Last year, when Saint Joseph surfaced as my Saint of the year, I was delighted. He seemed the perfect Saint for many of my needs that year. My year’s travels . . . my search for work after graduating college . . . and maybe, Saint Joseph, just maybe, you could also bring my husband this year?—pretty please, with a cherry on top? So my hopes and prayers ran. I tucked them into novenas, trusting that the Saint who cared for Christ and our Lady would also see to me.
Saint Joseph truly worked great graces and small wonders alike in my year. My travels prospered; my professional path unfolded. The third thing? Well, unlike countless friends around me, I swung strong on team single the whole year. I prayed the novenas, Saint Joseph, remember?? Yet my objections falter under his gentle, knowing smile.
Even in the absence of a vocational “cherry on top,” I grew more convinced of this Saint’s powerful effectiveness for a multitude of circumstances in our lives. While renewing my Consecration to Saint Joseph with Father Donald Calloway’s excellent handbook, I realized that, by God’s grace, Saint Joseph likely united almost every quality desirable in a human person. I was stirred with new admiration for the fullness of masculinity revealed in our spiritual foster father. What a man.
Praying the Litany of Saint Joseph as a Single Woman
While praying a daily Litany of Saint Joseph during those weeks, I discovered the riches of Saint Joseph’s spiritual roles: His many titles cover practically everyone and every situation. Again, what a man! In fact, the man! As my admiration for the holy manhood of Saint Joseph grew, it struck me: Yes. Saint Joseph is truly the man for us single women!
And so, I want to tell my single sisters in Christ: Saint Joseph wants to walk with you through this season of your life. May the following reflections enrich your trust in God’s goodness through the strength of our spiritual father.
Head of the Holy Family
A heavy cross of single life is facing so many circumstances “alone.” Many things would be easier and brighter with that special person by your side: processing grief, painting a room, moving to a new state, or navigating insurance claims.
When you long for strong masculine companionship and leadership, look to the one whom God chose to head the family of His incarnate Son and to teach Him true manhood. When your heart, weary of handling everything, desires to be led, place your life under the headship of the capable protector of the Holy Family. You are never flying solo.
Foster-Father of the Son of God
Religious art sometimes portrays Saint Joseph cradling the sleeping Christ Child in His arms. In the joyful exhaustion of new fatherhood, many a man rocks his infant to sleep, and before long also dozes with the same blissful peace and abandon as the little one nestled on his chest. I imagine Saint Joseph might have done the same.
Contemplate the tenderness of this fatherhood! Father Calloway points out that in Latin the title “Foster-Father of the Son of God” literally means “nurturer of the Son of God.” Let his manly heart also nurture you. Saint Joseph wants to place the divine Babe in your arms, and, by the peace of his fatherhood, teach you to rest alongside the Christ Child. You, too, are meant to sleep securely, like a child, in the arms of your father.
Joseph Most Chaste and Guardian of Virgins
These titles reveal a man who looks out for your precious heart. He who chastely loved our Lady will grant you graces of noble purity and genuine respect for the goodness and dignity of others.
Saint Joseph is also the Saint for your heartbreak. Consider his interior suffering at the thought of quietly leaving Mary, out of reverence for Mary and the mystery at work in her as well as in justice to God. (This is Father Calloway’s preferred interpretation of this enigmatic part of Scripture.) Saint Joseph will receive your hurting heart with understanding and utmost compassion, drawing you towards healing and greater holiness.
Mirror of Patience
Sister, he sees the little, hidden ache in your heart at weddings.
Friends share about someone special, rings appear by spring or Christmas, but still a shake of the head when family members ask about you. “Be patient and your turn will come.” You believe it but perhaps are also annoyed by the helpless, empty sound of that word, patience. Behold, reflected before you in Saint Joseph, this virtue in its true, tireless strength. His task of protecting our Lady and Christ was not simple but required a fiat of enduring faith that God would fulfill all things in due time. Gazing on this Saint’s example will renew your own patience.
Model of Workers and Glory of Domestic Life
Perhaps your fondest dream is to be a stay-at-home wife and mother. You value your career and fully embrace professional life, but at the end of the day you desire more. The tension is real, yet Saint Joseph the Worker can help you find purpose and joy in your present calling.
Then, too, what is domestic life in singlehood? You return from visiting your friends’ families to a quiet house: no lively exuberance of your own rosy-cheeked little ones, no anticipation of a husband returning from work. Yet, Saint Joseph shows us the dignity and meaning of home life, whether it entails caring for other family members or your own household of one. Let him show you the gift of the hidden life and revive your zeal for little mundane things done with love. And ultimately, as both the workman and the sleeping Saint Joseph, let him teach you both to work and to rest.
Terror of Demons and Patron of the Afflicted
The robust title of “terror of demons” gives us Saint Joseph relentlessly fending off the snarling evil one with his lily-entwined staff. Satan tries to tempt you out of the present moment toward comparison, whispering endless lies about your worth: Your standards are too high. You’re not worthy of beautiful love. If you were holier, you’d surely be married already. When we cannot extricate ourselves from the resultant subtle spiral of self-sabotage, Saint Joseph will help us to recognize and renounce the lies. When your heart and soul are oppressed, fly to your spiritual father: He and Christ will fight for you.
Ultimately, “Go to Joseph” in All Your Needs
Throughout my “year of Saint Joseph” I discovered that the moments of his life can meet us powerfully in our own. I encourage you to “go to Joseph” (Genesis 41:55), confiding to him not only your vocation but all that you seek. He will show you how to act and champion you with his efficacious intercession. He will remind you that you are crafted to love and that you are deeply worthy of it.
When your heart feels that woman was truly not meant to be alone, turn to the steadfast holy masculinity of Saint Joseph. There, you will find solace and the certainty that you are loved.
Leila Joy Castillo calls Florida home but left her heart in hill country long ago. An alumna of Ave Maria University, she freelances in Catholic communications and is a published writer, primarily on Blessed is She and Ascension. When not dabbling in the multitudinous Google docs of her articles, Leila delights in music, personalist philosophy, quality time with her younger siblings, and her literary trifecta: Austen, Lewis, and Dante. You can find her on Instagram @leila_joyinthejourney or follow her personal site here.
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