20-second Summary
Saint Joseph is perhaps the most obscure of all the saints. Everybody knows about him…but do we really know him?
We explore how Saint Joseph leads us to Christ and how Christ honors him and makes Saint Joseph Holy…without this humble Man, Husband, and Dad being immaculately conceived.
Catechesis At Home – First Sunday of Advent – Year C
Saint Joseph

When this week is no longer the current Mass, the readings for the Mass can be found here
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Closing the Year of Saint Joseph
REFLECTION – The Year of Saint Joseph
We have spent a year considering, contemplating, praying, and learning about this quiet, humble, strong, obscure and un-sung saint. Last December, we, the Catholic Church, embarked on the Year of Saint Joseph, rather unexpectedly. As we close it out, this week’s first reading of the First Sunday of Advent invites us to reflect on one of the attributes of Saint Joseph – he was a just man (Matthew 1:19). Matthew’s Gospel opens with the Genealogy of Jesus, which places Him in the family tree of David. The “just shoot” that comes from the Prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 33:15) this week is none other than our Lord. Yet, we can also see the reference to Saint Joseph, who is a direct descendant of King David. And what does it mean for Saint Joseph to be a just man? What does it mean that Jesus, raised by Joseph, is Himself the Just Judge (1 Peter 2:23)?
To be “just” means that one has been justified, which means we are free of sin and all punishment of sin, in short, we are holy. Therefore, when Joseph is described as a “just man” it implies that he is in a state of holiness, from which he has received that sanctification from God through the saving power of Christ. In God’s timelessness, He saved Mary from sin at the moment of her conception (the Immaculate Conception [Spanish]). We can recognize from the Scripture that Jesus was instrumental in Joseph’s sanctification, as He is with all of us, as a devout and practicing Jew. For St. Joseph to be so open to Christ’s grace to receive messages in dreams and follow those directions without question, he had to be “full of grace”. St. Joseph was not a prophet in the sense that he was a mouthpiece of God, but he was a prophet in the sense that he was truly “tuned in” to God’s voice. May we all be so open to the working of God in our lives and make room for Jesus in our homes this Advent and beyond!
DISCUSSION – Promises Kept to Saint. Joseph and Us
When God makes a promise, we can be CERTAIN that He will keep it. God made several promises to His People throughout the Old Testament. Some of these promises were raised to the level of Covenant. All of the covenants are brought to fulfillment in the Person of Jesus Christ. In this week’s readings we hear of promises and covenants, and their fulfillment. All of the covenants were promises of salvation. God wants to keep His crown of Creation – Man –in paradise with Him, so when Adam and Eve sinned, He promised to send a Savior. We know that Savior is Jesus Christ. In our second reading this week St. Paul prays that we are able to live the Love that God desires for us, to grow to perfection, so that at the judgment we will be found worthy to enter paradise (1 Thessalonians 3:13). One model of holiness, perhaps the best model of non-immaculate stature, is Saint Joseph. We can learn from him how to love Jesus – to serve Him through our love of and for our family, humbly being the person we are supposed to be and do what we are supposed to do to support that being: the work God asks of us (our vocation). When we trust in the fulfillment of God’s promises, we are more able to accept His will for us and to join our will with His. This is how we can please the Lord, enjoy peace of heart and mind in this life, and eternal happiness in the next.
Talk together about who you are supposed to be, paying close attention to who God wants you to be, not who you want to be.
ACTIVITY – Litany of Saint Joseph
Pray the Litany of Saint Joseph together with your family. Discuss the various titles and attributes listed within the litany. How can we emulate these in our lives? Can you see how Jesus may have learned some of these from Saint Joseph? As a child of God, we are all continually learning and growing in our faith. Let us continue to ask Saint Joseph to be our guide into all truth and righteousness as we strive for holiness.
Saint Joseph was an ordinary man who was asked and invited to participate in an extraordinary way within Salvation History – our history. We also are called to participate – through our ordinary lives – in that extraordinary Story that continues to echo. Let us not lose sight of our role in reaching for heaven and bringing as many people along with us as we can!
DIG DEEPER – Saint Joseph’s Secret Side?
Kristofer prays to Saint Joseph every day, and encourages every Man, Husband, and Dad to do the same. But he adds two “titles” of Saint Joseph to the litany that are not traditional:
Master Craftsman, pray for us
Angelic Man, pray for us
Consider and talk about what these titles mean. Explore scripture about Joseph’s encounters with angels, and look into how we know how skilled he was at carpentry.
Litany of Saint Joseph
LEADER: In plain text
RESPONSE: In Italics
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us. God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
St. Joseph, pray for us.
Illustrious son of David, pray for us. Light of patriarchs, pray for us. Spouse of the Mother of God, pray for us.
Chaste guardian of the Virgin, pray for us.
Head of the Holy Family, pray for us.
Joseph most just, pray for us.
Joseph most chaste, pray for us.
Joseph most prudent, pray for us.
Joseph most valiant, pray for us.
Joseph most obedient, pray for us.
Joseph most faithful, pray for us.
Mirror of patience, pray for us.
Lover of poverty, pray for us.
Model of workmen, pray for us.
Glory of home life, pray for us.
Guardian of virgins, pray for us.
Pillar of families, pray for us.
Solace of the afflicted, pray for us.
Hope of the sick, pray for us.
Patron of the dying, pray for us.
Terror of demons, pray for us.
Protector of Holy Church, pray for us.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord!
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord!
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us!
He made him the lord of His household, R. And prince over all His possessions.
Let Us Pray
O God, Who in Thine ineffable Providence didst vouchsafe to choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of Thy most holy Mother, grant, we beseech Thee, that he whom we venerate as our protector on earth may be our intercessor in Heaven. Who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.
How Has the Year of St. Joseph affected you?

by Beth & Kristofer Cowles
HOO™ Co-Founders
Other Help on HOO

Lust And Love – Episode 133
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:04 — 24.0MB)
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What is the difference between lust and love?
During this “season of Valentines” Beth and Kristofer cover this (often unknowingly) confusing and vitally important topic before we dive headlong into the pink and roses and hearts and whatnot.
Beth and Kristofer share how to tell the difference between lust and love, and how to teach that to impressionable minds and hearts.
And they do this in the context of Mortal Sin and Theological Virtue: Lust and Love, respectively.
They also, right out of the gate, point to Nick’s seven-part series about Love as a great resource on our web site for this discussion, which is linked to in the show notes.
Living in this world, but not of it, is difficult, and Beth and Kristofer offer us some pointers on how to do that, particularly in this day and age.
And, no, there is no inappropriate or “parental discretion advised” content in this episode.
But they do get attacked by a tree!
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