Serra Club Vocations Essay

St. Joseph shows how to have courage in following God’s call

By Kara Amyx (Special to The Criterion)

St. Joseph is the epitome of what we should all strive to be as Catholic Christians.

Throughout his life, he answered God’s call, even if he was fearful. He gave himself to God in order to fulfill his mission and meet the needs of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. He was the ultimate example

of what we should strive to be as future parents and as tools of God in this life.

What is known to us of St. Joseph, the husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus Christ, comes from the Bible. However, St. Joseph is not mentioned an overwhelming amount, and what we know of him is sparse.

In addition to not knowing much of St. Joseph through the Bible, apocryphal writings such as the second-century Protoevangelium of James makes his life even harder to understand, as it states that Joseph was a widower with children before meeting Mary, and died at the old age of 111. However, this is not widely believed by the Church.

What is uncontradicted about St. Joseph is that, upon finding out that his newly wed wife, Mary, was already pregnant, he at first wanted to divorce her quietly, unwilling to put her to shame and danger by the public.

However, after an angel came to Joseph in a dream, telling him that Jesus was the Son of God and was conceived in Mary by the Holy Spirit, he made the decision to keep Mary as his wife and stay there to raise this child as his own. He became an admirable foster father to Jesus and raised him to be the kind and loving person we all strive to be.

Because of the exemplary character that St. Joseph displayed in answering his call from God, he is the perfect role model for our lives as Christians. He said yes to the Lord’s call, even when it seemed scary and even dangerous.

As humans, who are imperfect, it can be hard to follow the life God calls us to, and it may seem undesirable. However, it’s imperative, especially in our youth, that we listen for God’s call and put him at the forefront of our lives.

We may not hear God’s voice explicitly or have an angel appear to us in a dream to tell us what we need to do, but if we listen to God and pray to him about what our vocation is in this life, we will get a sign and do what we know is best.
 

(Kara and her parents, Jarrod and Treena Amyx, are members of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Richmond. She recently completed the 12th grade at Seton Catholic High School in Richmond and is the 12th-grade division winner in the Indianapolis Serra Club’s 2021 John D. Kelley Vocations Essay Contest.) †