When I was maybe nine years old, I was watching TV late one evening in our family room. As I was sitting there, I noticed the shadow of a man move across the window and go around the side of our house.
Scared to death, I ran into my mom and told her. My dad was working nights, so he wasn’t home. I saw my mom muster up courage to go and investigate but I could tell she was nervous. Bravely, she went and made sure all the doors were locked and she tried to reassure me and my siblings that everything was fine. But, we all felt uneasy.
More than anything, we just wanted my dad there.
There have been many times in my life when I’ve had to call on my father’s protection and his willingness to go the distance. It is one of the greatest comforts in life to know that your father will always come when you need him—at the drop of a hat.
Not that my mother wouldn’t do her best to protect, but a mother cannot give what a father can.
As a mother myself, I know my kids feel more safe and secure with their father home. He is our protector and it brings us all peace knowing that my husband takes that role seriously.
God gave St. Joseph the great honor of being the foster father of Our Lord. He was the provider and protector of The Holy Family, a role that shows the immense value of fatherhood and being a good husband. He is an excellent model of what it means to be a good man: Lovingly protect those entrusted to your care and be willing to go the distance for them.
A man is to be a father in some capacity, Catholic Pilgrims—to give of himself for the good of others in the ways only a man can do. Today, we honor St. Joseph who continues from Heaven to be a guide and protector for us all. We can always ask for his fatherly prayers.
St. Joseph, pray for us.
