Worker in wood and stone, skilled with hammer and chisel,
Man of courage who protected Mary, making a home for her and the unborn Son of God.
We do not know when you died, or how many years you had with Mary and Jesus in the dusty little village of Nazareth.
Who knows? You passed quietly out of history, unnoticed.
Joseph the worker, the husband, the father –
Pray for the workers, that they may have dignity,
Pray for the husbands, that they may be loving,
Pray for the fathers, that they may be patient and wise.
St. Joseph has two feast days in the liturgical calendar;
the first is 19th March, Joseph the Husband of Mary;
the second is 1st May, Joseph the worker.