One my absolute favorite titles for St. Joseph is Terror of Demons. It reminds us of his role as the guardian and protector of the Holy Family, how he was entrusted by God to shield Mary and the child Jesus from danger. But it also teaches us a little bit about who St. Joseph was. He was a man of incredible faith, someone who strove to live a life of righteousness, someone who strove to be holy. He was a true father, a man who sought to protect his family from the forces of darkness. And that shows us the power of God’s grace to overcome evil.

We see more and more with each passing day how much evil is present in the world. We see the spiritual battles raging around us. If we don’t recognize that, then we are blind to reality, sorry to say. That calls us to deeper prayer, it calls us to be unwavering in our faith, and to trust in God’s protection alone.

Every single one of us…but most especially our dads…so fellas, this is for you in a particular way. We are called to be like St. Joseph. We are called to be vigilant guardians of our families, our communities, and our own souls. We have to be willing to stand firm in our convictions, to be the leaders of faith in our families. We have to stand against the temptations and attacks of the Evil One, not fall prey to them. We have to strive for holiness in all that we do, be people of prayer, aware of our identity as the beloved sons and daughters of the Father, living out of that identity and striving to follow Christ in all things. Thankfully, we have an intercessor who prays for us, someone we can turn to when we need to strengthen our resolve to resist sin and to live dependent on God’s grace.

This morning, as we honor St. Joseph, let’s entrust ourselves to his fatherly care, let’s ask him to pray for us in a specific way, that we might be safeguarded from temptation and having the strength to be victorious in those spiritual battles. Follow his example, allow him to inspire us to be bold and courageous in our faith. With the protection of St. Joseph and with God’s grace, we can overcome every obstacle and triumph over the forces of darkness. Let’s go out and be those fearless warriors in the spiritual battle that is taking place in our world, holding firm to our faith, and protecting our souls and the souls of our families from falling prey to the Enemy.

Image: The Dream of St. Joseph, Anton Raphael Mengs (1770). In Kunsthistorisches Museum. Used under public domain license.