Assisted by Jesus and Mary, Saint Joseph passed from this life into eternity. For this reason, the Holy Church has declared him patron saint of the Good Death to intercede for all those who are in their final hour.
Newsroom (02/11/2021 17:00, Gaudium Press) Spouse of Mary Most Holy, Head of the Holy Family, Protector of the Holy Church, Terror of demons,… there are many titles for St. Joseph.
Indeed, among the numerous invocations that we can attribute to the Holy Patriarch, one deserves special attention on the Day of the Dead. St. Joseph is the patron saint of Good Death.
Although, we Catholics know that death is only a passage from the present life to the true, eternal life. The death of a relative, a loved one or a friend does not prevent the pain of separation, even though faith tells us that it is a temporary separation.
In fact, a punishment for original sin, death is a fact with which all men and women will sooner or later be confronted.
Death is a decisive moment in life, and the most important one, in which the person’s eternal destiny is at stake. As Scripture says: “When a tree falls, on the right hand or on the left, there where it falls it will remain” (Eccl 11:3). This is why, knowing the importance of the last hour, the enemy of salvation uses every trick to make us lose the treasure of salvation.
For this reason, we daily turn to Our Lady in the Hail Mary: “pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death”, so that at the last moment She may be favorable to us.
Besides Our Lady, the Holy Church has entrusted to Saint Joseph the sick and especially the dying. In fact, Saint Joseph was one of the few people in history who at the hour of death was assisted by Our Lord Jesus Christ and Our Lady.
Before closing his eyes, St. Joseph saw Our Lady and Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. When he crossed the portals of death, Saint Joseph saw the First Person of the Holy Trinity, God the Father, consubstantial with the Son.
In her wisdom, the Holy Church wants to entrust to St. Joseph’s protection all those in their final moments so that they may be assisted by Jesus and Mary, just as St. Joseph was. (FM)
Compiled by Roberta MacEwan
