Elias Bejjani/St. Joseph’s Dayعيد ما يوسف البتول

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St. Joseph’s Dayعيد ما يوسف البتول
Elias Bejjani/March 19/18

The feast day of St. Joseph is celebrated annually on March 19.
Our Bejjani family has proudly carried this name generation after generation for centuries and still do.
May God and His angles safeguard our caring and loving son Youssef, and our grandson Joseph, who both carry this blessed name.
It is worth mentioning that St. Joseph’s Day is a Maronite and Roman Catholic feast day that commemorates the life of St. Joseph, the step-father of Jesus and husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
People with very strong religious convictions among which are the Lebanese Maronites celebrate St. Joseph’s Day on March 19 and believe that this day is St. Joseph’s birthday too.Back home, in Lebanon St. Joseph is considered the Family Saint and looked upon as a family and hardworking father role model because of the great role that Almighty God had assigned him to carry.
His duty was to raise Jesus Christ and take care of Virgin Mary. God has chose him to look after His begotten son and Virgin Marry.He fulfilled his Godly assignment with love, passion and devotion. May Al Mighty God bless all those that carry this name.

BACKGROUND
Saint Joseph’s Day
The Catholic Church celebrates today Saint Joseph’s Day. God Bless all those who carry his name, Joe Joseph and Youssef. This great Saint is the symbol of humality, reverence and Chastity

And they shall name him Emmanuel’, which means, ‘God is with us
Matthew 1,8-25./: “And Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations. Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’, which means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
St Joseph the Virgin, the Spouse of the Virgin Mary
Saint Joseph was the spouse of the Virgin Mary and foster father of Jesus Christ our Lord. He was of the line of David and worked as a carpenter at Nazareth. God chose him for the greatest mission ever conferred upon a man. His humility, his sanctity and his confidence in God were remarkable. Devotion to Saint Joseph had its orgins in the West. The whole Church now venerates him; the Maronite Church also commemorates him on the Fifth Sunday of Announcement as it prepared for the Birth of our Lord.
May God guard us by his prayers. Amen

Feast of St Joseph the Virgin, the Spouse of the Virgin Mary
Letter to the Ephesians 3,1-13/: “This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles for surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given to me for you, and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become fellow-heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of his power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.I pray therefore that you may not lose heart over my sufferings for you; they are your glory.