saint joseph
CTS Children’s Books
Contents A carpenter from Nazareth .................. 3
Life in Nazareth...................................... 16
The flowering staff ................................ 4
Jesus among the doctors....................... 18
A mysterious pregnancy ...................... 6
In the house of his father ...................... 21
In Bethlehem .......................................... 8 Shepherds and sheep............................. 10
An interesting fact................................... 22
At the temple in Jerusalem................... 12
An image of St Joseph .......................... 23
A time in Egypt....................................... 14
A Prayer to St Joseph ............................ 24
Text by Francesca Fabris Illustrations by Silvia Fabris Translated by Pierpaolo Finaldi
Saint Joseph: Published 2012 by The Incorporated Catholic Truth Society, 40-46 Harleyford Road, London SE11 5AY. Tel: 020 7640 0042; Fax: 020 7640 0046; www.cts-online.org.uk. Copyright Š 2012 The Incorporated Catholic Truth Society in this English-language edition.
ISBN: 978 1 86082 800 3 CTS Code CH 40 Translated from the original Italian Edition San Giuseppe - ISBN 978-88-6124-333-0, published by Il Pozzo di Giacobbe, Gruppo Editoriale S.R.L., Cortile San Teodoro, 3, 91100 Trapani (TP), Italy Š 2012 Il Pozzo di Giacobbe.
A carpenter from Nazareth
J
oseph was a very special person. Every child would have wanted him as a father. Before he became a dad, Joseph was all alone, looking for a girl to
love. “I’ll love my wife and my children more than anyone. And I’ll protect them to the end!” he would say to himself whenever he thought about his future family. Joseph lived in a little town called Nazareth where everyone knew him well and loved him. He worked as a carpenter and was very skilled with saws, hammers, nails and all the tools that are used to build houses, furniture, doors and windows.
He was a descendant of King David, the most famous king of Israel spoken of in the scriptures. The prophets said that the Messiah, the son of God would be born of the house of David.
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the flowering staff
O
ne day when Joseph was in his workshop, news arrived from Jerusalem. Zechariah the priest was summoning all the unmarried young men of the
royal house of David to the temple in Jerusalem. From among these men, God himself would choose a husband for a young woman named Mary. Mary was a special girl. She was so special that every child would have wanted her as a mother. She was beautiful, good and gentle and as a child had lived and worked in the temple, praying all the time.
Joseph made his way to Jerusalem with the other young men of the house of David. Each man was told to bring the staff he carried for long journeys and God would send a sign to show which one he chose to be the husband of mary. Zechariah the priest collected each young man’s staff and brought them into the temple. He laid them on the altar and began to pray. Outside, a crowd had gathered, waiting to hear the good news. Joachim and Anna - Mary’s parents - waited with baited breath, holding each other’s hands tight. Mary was also nervous and was waiting to see who God had chosen for her to share her life with. At last, Zechariah came out of the temple with all the staffs and returned each one to its owner. The last staff belonged to Joseph and by a miracle, white flowers had begun to grow from the top of the staff. Joseph had been chosen by God! Mary and Joseph looked tenderly into each other’s eyes and fell in love. They were engaged immediately and promised to be married and to live in love and faithfulness for their whole life.
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a mysterious pregnancy
any had tried to work out the time when the Messiah would come.
Looking for clues in the words of the prophets or among the stars
in the heavens. But the exact time of the birth of the son of God was a secret which God had kept to himself. After her engagement Mary went off to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth was expecting a baby and Mary wanted to be near her to help her during her pregnancy. A few months later when she returned, Mary’s own tummy had grown. She was also expecting a baby! Joseph was worried. He was not the father of the baby Mary had in her womb and he wasn’t sure what to do. Should he break off their engagement or stay with Mary and look after her baby?
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That night Joseph tossed and turned in his bed with a thousand thoughts in his head. As soon as he fell asleep the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said: “Joseph do not be afraid of marrying Mary. The baby in her womb comes from God and you shall call him Jesus. He is the Messiah who has come to save his people from their sins. It was foretold through the prophets that a virgin would bear a son and his name would be Emmanuel, God with us!� When Joseph woke up, he did what the Angel told him to do. He married Mary, took her into his house and prepared everything for the arrival of the special baby that she carried within her.
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in bethlehem
M
ary’s tummy had already grown very big when news of a census arrived in Nazareth. The Emperor wanted to know exactly how
many people he ruled over, and all the people in Palestine were ordered to go and be counted in the town where they were born. Joseph’s family was from Bethlehem so Mary and Joseph began the long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Mary travelled on a donkey across the desert with Joseph. When they arrived in Bethlehem, Mary knew that it was almost time for the baby to be born. It was almost night and Joseph went from house to house and inn to inn asking for a room where the baby could be born.
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There was no room for them anywhere! Many people had come to Bethlehem for the census and every inn was full. An Innkeeper told Joseph that they could stay in a stable where the animals were kept. It was warm and dry there at least. So Jesus was born in a stable with his mother and father and an ox and a donkey. Mary wrapped the baby in swaddling clothes and let Joseph hold him tenderly. Joseph looked at Jesus with eyes full of love and held him close to his cheek. In his heart he said: “Yes, Lord my God, Blessed be your Holy Name! I promise to be your earthly father and look after you until you are ready to make your own way.” Baby Jesus held Joseph’s finger tight in his tiny hand.
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W
Shepherds and sheep hile Mary and Joseph looked happily at Jesus who was so small and defenceless, some shepherds arrived and asked timidly: “what
will you call this child?” “We will call him Jesus!” answered Joseph. “Then we have come to worship him!” said the oldest shepherd. Joseph and Mary were amazed and could not understand why the shepherds had come. They then told the story of what had happened that night. They were sleeping in the fields watching over the sheep when suddenly they saw a bright light in the sky and an angel of God came down to them and said: “Do not be afraid I have come to bring you news of great joy! Today a saviour has been born for you, he is Christ the Lord. Go and you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”
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When the angel had finished speaking a multitude of angels appeared above them and began to sing “Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to people of good will�. Then the angels went back to heaven and the shepherds hurried to see what they had told them. Joseph listened to their story and in his heart he thanked God for the amazing adventure that he was lucky enough to be a part of with Mary and Jesus.
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