Nothing more is recorded of Joseph's life in the Bible. After finding Jesus in the Temple, nothing is said until Jesus' Public Ministry. Jesus spoke so much of His Father (the Heavenly Father) that if Joseph was walking around with Jesus, it would be quite confusing. And so, because it was about God and never Joseph, Joseph exits quietly. As St John the Baptist said, "this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease." [John 3:29-30]

For thirty years, Jesus lived in Joseph's home. Jesus obeyed his commands. And now Joseph obediently dies, allowing for Jesus' Public Ministry to begin. And what a marvelous death it was! Joseph, the righteous man, dying in the arms of Jesus and Mary. Can anyone die a holier death? Indeed, this is why Joseph is the patron of the dying. Having been given the holiest of deaths, it is now his duty to do so for others, especially us, his children.

Some of us will want to wait to call upon this patronage until we are dying, but we should call upon it now. Not that we are dying, but we could die at any moment and, even if we have a long time to live, we can store up, in a sense, grace for when we are dying. Also, we do ask Mary to help us "at the hour of our death" in every Hail Mary even though we are not necessarily dying. It would be better for us to overprepare and reach Heaven than underprepare and reach Hell. Does anyone think the saints overprepared for Heaven? No, they prepared properly and are in Heaven because of it.

Would the Evil One 'leave us alone' when we are dying? Surely not. He will greatly intensify his efforts to bring you and I to despair, and thus damnation in Hell. With this great battle time, we need greater allies to fight for us. Joseph and Mary are just the ones we need "at the hour of our death." The Evil One never succeeded in his attacks on them and so they can "protect us from Evil" when we most need it.

Joseph, may you bring to us Mary and Jesus when we are dying, so that we might be consoled and enter Eternal Salvation, dying a holy death like yours. Amen.