Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki
Archbishop of Milwaukee
 

I have often thought if I were directing a movie production and needed to cast the Holy Family and I could choose from all the movie actors in history, who would I choose? Any child could be the baby Jesus and most have during Christmas pageants. There would be a number of female actresses that could play the role of Mary – in fact, many actresses have already given creditable performances. The role of Joseph would be another question. The discernment would be difficult.

We don’t know much about Joseph. We have no recorded words of Joseph in any of the Gospels, yet he must have been a man of great personal integrity since God Himself entrusted Mary and the child Jesus to his care. He must have been a man of great faith since he was able to listen to the direction of God through a dream and trust in His words. As every child looks up to his father, Jesus would have mimicked his foster father, Joseph, and been obedient to his directions. Clearly Scripture tells us that he was obedient to his parents (remember the finding of Jesus in the Temple?).

My image of St. Joseph is that of the strong silent type, which was often represented by iconic movie actors like Gary Cooper or Gregory Peck. They portrayed individuals who were never afraid to take a stance against those who would attack principles or who would seek to do harm to the family or the community. They were often happy to be a part of the family or their town and stood out only when it became evident that they needed to stand for someone or something.

March 19 is the feast of St. Joseph, the universal patron of the Church. A number of ethnic communities will hold celebrations in his honor. The Italians will have the famous St. Joseph table. Perhaps a way to honor St. Joseph would be to remember in prayer a strong male figure in our life. It could be our father, uncle, brother, priest, teacher, neighbor or coach, who gave us a sense of personal safety and self-confidence in a world that can often be treacherous and uncertain.

Whether the St. Joseph in our own personal life movie is played by Gary Cooper, Gregory Peck or Mickey Rooney, you can be certain that, like St. Joseph, they helped us to LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Note: This blog originally appeared as the March 18, 2014 "Love One Another" email sent to Catholics throughout the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki. If you are interested in signing up for these email messages, please click here.