GLADE PARK, CO (Catholic Online) -- On the eve of the Solemnity of Joseph, Husband of Mary, the reading for Evening Prayer I of the Liturgy of the Hours -- the official prayer of the Church in which millions of Catholic faithful around the world unite together in the fellowship of koinonia and ecclesial prayer -- is taken from Colossians:

"Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being. Do it for the Lord rather than for men, since you know full well you will receive an inheritance from him as your reward. Be slaves of Christ the Lord" (3:23-24).

That about sums up St. Joseph's life. For with his whole being he devoted himself in loving service to the care of the Child Jesus and his Mother, the sweet Virgin Mary, guiding his family through peril, providing for their needs and protecting with fatherly determination against what was often diabolical enmity. Joseph lived not for himself nor for men, but for the Lord. Consequently, we can be certain that, at the end of is life, Joseph heard those greatly sought after words: "My good and faithful servant" (cf. Mt. 25:21).

In Joseph's fatherly role, he suffered strain and sacrifice. In fact, if he had not been accustomed to relying on God's grace, he could not have withstood the pressure. In gazing upon his life as it is recorded in the gospels -- albeit however meager is that recording -- there is a great deal we can learn of what it means to be attentive in faith to God's word, to respond to God's grace, and to trust in hope that God will fulfill completely and with totality his providential plan of wondrous goodness: that unstoppable movement of God's supreme governance, unfolding before our eyes as it did for the eyes of St. Joseph. 

The ability to overcome doubts, to conquer struggles, to rise above adversity are all virtues we find in St. Joseph. Early on he encounters a difficulty in his betrothal to Mary: for "before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit," and, "being a just man," Joseph "resolved to send her away quietly" (Mt. 1:18-19). We should not presume the gospel is indicating that Joseph believed Mary to have been unfaithful in their betrothal, for Joseph may have simply felt himself unworthy of the magnificent and demanding position in which he would be required to care for the Child.

But what happened next? The Father knew that Joseph would respond to his grace and agree to become the foster-father of Jesus, but he saw Joseph lacked understanding. Therefore a messenger is sent: an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream, and tells him not to fear to take Mary as his wife. A choice was thus set before Joseph: he could doubt against what had been revealed and thus jettison his faith; he could follow his own path and take the easier, wide road; he could give in to uncertainty and fear in lack of hope. However, "When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, . . ." (Mt. 1:20-24). 

Note that Joseph unhesitatingly responded to God's providential plan. Yet the difficulties and sacrifice continue: Joseph must travel to Bethlehem (see Lk 2:1-7), exposing himself, his wife Mary and the Child within her womb to danger on the treacherous road that lay ahead. Further, after Jesus is born, when Herod the Great, ruler of Palestine, sought to kill him, an "angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; . . .'" (Mt. 2:13).

Again, Joseph responds through faith with immediacy: "And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod" (Mt. 2:14-15).

The Infused Theological Virtues

Given the dangers the Holy Family faced, the murderous intent of Herod, the precarious flight into Egypt and the subsequent departure to the land of Israel, which led to taking up residence in the city called Nazareth (Mt. 2:23), we find an impressive illustration of the importance in cooperating with God's grace as well as the good that will come in doing so.

And of course we find in Joseph a wonderful model of faith and hope, for his life as the foster-father of Jesus reveals to us, on many levels, precisely what it means to have and live out these two theological virtues.

Given the high degree of indifference and relativism we find in society today, we would do well to have a better understanding of what it means to have faith and hope. We might begin by asking a question: from where do these two theological virtues come?

When we speak of the theological virtues, there are three that we ordinarily receive through the sacrament of Baptism as a direct result of incorporation into Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Therefore they are supernaturally infused virtues. They are faith, hope and charity. ...