The sixth title added to the Litany of Saint Joseph is Patron of the Afflicted. This one is perhaps the least directly linked with him. We really don’t have any evidence that he was “afflicted,” at least not in the usual sense of undergoing pain and suffering, especially from illness. Some pious legends try to claim that he suffered an illness at the end of his life and was lovingly tended by Mary and Jesus, but he could have died from old age for all we really know. The fact is that we know nothing about his life after he and Mary found Jesus in the Temple.
So why this new title? Maybe it’s linked to his role as a father. When we are little and suffering, we turn to our parents for aid and comfort. One of Mary’s titles is Patroness of the Afflicted, so maybe this new title for Joseph is a way of showing us that Joseph wasn’t some shadowy figure hiding in a workshop during Jesus’ childhood, but that he was a real person who was there to comfort and assist his son as much as Mary did. Maybe it’s a way for us to see Mary and Joseph as an actual couple. Perhaps it is to remind us that it was the Holy Family, not the Holy Mother and Child.
All too often, we set Joseph aside to highlight Mary’s role. While not downplaying her part, Joseph wasn’t merely a placeholder in the Nativity scene. He played an active role in the upbringing of Jesus. If he hadn’t, the neighbors wouldn’t have referred to Jesus as “the son of the carpenter.”
While we certainly can ask Joseph for his assistance when we are afflicted with whatever is troubling us, maybe this new title can help us to see him as an essential part of the entire history of salvation as well.
Quotation
“In human life, Joseph was Jesus’ teacher in their daily contact, full of refined affection, glad to deny himself to take better care of Jesus.” –Saint Josemaría Escriva
Prayer
Saint Joseph, I know that I can turn to you when I am afflicted by illness, sadness, or sorrow, but help me to also remember that you, with your wife, Mary, are a couple who worked together in life and can work together for our good even now. Amen.
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