--- title: A Lesson to Be Learned from St. Joseph description: A Lesson to Be Learned from St. Joseph image: https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/KGuest%202013.jpg --- [![catholic-mom-logo-v2](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/images/catholic-mom-logo-v2.svg "catholic-mom-logo-v2")](https://www.catholicmom.com/) [![facebook](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-facebook.svg)](http://www.facebook.com/CatholicMomCommunity) [![twitter](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-twitter.svg)](http://twitter.com/CatholicMomCom) [![instagram](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-instagram.svg)](http://instagram.com/catholicmomcommunity) [![youtube](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-youtube.svg)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuUqHCVPDzyMgSMaMZxxug?view_as=subscriber) [![search-icon](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/search-icon.svg)](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/2013/03/06/a-lesson-to-be-learned-from-st-joseph#) # A Lesson to Be Learned from St. Joseph Mar 6, 2013 1:00:24 PM  |  by [Kelly Guest](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/author/kelly-guest) ![featured image](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/KGuest%202013.jpg) My husband Paul is a hard worker. Providing for such large family during tough economic times is not easy. I admire Paul’s trust in God and his determination to do His will. Knowing the situation Paul is in has led me to reflect on St. Joseph. St. Jerome gave me new insight into St. Joseph. Mary must have told Joseph about the angel’s visitation and message. Why would she not have? The angel’s message affected Joseph, too. Surely, Mary shared the good news with her betrothal. Being an upright and just man and recognizing Mary’s holiness, would Joseph not have believed her? Maybe his desire to divorce her quietly came not, as I commonly thought, from suspicion of her behavior, but from a feeling that he was not worthy of such a lofty vocation. How can a man, a lowly carpenter, be foster father to the Son of God? His humility may have gotten the better of him. The angel in his dream, however, assured him this was indeed God’s will. He was to be the head of the Holy Family. So he took the pregnant Virgin, the Mother of his Savior, as his wife. ![St. Joseph with Jesus as a child](https://www.catholicmom.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Sirani31.jpg?width=1090&name=Sirani31.jpg) Still, fulfilling God’s will as provider of the household was not easy. He had to travel with his 9-month pregnant wife to Bethlehem where he was unable to secure appropriate housing; he had to flee with his young family into Egypt where they would know no one; he was told to return after the king was dead to raise the Child in Nazareth. Each time, Joseph would have set up shop, gotten settled, built up a clientele, then be asked to move again. Yet he never hesitated, never complained. He also never prospered, but he always provided. His wealth was not seen with human eyes; however, through God’s eyes, Joseph was rich indeed. All that God had given him, he shared with his family – his material blessings, his skill (he taught Jesus his trade), his great love, his virtuous life style. He placed his faith, not in himself or other men, but in God. Even though in Scriptures, Joseph’s part may seem small, in the everyday living of the first thirty years of Jesus’ life, Joseph’s role was huge. Without Joseph, the Holy Family would not have been complete. Paul’s role and responsibility in our family is, likewise, huge. When it seems overwhelming, I watch him turn his eyes towards Heaven, as, I am sure, St. Joseph did many times. I am also sure that from Heaven, Jesus, Mary and Joseph smile upon Paul and our family. We may not be holy, but we are striving. In our efforts, we please God. --- ***Copyright 2013 Kelly Guest Image: [Palmesco](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sirani31.jpg), [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0), via Wikimedia Commons*** ### Share this article [![Share on Facebook](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/facebook-24x24.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2013%2F03%2F06%2Fa-lesson-to-be-learned-from-st-joseph%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on Twitter](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/twitter-24x24.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2013%2F03%2F06%2Fa-lesson-to-be-learned-from-st-joseph%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2013%2F03%2F06%2Fa-lesson-to-be-learned-from-st-joseph%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=A%20Lesson%20to%20Be%20Learned%20from%20St.%20Joseph) [![Share on Email](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/email-24x24.png)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2013%2F03%2F06%2Fa-lesson-to-be-learned-from-st-joseph%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%20&body=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2013%2F03%2F06%2Fa-lesson-to-be-learned-from-st-joseph%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail) ** #### About the Author ![Kelly Guest](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/Kelly%20Guest%2008%202021.jpg) ### [Kelly Guest](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/author/kelly-guest) Kelly Guest is the author of Saintly Moms: 25 Stories of Holiness. For over 30 years, she has worked in various ministries in the Church, beginning with her five years as a Dominican sister. She is now the Director of Family Faith Formation at her parish. She lives with her husband Paul and their nine wonderful children in the rolling country hills of Maryland. [**](https://www.twitter.com/nun2nine) ## Related Blog Articles [ What Abraham Lincoln Can Teach Me about Lent Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/2015/02/09/what-abraham-lincoln-can-teach-me-about-lent) [ Lent with Saint Zélie Martin Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/lent-with-saint-zélie-martin) [ My Rosary Story: Lessons from My Godmother Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/my-rosary-story-lessons-from-my-godmother) ## Comments ## Donate now [![Support Catholic Mom](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/275132/10016573-1c5c-4aa5-baba-c2ac91fe7545.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/275132/10016573-1c5c-4aa5-baba-c2ac91fe7545) [![CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c (002)](https://www.catholicmom.com/hs-fs/hubfs/CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c%20(002).png?width=1806&height=731&name=CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c%20(002).png "CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c (002)")](https://www.catholicmom.com/) ##### Subscribe to Catholic Momcast on iTunes or Spotify [![itunes-logo-black](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/logos/itunes-logo-black.svg)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/catholic-momcast/id1362352357)[![spotify-logo-black](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/logos/spotify-logo-black.svg)](https://open.spotify.com/show/15CoipHL7z61IDcYErV0b8?si=hqaQJSxDQgq7S1hxCwsoxQ) ##### CatholicMom on Social Networks [![facebook](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-facebook.svg)](http://www.facebook.com/CatholicMomCommunity) [![twitter](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-twitter.svg)](http://twitter.com/CatholicMomCom) [![instagram](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-instagram.svg)](http://instagram.com/catholicmomcommunity) [![youtube](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-youtube.svg)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuUqHCVPDzyMgSMaMZxxug?view_as=subscriber) ##### About Catholic Mom [Who We Are](https://www.catholicmom.com/about-us) [Contact Us](https://www.catholicmom.com/contact) [Support CatholicMom.com](https://www.catholicmom.com/support-us)   ##### Associated Links [Holy Cross Family Ministries](https://www.hcfm.org/) [Family Rosary](https://www.familyrosary.org/) [Family Theater Productions](https://www.familytheater.org/) [Congregation of the Holy Cross](https://www.holycrossusa.org/) [Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C.](https://www.fatherpeyton.org/) [The Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life](https://www.peytonfamilyinstitute.org/) ### **Stay connected!** Don’t miss a thing! Sign up to receive our free daily digest email. Copyright © 2026 CatholicMom.com. All Rights Reserved.