Happy Father's Day St. Joseph

 

  They are called the "hidden years."  It is actually a large span of time.  It is most of Jesus' life here on earth. Mary and Joseph spent more time with Jesus than anyone else.  I bet if we asked St. Joseph what he would call those years, he would call them "absolutely incredible years!"  Imagine St. Joseph's joy to hold baby Jesus in his arms, or the fun involved when playing with Jesus in the fields, or gazing at the stars together at night.  Imagine kneeling in prayer everyday with Mary on one side and Jesus on the other.  It had to be a foretaste of heaven for St. Joseph.

  I am certainly not discounting the stress of having to protect the long awaited Messiah and Mary, because I'm sure there were plenty of days  it weighed very heavy on him. Raising a child is difficult even under the best of circumstances , yet alone when authorities wanted your family eliminated.  I'm sure there were days when work was unavailable and food was scarce, but since today is Father's Day, I want to imagine the fun times.

  Have you ever wondered if St. Joseph told "dad jokes?"  Did Jesus laugh at his jokes?  What kind of jokes do you think Jesus shared with Joseph?  What was their favorite father/son activity (after praising God of course)? Did they ever play innocent tricks on Mary?  Often when we see statues or paintings of the Holy Family they seem so serious, but I can't help thinking they had a lot of fun too.  Today as I remember all the good times I had with my own father, I'm going to imagine the Holy Family smiling, laughing, and reminiscing about all their good times as well.

-Susan