On my kitchen counter is a small statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Every day I light a tea candle at the foot of the statue and pray in gratitude for big and small blessings and offer prayers of petition for my family, friends, and communities.
Recently, I added a second statue, that of Saint Joseph. Most often, he is lying on his side resting on small pieces of paper—my prayer intentions. It’s a practice I borrowed from Pope Francis, who has long had a devotion to Saint Joseph and keeps a statue of the sleeping Saint Joseph in his office.
The Holy Father acknowledged, “When I have a problem, a difficulty, I write a little note and I put it underneath Saint Joseph so that he can dream about it! In other words, I tell him: Pray for this problem! … Do not forget Saint Joseph who sleeps! Jesus slept with the protection of Joseph.”
I love this image of the sleeping saint because like many of us, I, too, often make a decision to “sleep on it,” when I have a problem or decision to make. Sometimes, I wake up with a sense that God has given me my marching orders but my reply is not always the internal, silent, yes of Saint Joseph.
My initial reaction is just as likely to be “Seriously?” “You’ve got to be kidding,” or “Ummm, I don’t think so.” It might take me some time to come around to what God wants, but Joseph does not falter.
The Church will soon celebrate the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker on May 1. But that is not the only time the earthly father of Jesus is celebrated on the liturgical calendar. His primary feast on March 19, the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, honors him as the husband of Mary, the Blessed Mother. On the Sunday after Christmas, he is honored on the Feast of the Holy Family in his role as guardian and teacher.
When Pope Francis declared a Year of Saint Joseph to run from December 8, 2020, until December 8, 2021, it was to mark the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of Saint Joseph as the patron of the Universal Church and to encourage the faithful to go to Joseph for intercession in times of need and to honor the saint’s role as humble protector of the Holy Family.
In his Apostolic Letter, Patris Corde: With a Father’s Heart, Pope Francis explains his desire for the faithful “to increase our love for this great saint, to encourage us to implore his intercession and to imitate his virtues and his zeal.”
“Each of us can discover in Joseph—the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence—an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble,” wrote Pope Francis.
That’s been my experience, and the height of Saint Joseph’s “bed” on my counter is evidence of my belief.
Mary Regina Morrell is a Catholic journalist, author, and syndicated columnist who has served the dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton, New Jersey, and RENEW International in the areas of catechesis and communication.