As we learned yesterday, Joseph is the second greatest saint and also is our father. But, what does that mean for us? Being the second greatest saint means he has lots of pull with God, but let's dig deeper into his role as our father.

Well, what are the roles of a father? Sociologists could debate this at length. But what does Jesus tell us the roles of a father are? As God, and being all-knowing, we should listen.

The Lord's Prayer. You may wonder what this prayer has to do with the roles of a father, so let us look.

The Lord's Prayer is actually a prayer from children directed to a father, the Heavenly Father. There are seven petitions, as the Catechism calls them. "Hallowed be Thy name", "Thy kingdom come", "Thy will be done", and the final four of "give us", "forgive us", "lead us", and "deliver us". Let's focus on the last four, as they are the one's directed towards "us".

Our Heavenly Father's responsibilities are to "give us", "forgive us", "lead us", and "deliver us". Otherwise, how could we use such demanding language with God? Think of them, in order, as 'provide for us', 'reconcile us to the family', 'guide us', and 'protect us'. And while these are the Heavenly Father's duties to His children, us, these seem familiar to what is expected of all fathers. As such, they would apply to Joseph as well.

Now, we need to call upon Joseph to fulfill his fatherly duties to us like we do with Our Heavenly Father in the Lord's Prayer.

Father Joseph, we call upon you to fulfill your fatherly duties for us. Provide for us, reconcile us, guide us, and protect us! Amen.