St. Alphonsus Liguori on St. Joseph

[The following is excerpted from "The Glories of St. Joseph," compiled by the Monks of St. Joseph's Abbey in Flavigny, France.]

"Who can doubt that it is our duty to honor St. Joseph, when the Son of God Himself honored him with the name of father?"

"And indeed the Evangelists do not hesitate to give him that name. His father and mother were wondering, says St. Luke, at those things which were spoken concerning him [Luke 2: 33]. It is also the name the Divine [in the sense that her Son is divine, not that she herself is a goddess] Mother gave him: Thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing [Luke 2: 48]."

"If then the King of Kings wished to elevate Joseph to so high an honor, it is right and just that we try to honor him as much as we can."

"'Which angel or saint,' says St. Basil, 'has ever deserved to be called father of the Son of God?' Joseph was more honored by God than all the Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, and Pontiffs. They have the name of servants; Joseph has the name of father."

"So St. Joseph as father is placed at the head of this little family, small in number, but great by the two personages it contains: the Mother of God and the only Son of God made man. In this household, Joseph commands, and the Son of God obeys. 'This subjection of the Son of God,' says Gerson, 'while proving to us the humility of the Saviour, shows us the high dignity of Joseph. And what greater dignity, what higher elevation could there be than to command the One who commands all the Kings?'"