Our Sabbath Scripture Stories – St. Joseph

Read or listen to this Sunday’s Mass readings here.

  • 2 Samuel 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16
  • Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22
  • Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a or Luke 2:41-51a

This morning started out a little differently than most Sunday mornings.  Saint Joseph stood in the middle of the living room!  It wasn’t REALLY Saint Joseph, but a four foot statue that Mom had brought in from the back yard patio.  There he stood with the tools of a carpenter in one hand and a budded staff in the other.  As the Pauline kids came downstairs, Saint Joseph was there to greet them!

“Hey Mom, what’s going on?” Vincent asked, brushing off a bit of dirt from Joseph’s feet.  “Why is the ‘outdoors’ indoors?”

“Well, Vincent, today is a special celebration on the Church calendar!” his Mom replied.  “Today is the celebration of Joseph, Husband of the Virgin Mary.”

“That’s right, Son,” his Dad added.  “We take time to reflect on Saint Joseph today and what a just and honorable man he was, and how obedient he was to God.”

“Okay, Everyone, time for our Sabbath Scripture reading for today!”  Dad called all the Paulines to gather around the statue as he began to read a familiar Bible story to them.

“I know this reading!” Mary Clare began as Dad finished the passage.  “This is exactly the fifth joyful mystery, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, this is when they find Jesus in the temple, and Mary and Joseph thought He was lost!” Vincent added.

“You guys are great!” Mom told them.  “This is EXACTLY the meditation for the fifth joyful mystery!”

“In fact,” Dad said, “this is the only reference we have in Scripture to Jesus growing up!  The Bible skips from His birth to His public ministry, except for this passage!”

“Why is that, Daddy?” little Lucy wanted to know.  Then she looked at her brothers and sisters and added, “How come we don’t hear more about Jesus when He was our ages?”

“That is a very interesting question, Lucy!” Dad replied.  “Many people think that it tells us that ordinary, normal life is not without merit.  Jesus worked alongside Saint Joseph in the carpenter trade and was obedient to His mother, Mary, as He grew.”

“Yeah, Jesus was like one of us!” Vincent agreed, then quickly added, “Except of course, He was Jesus!”

Dad and Mom laughed.  “How true, Vincent!  Even though He was God, Jesus still had duties in the household and had to listen to Mary and Joseph!”

“So, today, we honor Saint Joseph!” Dad proclaimed.  “Once again, kids, why do we honor him?”

“He was an honorable husband to Mary!” Mom began.

“He was a foster father to Jesus!” Mary Clare added.

Dad jumped in by saying, “Joseph was an example of hard work in making a living!”

Then everyone paused and looked at Lucy who was rubbing her fingers across the feet on the statue in the living room. 

“But Daddy, Saint Joseph is so much more than that!” Lucy volunteered.  “Saint Joseph was also a RUNNER!  In fact, why doesn’t this statue show him wearing tennis shoes?”

The family all looked down at Lucy, trying to figure out what was going through her 8-year-old mind.

“Joseph is also a RUNNER!” Lucy said again.  “We pray about it every time we say the Divine Praises prayer!  He should have tennis shoes on!”

Everyone was stunned.  What could she be thinking?  Then, everyone noticed Dad’s shoulders start to jiggle.  Soon, they were beginning to shake.  Then, they erupted into quaking!  Dad couldn’t hold it in any longer.  He broke out in a huge belly laugh!

Lucy!” he exclaimed, sweeping his young daughter into his arms, “I know now what you are thinking!”

Lucy knew she must have done something funny, so she started to laugh, too. 

Dad sputtered out his thoughts to the rest of the stunned family.  “Lucy is thinking of the line in the Divine Praises when we proclaim that Saint Joseph is the most CHASTE spouse!  Lucy only hears the line when we say this prayer.  She is thinking the word is C-H-A-S-E-D instead of C-H-A-S-T-E!  The word sounds the same but has a completely different meaning!”  Dad was still laughing, and everyone else began laughing, too.

Mom tried to explain the difference to her daughter.  “Honey, the word ‘chaste’ in the Divine Praises refers to Joseph as faithful, pure, and holy.  Your word ‘chased’ means someone is running after them!”

Now even Lucy was laughing hard.  “So, Joseph doesn’t need tennis shoes after all!” she giggled as she looked at the statue’s feet again. 

Dad finally composed himself enough to speak.  He said, “No, sweetie, Saint Joseph doesn’t need tennis shoes!  You know, I don’t think I will ever be able to say the Divine Praises again without thinking of this!”

Dad looked at his watch.  “Now let’s all ‘C-H-A-S-E’ off to Mass, where we can learn to be ‘C-H-A-S-T-E’ like Saint Joseph!”

And, in tennis shoes, dress shoes, and boots, the family scampered off!

Would you prefer a print a copy of this story?

Cycle A, Saint Joseph, SSSDownload

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