink to excess. The wonder and majesty of the Emerald Isle reduced to a binge drinking holiday. Also next Tuesday is the feast of St. Joseph, Italy’s answer to St. Patrick’s Day.   Who was St Patrick, sure he drove the snakes out of Ireland, taught with a three leaf clover about a Triune God, and brought Ireland into the Catholic Church but why all the celebrating it is a bit sad that these two dates usually get lost in the middle of Lent when celebration is not on everybody’s mind in fact many give up the frivolity for Lent, however bishops can make the call and dispensence everyone of their Lenten obligations if either falls on a Friday. Now Patrick is a worthwhile Saint, I just think that Patrick has gotten a bad date for his feast day. Now perhaps it is because I don’t live in a predominately Italian area but the one who comes out of this the worst is St. Joseph who mostly comes up in discussions about selling houses. He gets the short end of every stick it seems, with his family it is always Jesus and Mary. Sure St Joseph does get another feast day May 1 but who remembers that one. Saint Joseph husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus is the one Biblical character that we really don’t know much about other than he was a carpenter. Could there be more about him in the infancy gospel and other non-canonical Bible tales? In the Gospels we get that he has a dream telling him that the child the Mary will bear is from God and should be named Jesus, Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem for the Census wind up in a cave/stable, then Joseph has another dream that tells that they should travel to Egypt and escape Pilate’s Murder of the Innocents and finally there is that time when Jesus stays at the Temple and is lost. I think that’s all the Joseph in the New Testament. At Christmastime I really like Joseph’s Song.

O blessed Joseph, loving father and devout husband, may you guide us to be more pious like you and lead more men into the union that you shared with Mary.

Go Rams!