St. Joseph Archives - Catechist's Journey

Celebrate the Year of St. Joseph - text next to image of Joseph at work as carpenter

How Our Parish Is Celebrating the Year of Saint Joseph

When Pope Francis declared the Year of Saint Joseph, his aim was to “to increase our love for this great saint, to encourage us to implore his intercession and to imitate his virtues and his zeal.” (Patris Corde) Even though restrictions were still being implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we challenged ourselves as a parish staff to honor our Patron of the Catholic Church. We began celebrating the Year of Saint Joseph on his […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: St. Joseph and the Dignity of Work

Joe Paprocki

If one thing stands out about God in the first creation story (Genesis 1), it is that God devotes a great deal of time and energy to work. God works six of seven days! As people made in the image and likeness of God, we “resemble” God when we use our time, energy, and gifts to engage in work. It’s also interesting to note that, while the second story of creation (Genesis 2—3) describes work as one of the punishments for the […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: St. Joseph and a Place for Introverts in the Church

Joe Paprocki

We live in a culture that idealizes extroverts. As a society, we too often tend to equate success, not only with money, but also with the person who can talk the loudest and fastest. We live in a culture of personality. Unfortunately (and this is a pet peeve of mine), the same is often true in our Church: we too often equate discipleship with the ability to talk loud, fast, and convincingly about our faith in […]

Saint Joseph Activities Pack

Joe Paprocki

We don’t know many details about St. Joseph, but he was a model of trust in God. Celebrate the life and example of St. Joseph with our fun activities pack. The pack includes: a cute puzzle for children to color a word search to spark discussion on Joseph’s hidden life a family game idea inspired by Luke 2:41–52 a sheet inviting exploration of lessons Jesus might have learned from Joseph, just as we learn lessons […]

Sagrada Familia del pajarito (Holy Family) by Bartolome Esteban Murillo

Three Lessons Catechists Can Learn from St. Joseph

Darcy Osby

St. Francis of Assisi is often attributed as saying, “Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.” This quote is very fitting for the life of another saint whose actions spoke louder than his words: St. Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus. In fact, St. Joseph does not say one word in the Gospels. Yet he speaks volumes. What can catechists learn from the life of this holy man? 1. Silence We tend to […]

Happy St. Joseph’s Day!

Joe Paprocki

On this Feast Day of St. Joseph, my patron saint, let’s take a moment to reflect on his quiet nature and how fitting that is for the Lenten season! Here is my post from a couple of years ago on St. Joseph along with an activity from my 40 Ideas for 40 Days of Lent. Happy Feast Day to all the Joe’s out there!

Fresco of The Vision of Angel to St. Joseph in church Chiesa di Santa Croce by Giovanni Maria Conti della Camera - sedmak/iStock/Getty Images

Joseph Shows the Way in the Last Days of Advent

Joe Paprocki

Sometimes, our head is telling us one thing, but our heart and our gut are telling us something else. Matthew 1:18–25 tells us that St. Joseph was experiencing this inner turmoil. His betrothed, Mary, is pregnant—and he’s not the father. According to Jewish law, she should be stoned. Joseph decides instead to divorce Mary quietly; that would be the righteous thing to do. And yet, something within him continues to question this, interrupting his sleep. […]

40 Ideas for 40 Days—Lenten Activities: Silence Is Golden (In Honor of St. Joseph)

Joe Paprocki

March 19 is the Feast of Saint Joseph, and he serves as the inspiration for our next Lenten activity. One aspect of St. Joseph’s life is especially fitting for Lent, and that is his quiet nature. The Gospels reveal Joseph as a man of few words and he is revered for his “silence”—his quiet dedication to his family and to hard work. Here’s what Pope Benedict XVI said about Joseph back in 2005: The silence of Saint Joseph […]