Today is the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
From the Gospels we know that Joseph had visits from angels in his dreams. We have two versions of his lineage, one in Matthew 1, and the other in Luke 3. Both agree that Joseph was of tribe of Judah, a descendant of Phares, one of the twin sons of Judah and his daughter-in-law, Tamar. Joseph was of the house of David.
We know from the Gospels that Joseph fulfilled four of the five traditional obligations of a father to his son: he had Jesus circumcised (Luke 2:21); he redeemed him (Luke 2:22-24); he taught him Torah (Luke 2:46-47); and he taught him a trade (Matthew 13:55, Mark 6:3); We do not know if Joseph lived long enough to arrange marriages for his sons and daughters.
Click here for a picture of Joseph and Jesus at work.
