St Joseph's Feast Day

On St Joseph's Feast Day today I am reminded of the gift of faith and God's grace. When Mary is greeted by the angel Gabriel who told her she was full of grace. While St Joseph was told by an angel to not be afraid. He is not told like Mary that God's with him or that he is full of grace. All we are told is that "he was a righteous man". In some ways St Joseph is the most like us in the fact that he was not born without sin, like his wife Mary and he is not fully God and fully man. like his adopted son Christ. He was a lot like us. He had an important part to play in the plan of salvation. It was through him that Christ came to be in house of David, he protected Mary and Joseph from Herod's murderous rage. Without him Mary could have been stoned to death as she was pregnant out of wedlock. In addition, Mary and Jesus needed the protection and care of a man while, Jesus was growing up. In many ways the gift of faith and grace is displayed in St Joseph in the way it can be displayed in our lives. We might not acutally do much of note in our lives but, if we follow God's will our little acts of faith can be woven into the divine plan in ways we can never imagine.
Have a blessed day, Nina