Today is the feast of St. Joseph.
One of the names by which Jesus was known is “the son of the carpenter”.
There many things about being a father I learned from Joseph.
And thinking of him now, I remember my own father.
He was a man of few words.
And so was Tatang. Today, I would love to hear his voice and his stories.
He was often reticent to talk about himself.
There were times he would start talking about himself;
but I guess I was too busy playing to really listen to him.
I can be very talkative and noisy but there are many times
I have had to hold back my tongue as a father.
Like Joseph, I am guided by dreams, of which I have a lot.
I have dreams for my family,
dreams for each of my sons,
and now dreams for my apos.
Dreams and fathers. These are what start out a family.
Joseph must have been bewildered many times
about the things happening in their family,
often not comprehending these things.
Tatang was a simple man but something in him must have bewildered him
and he went out to find the answer.
He alone among his siblings left his home and his town
to seek the answers he was looking for.
And so am I.
I am often baflled, and in my bafflement I set out to seek answers.
I left home early and have not hesitated to pull up my stakes to seek answers.
Joseph stayed on strong in his faith,
a source of support and strength for Jesus and Mary,
always compassionate and caring.
And so I pray that I too will be like him
and in praying, also thank Tatang for the lessons he has subtly and quietly
taught and left me.