This post contains affiliate or associate links with several businesses (which means if you shop through the links, I earn a small commission). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

It’s the year of Saint Joseph and our family has loved this special saint for a long time.

Here are some great gifts to give the Joseph you love, the young man who has chosen Joseph as a Confirmation name or to the Catholic you know who simply asks this amazing Saint to pray for them all the time!

Saint Joseph Gifts

A ready to ship Saint Joseph Box

This Pillar and Pearl Box is awesome.

Zealous Defender: Saint Joseph Box

I love the elegant, classy and totally ready to ship right to the person you are giving this to look of this box!

Use coupon code AMY10 to get 10% off this gift box (or any boxes from Pillar and Pearl!)

Saint Joseph Bracelets

A Saint Joseph Bracelet made by Give Love and Blessings.

I’ve been a fan of Give Love and Blessings for years now. Raina (the owner and creator) has several beautiful Saint Joseph bracelets to choose from:

A Lenten Saint Joseph bracelet

A Jade Light Green Single Decade Rosary Bracelet

Saint Joseph Socks

I love these socks for a few reasons:

1. People always need socks and these look dressy.
2. There is a quote on the bottom that makes me giggle.
3. They are an affordable gift – and not something that causes clutter in the home.

Saint Joseph Artwork by Kristyn Brown

This Holy Family Portrait is so endearing and so unique.

This Holy Family Portrait warms my heart!

And this picture of Saint Joseph and Jesus on this sticker I just LOVE!!!

Saint Joseph Shirts (and more)

I wrote another gift guide for CatholicsOnline.net, and I LOVE the gifts I found there, so be sure to go check that list out too (no need to re-invent the wheel here!). Here it is:

Over 25 Catholic Gifts Inspired by Saint Joseph

There are shirts for men, toys for children, gifts for the whole family, books, artwork and more over there. Definitely go and check it out!

Like gift guides inspired by Saints? Check out this one:

Gifts Inspired by Saint Gianna

If you want to receive future gift guides (like the one I am working on inspired by Saint Patrick) sign up for my newsletter here:

The post 5 Saint Joseph Gifts You are Sure to Love appeared first on Prayer Wine Chocolate.

This post contains affiliate or associate links with several businesses (which means if you shop through the links, I earn a small commission). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

My husband and I were in counseling our first year of marriage.

Don’t worry, our 15 year anniversary is less than 6 months away.

But for us, marriage hasn’t been easy.

That doesn’t mean it hasn’t been an incredible blessing. We just came to the Sacrament with a ton of baggage.

In fact, our wedding song was “God Blessed the Broken Road”.

But, why go to Saint Joseph for marriage help?

Saint Joseph is often known as “Saint Joseph the Worker”.

Men feel strongly about their role as a provider. Even men who’s wives work full-time and even men who’s wives make more money than they do. Work is something most men use to describe their identity.

Saint Joseph is the patron saint of workers.

When Matt and I were first married, Matt worked as a retail manager.  It was not what he went to school for; but he took the job because he wanted to be a good provider.  I could see how unhappy and stressful his job made him.  His job sent him into a depression, and his work was so stressful, he also went into the hospital.  He spent about a week in the ICU.  We had only been married about a year.  “In sickness . . .” came a lot quicker than I had ever imagined.  

During our counseling sessions, we spoke about a lot of things that we were struggling with and our counselor made some suggestions to help us work through them.

But he (our therapist was a man) must have started to see and hear a pattern. Matt’s job and work must have been coming up a lot. The therapist finally suggested that Matt look for a different job. It was clear that this was a huge stressor – both on Matt and on our marriage.

One thing I have learned in the past 15 years – through my own relationship and watching the marriages of friends – is the work and the job of a husband is so important and influential in his life.

If a husband is unhappy at his job or with his career, that will negatively impact his home life.

I’ve seen it. It can lead to marriages ending completely.

If you’re marriage is stressed, I suggest you and your spouse take a look at your husband’s professional life. My gut feeling and experience tells me, it’s more important for a man to be happy at his job than it is for a woman.

I don’t have any degrees that can back up that last statement. But sometimes, our gut can tell us something a lifelong education can not.

I didn’t realize it at first, but what led him to take the job was the desire to be a good provider for me and our future children. Once I realized how much he disliked his work and we both became aware that it was affecting his physical and mental health, I suggested a change.

Matt’s reaction was not uncommon or odd… he simply said, “we can’t afford it.”

But let me play the devil’s advocate here: is it worth losing your marriage or potential happiness in family life over a job?

Now our situation was unique in quite a few ways.

We didn’t have children and I did have a job

I wasn’t suggesting he quit his job without another one lined up. Matt felt that he could get another job, it would just pay significantly less than what he was making at the time.

But what I – actually what Matt and I both believe, is that what I did next was what saved him and us.

I prayed a novena to Saint Joseph.

Now why do I think this prayer actually helped us?

I’d love to share that story with you!

I prayed this novena prayer with this intention:

I asked Saint Joseph to pray with me for Matt… that he would have a job he enjoyed doing and felt that he made a difference doing it.

And then, all of a sudden . . .

the school I taught in needed an IT guy.

I gave Matt’s resume to the President of the School. The President looked at it and looked at me and said… he’s way over qualified.

I explained how my husband desired to work in this field… and he’s been out of it for years. This would help him get back into the tech world and not look or be behind.

But…Matt didn’t just have to impress the school President.

Whoever got the job was going to have to work with the nun who ran the computer lab.
She was an SSJ.
That is, a Sister of Saint Joseph.
And not everyone got along swimmingly with her.

This nun and I did get along well. But it’s funny, that wasn’t the case for many of the teachers in the school.

She was, how do I describe this . . .”old school”?

Rigid, didn’t have a bubbly personality and honestly, I don’t know.

What I did know was that I could sign up to bring my 5 classes of freshmen to her computer lab almost any time because other teachers were not flocking to go there.

I also knew that in the 4 years I worked at the school, there had been at least two IT/computer support people who had worked there and left the job, and for the year before Matt applied, we only had Sister as our tech “go-to” person.

So Matt has his interview where he talked to all the school President and the Tech Coordinator of the Office of Catholic Education – basically all the people in the school district that are in charge of hiring IT professionals.

And… he met Sister.
And Sister LOVED Matt.

She loved him the day she met him.
She loved him every day he worked with her.
And when he left for another job, well that really made her sad… because honestly, she loved him.

That job got Matt back in the industry and gave him the experience and confidence he needed to move on and up in the field.

 I am so grateful for Saint Joseph’s intercession.

 And as an added wink and a smile, Saint Joseph passed on to Matt his love of woodworking.  

Woodworking has become Matt’s favorite hobby!

My husband still works in the IT field. He is supporting our family with a job he loves. And our oldest son’s middle name is Joseph.
Saint Joseph, pray for us!

How can Saint Joseph help a marriage if the problem is not stemming from employment?

One of Saint Joseph’s titles is the Pillar of Family Life. He wants to pray for you, take him up on the offer.

So, even if you’re marriage is on the rocks because of situations that are not at all work related, I strongly suggest praying this novena!

One of Saint Joseph’s titles is the Pillar of Family Life. He wants to pray for you, take him up on the offer.

Saint Joseph’s titles include many that reflect how much he is a great intercessor for marriage.

Saint Joseph’s titles, in addition to “the Worker” and “Pillar of Families” also include:

Mirror of Patience

Glory of Home Life

and

Terror of Demons.

Marriage requires a ton of patience. The mood of our home life is a reflection of the state or our marriage.

And friends, we all have demons we are battling.

Why not call in for back up?

Go to Joseph. He will help.

Want to read more about Saints and Marriage? Check out Ten Years of Marriage and the Saints that Helped Us Get Here

Want to read more about Saint Joseph? Read 5 Ways Saint Joseph Can Help You Live a Better Life

The post Marriage Trouble? Go To (Saint) Joseph appeared first on Prayer Wine Chocolate.

This post contains affiliate or associate links with several businesses (which means if you shop through the links, I earn a small commission). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

***SPOILER ALERT*****SPOILER ALERT***

***If you have not yet seen THE RISE OF SKYWALKER and you don’t want me to spoil any parts of it before you see it . . . read this later.***

Years ago when my husband and I started the adoption process a co-worker and friend approached me and said something like,

“I have to tell you what you are doing is beautiful.  In the Jewish faith, adoption is one of the greatest things you can do.”

As a Catholic school teacher, this friend and co-worker was a rare find.  She practiced her Jewish faith but taught math in a Catholic school. I always remembered that moment she shared with me.

Those kind words were not only a compliment and blessing from a friend, but a glimpse into the faith of modern Judaism . . . and roots that remain from ancient tradition.

In the recent film of the Star Wars franchise, the infamous Luke Skywalker states:

“Some things are stronger than blood”.

Once again, my heart strings felt a tug.

Adoption in Sacred Scripture

For some, adoption is not a thought that runs across the mind on a regular basis, if at all.

For the Christian, it may be a topic glazed over or pondered upon when Scripture readings like

Romans 8:15 

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”

Ephesians 1:4-5 

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.  In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will…

Maybe we thought a little about adoption when we hear the story of Saint Joseph and the birth of Jesus.

For me, I have scratched my head when I noticed that when Jesus’ roots are traced back to David, they are traced through Saint Joseph – we know and are clearly told that Joseph is not the biological or natural father of Jesus.  We often hear the term “foster father”.

But the answer lies in the beauty of adoption my Jewish friend Lisa was referring too.

As stated in a homily written by Father Joe:

But the Gospel also makes it clear that Joseph was not the natural or birth father of the Lord.  Mary was a Virgin.  The child was conceived through the Holy Spirit.  So, why is Jesus seen as part of the line of David through Joseph?  This is because Joseph names the child.  For the ancients this meant he had made the child his own.  We can even say that he adopted the child.  Now we view adoption as a legal procedure.  The ancients viewed adoption as both a legal act and a spiritual act.  When a man adopted a child, all that made that man who he is, his background, his ancestry, all of this poured out upon the child.  When Joseph named the child, adopted the child, King David, King Solomon, and all that was part of Joseph’s ancestry became part of Jesus’ ancestry.  The prophets predicted that the Messiah would come through the line of David.  This takes place through Joseph.

Look at what adoption encompasses both in the Jewish tradition . . .

When a man adopted a child,

all that made that man who he is,

his background, his ancestry,

all of this poured out upon the child. 

When Joseph named the child, adopted the child,

Kind David, King Solomon, and all that was part of Joseph’s ancestry became part of Jesus’ ancestry. 

Joseph became so much more than a foster father.  In adopting Jesus, he not only gave Our Lord himself as a parent, but his father and mother became Jesus’ grandparents, and their parents became great-grandparents and all the way back to David became Jesus’ family.

The Significance of a Name

Now back to Luke Skywalker.

Luke was speaking to Rey when he said,

“Some things are stronger than blood”.

Rey was not the biological daughter of Luke.  She’s not the daughter of Leah. But both Luke and Leah, in a sense, adopted her.

Rey eventually takes on the name, Skywalker.

When Luke assures Rey that she has all she needs to defeat the Dark Side, he gives her the lightsaber of Leah to use in addition to his own.

Luke assures Rey all of the Jedi will be with her.

In her final battle with the Emperor, you hear the voices of former Jedi.

Yoda, Obi Wan and all who were a part of Jedi history become part of Rey’s history.

The Spiritual Realm of adoption is made visible to the viewer. The reality of that history helped her to defeat the Dark Side and become a Jedi herself.

Spiritual Traditions and Adoption

We witness:

The beauty of adoption.

The bond greater than blood.

The fact that family transcends time.

The power of those who have come before us.

The Parallels in the Jewish and Jedi Traditions seem undeniable. (And parallels have been written about by others in general – just google Judaism and Jedi and you’ll see what I mean)

Now think about this . . .

In observing the beauty of adoption, we do not downplay the importance of the natural/biological family.

Rey’s parents sacrificed for their daughter to have life.

Rey’s life wasn’t full of wealth or absent of hardship.  But her life was of great value.

Mary is not dismissed or made less important because Jesus’ lineage is traced through Joseph.

God does not deny His Son.

Valuing adoption.  Recognizing it’s beauty, does not threaten anyone.

Don’t let those who don’t want to hear about it make you believe that.

So what do both Saint Joseph and Luke Skywalker teach us about adoption?

1. Adoption is so much more than a legal process.
2. That in this day and age where testing our DNA and finding out our ancestral  roots and biological connections seem to become increasingly popular, “some things are greater than blood.”
3. Life is so much more than what is physical.  The values we hold dear to us are very much a part of what is real.
4. Don’t listen to the Dark Side.
5. We are not alone.We are the adopted sons and daughters of Our God.  The Creator of Heaven and Earth.The bond that love has is real.His love transcends time.

   The Communion of Saints cheer for us as we strive to fight the darkness.

Considering Adoption? Dear Couple Considering Adoption,

Want to read more about adoption?Adoption: 5 Myths Every Pro-Lifer Needs to Stop Believing

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