Can you imagine being told to give up your own hopes and dreams, live of life of perpetual chastity and sacrifice, and raise the Son of God?

That was exactly the challenge presented to St. Joseph, whom the Catholic Church celebrates in March. He fully accepted and embraced his calling from God, devoting himself entirely to Jesus and Mary with total selflessness.

For someone with such an important role, we know relatively little about him. All we know concretely about his life is from the Gospels. Even then, he never speaks in the Bible, giving him a contemplative, slightly mysterious persona.

St. Joseph was the foster father of Jesus and chaste spouse of Mary. He was their protector and head of the Holy Family, yet in humility he esteemed himself the lowest in the family. Devotion to the Holy Family is not complete without an understanding and appreciation of the great St. Joseph, often called "The Second Greatest Saint."

March: A Month for St. Joseph

So what's the connection between March and St. Joseph?

The feast of St. Joseph is March 19. It typically falls during Lent, giving us the opportunity to direct our devotion to Joseph's sacrifices and hardships as he followed God's will and mourned the impending loss of his Son that he wouldn't live to see.

Also in March, on the 25th, is the Annunciation, when Mary accepted the Incarnation. Joseph received a message from an angel in a dream that his betrothed was pregnant through a virgin conception. He trusted the Father and embraced his role in the life of God made Man.

Since St. Joseph is not just any other saint, it's fitting that he have his own month of special devotion in the liturgical year. The Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy says that devotion to St. Joseph is necessary to to remind us of his "singular example [...] which, surpassing all states of life, should be recommended to the entire Christian community, whatever their condition or rank." (Paragraph 223)

The Role of St. Joseph in Our Lives

Joseph is a model of virtue, especially for men and fathers, and a powerful protector, particularly for virgins and women. He is the:

• Defender of chastity
• Guardian of the family
• Terror of demons

He exemplifies virtuous living, acceptance of duties, and masculinity.

For these reasons, we should all strive to imitate St. Joseph and learn from him. We can also invoke his intercession and ask his protection against demons, threats to purity, and familial disputes.

He's the patron saint of the Universal Church, fathers, workers, families, and a happy death (since he is said to have died peacefully in Jerusalem with Mary and Jesus by his side).

Was St. Joseph Sinless?

There is no Catholic dogma defining St. Joseph as sinless. However, Catholic tradition and theology widely agree that St. Joseph, like St. John the Baptist, was cleansed from sin in the womb and so never committed a moral or venial sin.

Matthew 1:19 describes Joseph as a "just man." In Greek, the word used is dikaios, which refers to a righteous, upright, and obedient person. The very specific connotations of this Greek word lead us to conclude that Joseph was indeed sinless.

Some theologians teach that St. Joseph had to have been free from sin to protect Jesus and Mary, as they were fully sinless. It's hard to believe that a sinful man could have been capable of performing the demanding duties required of the foster father of Jesus and the chaste spouse of the Virgin Mary.

Six Ways to Honor St. Joseph Today

For those who seek to deepen their devotion to St. Joseph but don't know where to start, there are many ways to honor him, but a few stand out.

This March, try these means of devotion to St. Joseph.

1. Pray the Litany of St. Joseph. This powerful prayer invoking St. Joseph by his many titles has a partial indulgence attached to it.

2. Rest from Work on the Sabbath. Not only is this mandated by the Second Commandment, it's a way of deepening our connection to St. Joseph, the model of all ethical work practices. He followed the ideal work week, resting only on the Lord's Day.

3. Pray to St. Joseph Before Each Work Day. Before beginning work, say a prayer to St. Joseph asking him to intercede for you to be productive, work your hardest, and suceed at your tasks.

4. Respect Your Father. Even Jesus, the Most High King, submitted Himself to His father on earth. We should treat our fathers with respect and devotion, loving and obeying them as Jesus did St. Joseph.

5. Choose a Virtue of St. Joseph's to Practice. Start by choosing just one virtue that St. Joseph lived by, such as faith, obedience, chastity, fortitude, or humility, and make it a point this month to deepen that virtue in your own soul.

6. Reflect on St. Joseph's role in Scripture. The Gospels give us an account of St. Joseph's life from the Annunciation to the Finding of Jesus in the Temple, after which he's not mentioned again. Despite the brevity of his story, we can learn a lot from reflecting on his life and virtue.

Aspire to the Ideals of St. Joseph

St. Joseph is a man of incredible virtue and staggering faith. St. Peter Julian Eymard, French priest and founder of two religious institutes, expressed his essence beautifully.

"O, Saint Joseph, how great was your faith! You believed God against hope, against all human probability and appearances, in a supernatural way. You trusted when you could not understand, when everything seemed to go against you. Oh, how you have glorified God!" - St. Peter Julian Eymard.

His faith and trust in God were complete, unwavering, and ever-present through every challenge.

May we all aspire to this level of virtue someday. As St. Joseph shows us, all things are possible through God if we only have faith.

St. Joseph, Protector of the Holy Church, pray for us.