March 19, 2026
Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Gospel: Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24A or Luke 2:41-51A

Today the universal Church celebrates the feast day of St. Joseph. First, I wish all brothers and sisters in Christ who have St. Joseph as their patron a happy name day celebration. Second, I also wish all parishes that have St. Joseph as their patron a happy parish feast day.

The Liturgy of the Word today offers two Gospel passages about St. Joseph. St. Matthew the Evangelist reveals what happened before the birth of Jesus Christ, while St. Luke the Evangelist depicts when Jesus was twelve years old, conversing with the scribes in the Temple, and the dialogue between Him and the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, who had anxiously searched for Him for three days and three nights. These two evangelists, each in their own appropriate way, present to us a vivid picture of the Holy Family of Nazareth, from which we can also see St. Joseph’s obedience and the Blessed Virgin Mary’s humility.

The world we live in is filled with material pleasures and permeated by individualism and consumerism. People often center themselves, prioritizing the fulfillment of various needs in their lives, without placing God’s Word in their hearts at all, living out the spirit and joy of the Gospel in daily life—still less like St. Joseph, who, though unable to understand God’s will at the moment, out of filial love and trust in God, carried out God’s will. Though he could not understand everything Jesus said and did in the Temple, he did not rush to judge, nor did he directly reprimand Jesus. Instead, he chose to contemplate, like the Blessed Virgin Mary, to see what God’s will truly was.

Perhaps we might think that Jesus would be rebellious, but the opposite is true. He did not disobey the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph; on the contrary, He chose to obey, setting an example for us. Therefore, on this feast day of St. Joseph, let us together offer a prayer to God:

Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that by Saint Joseph’s intercession
your Church may constantly watch over
the unfolding of the mysteries of human salvation,
whose beginnings you entrusted to his faithful care.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

©Totus Tuus 2026
Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica