St. Joseph is not only the Saint Patron of the Universal Church, but also one of main patrons of the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (SCJ) and a Saint Patron of Kasanag Daughters Foundation, Inc. (KDF). Each year, on March 19, the foundation holds a special celebration, which starts with the Holy Eucharist and ends with a simple party. As usual, the celebration is attended by beneficiaries of the foundation, staff, board members, former daughters, benefactors, SCJ priests and friends. The purpose of this  is to honor  their patron and thank him for his protection. This year, Fr. Robertus Sutopo, who is in charge of the foundation, invited Fr. Francis Pupkowski, the Regional Superior of the Priests of the Sacred Heart in the Philippines, to preside this celebration. In his homily, delivered in the Visayan dialect, Fr. Francis reflected on the person of St. Joseph and his qualities, which made him to be called “a righteous man.” 

Saint Joseph

Everything we know about the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus comes from Scripture and that has seemed too little for those who made up legends about him.

We know he was a carpenter, a working man, for the skeptical Nazarenes ask about Jesus, “Is this not the carpenter’s son?” (Matthew 13:55). He wasn’t rich for when he took Jesus to the Temple to be circumcised and Mary to be purified he offered the sacrifice of two turtledoves or a pair of pigeons, allowed only for those who could not afford a lamb (Luke 2:24).

Despite his humble work and means, Joseph came from a royal lineage. Luke and Matthew disagree some about the details of Joseph’s genealogy but they both mark his descent from David, the greatest king of Israel (Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3:23-38). Indeed the angel who first tells Joseph about Jesus greets him as “son of David,” a royal title used also for Jesus.

We know Joseph was a compassionate, caring man. When he discovered Mary was pregnant after they had been betrothed, he knew the child was not his but was as yet unaware that she was carrying the Son of God. He planned to divorce Mary according to the law but he was concerned for her suffering and safety. He knew that women accused to adultery could be stoned to death, so he decided to divorce her quietly and not expose her to shame or cruelty (Matthew 1:19-25).

We know Joseph was man of faith, obedient to whatever God asked of him without knowing the outcome. When the angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him the truth about the child Mary was carrying, Joseph immediately and without question or concern for gossip, took Mary as his wife. When the angel came again to tell him that his family was in danger, he immediately left everything he owned, all his family and friends, and fled to a strange country with his young wife and the baby. He waited in Egypt without question until the angel told him it was safe to go back (Matthew 2:13-23).

We know Joseph loved Jesus. His one concern was for the safety of this child entrusted to him. Not only did he leave his home to protect Jesus, but upon his return settled in the obscure town of Nazareth out of fear for his life. When Jesus stayed in the Temple we are told Joseph (along with Mary) searched with great anxiety for three days for him (Luke 2:48). We also know that Joseph treated Jesus as his own son for over and over the people of Nazareth say of Jesus, “Is this not the son of Joseph?” (Luke 4:22)

We know Joseph respected God. He followed God’s commands in handling the situation with Mary and going to Jerusalem to have Jesus circumcised and Mary purified after Jesus’ birth. We are told that he took his family to Jerusalem every year for Passover, something that could not have been easy for a working man.

Since Joseph does not appear in Jesus’ public life, at his death, or resurrection, many historians believe Joseph probably had died before Jesus entered public ministry.

Joseph is the patron of the dying because, assuming he died before Jesus’ public life, he died with Jesus and Mary close to him, the way we all would like to leave this earth.

Joseph is also patron of the universal Church, fathers, carpenters, and social justice.

There is much we wish we could know about Joseph — where and when he was born, how he spent his days, when and how he died. But Scripture has left us with the most important knowledge: who he was — “a righteous man” (Matthew 1:18).

Today, on March 9, 2015, is the 3rd anniversary of death of Fr. Jeremiah Sheehy (1957 -2012). Fr. Jerry, a member of the British-Irish Province, arrived in the Philippines with the first group of SCJ missionaries on May 17. 1989. His first assignment was in Dimataling, a remote parish in Zamboanga del Sur, in the Diocese of Pagadian. In 1991, he became the first superior of the Philippine Mission. Among his other assignments, he was the parish priest in Margosatubig, Zamboanga del Sur, the first Novice Master and an assistant parish priest in Bacolod in Lanao del Norte. He died just five days before his 55th birthday, five days before the birth anniversary of the Founder of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus – Fr. Leo Dehon and five days  before the Philippine District became a Region. He is remembered very much by all the SCJs, who had an opportunity to meet and work with him and by many people whom he served during his time in the Philippines and also in Vietnam, for his great sense of humor and big heart, especially for the poor.

Fr. Hugh Hanley, the former Provincial Superior of the British-Irish Province, reflecting on the life and death of Fr. Jerry wrote:

“…In my sermon I reflected on the suddenness of Jerry’s illness and death and made links with the word and symbols of the funeral liturgy, trying to find consolation for our sadness through our faith. Each of us had our own memories of him. I first got to know Jerry in my last year of formation when he came to the community as a novice. He had a great sense of humor, combined with great energy, which he could easily adapt to various situations and people. After his ordination he was very effective in working in youth ministry here before he committed himself to the new project to set up the Congregation in the Philippines. The first group that went there wanted Jerry to be the Superior…

…then eventually went to Vietnam as the first Superior of our new mission there. He was sorry to leave Vietnam, but his departure opened up possibilities of founding a community in China, which he had already explored, or going to Myanmar where there were plenty of vocations. Since coming back to the British-Irish Province eighteen months ago, he had been based at the parish of St John Ogilvie’s, Irvine, in Scotland, and at the same time looking after our nearby House of Prayer at Smithstone House, Kilwinning…

 …Last year Jerry had agreed, with the blessing of the General, to set up a new international community in London. We had already made contact with the Archbishop of Westminster. But God had other plans. We hope that Jerry will be as effective for us in eternity as he was during his humanity, and perhaps our younger members in the Philippines and Vietnam will be inspired in future years to come as missionaries to rebuild the church in Britain and Ireland and to continue the growth of the Dehonian charism in our islands…”