When the Path Seems Hidden: Weekly Message for 03-19-2024

Dear Friends,

This week the Church celebrates the feast of St Joseph, husband of Mary and earthly father of Jesus. So little is written of St. Joseph in the Gospels. Most of his life is hidden from our eyes. What we do know is that God asked Joseph to accept an incredible mission to protect and care for a young teenage girl who He Himself had chosen to be the mother of His Son, the Son of God.

Most of us enter parenthood with more unknowns than knowns. What will our baby look like, sound like? How smart or athletic will he be? We look around us and envision our children interacting with the world around us. We ask ourselves, “Do I know what I need to know to be a good parent?” Joseph was asked to take Mary into his house and raise Jesus as his own. And although Jesus was human in every way but sin, he was also Joseph’s creator and savior.

I have often pondered what Joseph thought as he gazed down upon the face of Jesus. How is it that he, a simple carpenter, was chosen for such a task? How was it that this tiny infant would save all humanity, past, present, and future? What went through his mind when, after an arduous journey to Bethlehem that culminated in Jesus’s birth in a stable, he was now escaping into Egypt? Joseph led his little family down unknown roads to an unknown country. He didn’t have a roadmap. What he had was wisdom gained from years of trusting his faith. Deep faith that was hidden from his eyes was held in focus by God.

In his classic work on the Holy Spirit, Archbishop Luis Martinez writes, “One who possesses the gift of wisdom sees because he loves: he knows divine things because he is intimately united to them. He sees because he looks through the eyes of his beloved.” The path in front of Joseph was hidden, but with the knowledge that this was the road chosen for him by God, he stepped out in faith and followed.

When the destination at the end of a path seems hidden, St. Joseph is a great Saint to ask for strength to walk by faith and not by sight.

Yours in the Heart of Jesus, 

Donna Garrett