March 19, 2026 // Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a
Reflect on the Word //
“Here it is,” I said, flipping open Father Mark Mary Ames’ book The Father to show my son the final chapter. It tells the story of Tom Vander Woude, the dad who dove into a septic cistern on the family farm to save his youngest child, a son with Down syndrome. My own son had heard part of the story of this heroic father and coach who laid down his life for his boy, and I wanted him to read more. Young men need stories of real manhood, of perfect love casting out fear.
Today’s Gospel reveals that even the best—the very best—of men need the grace of God to go before them (see Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a). Saint Joseph, betrothed to Mary, wonders at the mysteries unfolding around him and within her. Righteous and rule-following, yet “unwilling to expose her to shame” (Matthew 1:19), he makes a decision to divorce her quietly. This reveals that there must have been something of an internal back-and-forth within Joseph. There are two paths he can see, and he resolves to do what he thinks is best.
God intervenes, seeing from an eternal perspective another way.
Jesus needs an earthly father, and so the Father mercifully illuminates Joseph’s mind and casts out the fear in his heart. With the angels’s words, “do not be afraid” (Matthew 1:20), Joseph has the strength and wisdom to now, unhesitatingly, follow God’s will and take Mary into his home.
God’s love drives out fear.
Sister, let us pray for the men in our lives and our culture to draw near to the One Whose presence will strengthen them to be the fathers—physical and spiritual—we need them to be. Deep down, they have unseen insecurities and doubts, anxieties and uncertainties. One Father, with a single word of love, can drive away the darkness and call them forward to serve and lead and sacrifice—even unto death. The Saint whose Solemnity we celebrate today, the Terror of Demons himself, can intercede, protect, and lead our men into the perfect fearless freedom of holy sonship.
St. Joseph, pray for us.
Relate to the Lord // Ask for Saint Joseph’s intercession for the men in your life today.
Claire Dwyer writes with the desire that all women see the sacredness of their stories in light of Salvation History. Speaker, Retreat Leader, Author of This Present Paradise, senior copywriter and content editor for Avila Foundation / Spiritualdirection.com, and co-founder of the PraiseWriters community, she knows firsthand the power of words to set a fire on the earth. She lives in Phoenix with her family. Find out more about her here.
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