St. Joseph is a person we know very little about. His presence in the bible would by text alone seems to be a minimal one, yet we know from these sources he did have a major role to play in the life of both Mary and Jesus. It is because of him that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It is because of him that the family was led to Egypt soon afterward. And it was because of him that the family was led to Nazareth. Two years ago, Time magazine wrote up an article about how various Christians traditions, from Early Christians to modern day Evangelicals have dealt with the figure of Joseph. And many artists have attempted to portray the man in his various stages in life. The fact that so little is know of the man has led many of us, myself included to speculate about the life of Joseph.
This man has always been a mysterious figure. We have a good idea of how old Mary was at the time of the birth of Jesus, but we have nothing but wild speculation on the part of the age of Joseph. Within the Catholic Tradition itself it varies greatly from 36 to 91! 
This can be seen in a variety of art where is portrayed as a young man fully in charge of his family to an older man who constantly fall asleep. (In some circles, to say that you will do a St. Joseph’s Meditation is code for taking a nap). Some Christian traditions, such as the Egyptian Coptic Church have always held him in high regard. In other traditions, such as the Western Catholic church, reverence for him did not truly pick up until the middle ages. Yet today, and for many Christians through the ages, he is recognized as an important figure. After all not only does my church, Immaculate Conception in Winnipeg have a statue of him, but he is the Patron Saint of Canada itself.
But the story I look back on, and the story I find myself wondering about constantly is the story of Joseph on Christmas. Like many ideas about Joseph, this is a wild speculation, imposing what could be true, precisely because so little is know of him. However I have always believed that the story of Christmas to Joseph was a time of both great despair, and great hope.
