“Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it. This is why Christ the Redeemer ‘fully reveals man to himself.’”
St. Pope John Paul II
“St. Joseph’s mission is certainly unique and unrepeatable, as Jesus is absolutely unique. However, in protecting Jesus, in teaching him how to grow in age, wisdom and grace, he is a model for every educator, and in particular for every father.”
Pope Francis
“Jesus wished to become indebted to St. Joseph for the necessaries of life, and of this holy patriarch alone it may be said that he saved the life of his Savior.”
—St. Madaleine Sophie Barat
“In St. Joseph the Old Testament finds its fitting close. He brought the noble line of patriarchs and prophets to its promised fulfillment. What the divine goodness had offered as a promise to them, he held in his arms.”
– St. Bernardine of Siena
“Both Mary and Joseph had made a vow to remain virgins all the days of their lives; and God wished them to be united in the bonds of marriage, not because they repented of the vow already made, but to be confirmed in it and to encourage each other to continue in this holy relation.”
St. Francis De Sales
“Both Mary and Joseph had made a vow to remain virgins all the days of their lives; and God wished them to be united in the bonds of marriage, not because they repented of the vow already made, but to be confirmed in it and to encourage each other to continue in this holy relation.”
St. Francis De Sales
“Truly, I doubt not that the angels, wondering and adoring, came thronging in countless multitudes to that poor workshop to admire the humility of him who guarded that dear and divine child, and labored at his carpenter’s trade to support the son and the mother who were committed to his care.”
St. Francis de Sales
“Truly, I doubt not that the angels, wondering and adoring, came thronging in countless multitudes to that poor workshop to admire the humility of him who guarded that dear and divine child, and labored at his carpenter’s trade to support the son and the mother who were committed to his care.”
St. Francis de Sales
“The growth of Jesus ‘in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man’ (Lk. 2:52) took place within the Holy Family under the eyes of St. Joseph, who had the important task of ‘raising’ Jesus, that is, feeding, clothing, and educating him in the Law and in a trade, in keeping with the duties of a father.”
O Jesus, I would rather die a thousand deaths than be unfaithful to you! I must die to myself continually and accept trials without complaining. I work, I suffer and I love with no other witness than his heart. – St. Bernadette
