STALWART GUARDIAN
“When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.” -Matthew 1:24
On one occasion attending Vietnamese mass with my parents, I followed my parents’ lead and went to the back of the church afterwards. My dad said he wanted to go pray at the Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine, and I obliged. As he kneeled, my mom whispered to me in Vietnamese, “He comes here after mass every week to pray for you.”
I immediately felt my heart swell in love. My mind flashed back to when he cared for me after I fell off my bike, hummed Vietnamese lullabies in the hot summer nights to help me sleep, and warmly held my mom’s hand as they strolled down the beach on their day off. I saw the living example of Saint Joseph in my life. My dad is our stalwart guardian, a concrete sign of God’s love for my mom and me. He humbly serves our family and his parish. He entrusts us to God and the Holy Family each night in prayer. In thinking of these moments, I know why my parents chose Saint Joseph as my patron saint in Baptism, and why despite having the choice to switch, I kept Saint Joseph in Confirmation.
Saint Joseph embodies how I want to live. He is the stalwart guardian in the Holy Family, guiding a pregnant Mary through different inns to find rest, searching tirelessly for Jesus during a crowded Passover, and most importantly, accepting Mary and the unborn Jesus into his home in today’s Gospel. Despite probably feeling confused and scared, Saint Joseph trusted God’s guidance and will, making a life-changing decision for the Holy Family and us all. But beyond these moments, I imagine Saint Joseph like my dad, helping Jesus up as a child when He scrapes His knee, singing a lullaby to Jesus on difficult nights, and holding Mary tight when things seemed uncertain raising the Son of God.
I may not be there yet, but I want to entrust myself, my loved ones, and even my fears to God like Saint Joseph. I wish to serve quietly, helping provide for my parents, partner, and future children as well as my community, protecting them and helping them grow and thrive through the gifts and talents God gave me.
Dear God, give me the strength and courage like Saint Joseph to entrust my life to you. Help me be a stalwart guardian for those around me and nourish Your love in them.
Kevin Nguyen