Since he is not mentioned in any of the gospel accounts, we usually surmise that Saint Joseph was not present during Jesus’ crucifixion. Most of us assume he had died some years earlier. But what if this quiet guardian of the holy family had been there? What if the spirit of Saint Joseph, invisible but real, had been present during those final hours on Calvary?
What thoughts, feelings, and experiences might this foster father recall as he stood by the cross, helplessly watching Jesus and Mary, the two people he was supposed to protect, suffer the most agonizing moments of their time on earth? Would he remember the picnic with his bride-to-be and carving their names into a tree? Would he relive the shock and scandal of discovering that she was carrying a child that wasn’t his? Would he recall the reassuring dreams, the Bethlehem star, the gifts of the magi, the hiding in Egypt, and the fearful search for their lost teenager in the temple? Would recollections of the instructions he gave to this young adult in their carpenter shop come flooding back to him as he watched the Word of God struggle to speak any words at all while trying to catch his breath on the suffocating spectacle of the cross? What prayer would this Spirit of Saint Joseph offer to God if he had been at Golgatha?
Saint Joseph’s Prayer from Calvary
Once upon a sapling carved
Two names of Jewish lovers:
He with chiseled strength would vow
Protection from all others.
She with virgin-glowing smile
Would in his footsteps follow
Bringing honor to his name
For now, and each tomorrow.
All his family and friends
Who cheered at their engaging
Never had a passing thought
That he’d have cause for raging
Sad to find her with a child
For whom he was not father
Chose to leave her on her own
Preferring not to bother
Charging her with public sin
Or stoning, turned in silence
Asking God to grant instead
Just mercy, peace, and guidance
Dreams, a star, and visitors
With gifts beyond all telling
Egypt flights and temple frights
And years of woodwork selling
Easy yokes that lighten work
And seeing Him grow so fast
Then on “skull place” crucified
With criminals breathe His last
Watching hurried burial
While leaning on that death tree
Fingers finding ancient marks
That tearing eyes would not see
Names that he carved long ago
With younger hand’s affection
Could not give these charges now
His strength or his protection
Raising weary eyes to heaven
One last prayer to utter
God, I give them back to You,
Your Son and Blessed Mother. Amen.
Holy Homework:
Using a butter knife, let’s gently carve the initials J M J into a slice of toast. Then, let’s place that bread, the staff of life, on a plate covered in plastic wrap in the center of the kitchen table for 3 hours on Good Friday afternoon. Each time we pass by the table, let’s say a prayer of thanksgiving for the sufferings that Jesus, Mary, and the Spirit of Saint Joseph offered up on Calvary out of love for us.
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