Book review: God’s courageous carpenter: The life of Saint Joseph

As he took his final breath, passing from this life to the next, Saint Joseph was surrounded by the comforting love of his wife, Saint Mary, and the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom Saint Joseph had been entrusted to love, to protect and to mentor. His death, two millennia ago, is called a Happy Death, because he died in the loving embrace of his family.

Sadly, we don’t learn much about the life of Saint Joseph in Scripture. He’s mentioned a few times, yet he never speaks a recorded word. His life must have been remarkable - God chose him, after all, to be the spouse of the Virgin Mary, and the earthly father of his only begotten son. No one, other than the Blessed Virgin, spent more time on earth with Jesus than did Saint Joseph.

In 1870, Pope Pius IX declared Saint Joseph the patron of the Universal Church, not because we know much about him, but because the little we do know authenticate that he was a remarkable man. As Saint Joseph protected Christ on earth, he now protects the Church.

A few years back, R. Desbrow Stewart, Jr., a resident of Oklahoma City, approached Father Oswalt, pastor of Saint Joseph Old Cathedral in downtown Oklahoma City, to share with him his desire to write a book that would expound on the life of Saint Joseph.

Using scripture, tradition and the visions of mystics, Stewart set out to create a historical fiction about the life of Saint Joseph. Father Oswalt aided Stewart’s work by serving as the theological adviser of the project.

Who was the man who God chose to lead the Holy Family? Who was the man who protected the infant Jesus from the scourge of the evil King Herod? Who was the holy guardian of Jesus Christ? Who was the man who had the great blessing of passing from this earth surrounded by the love and grace of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Son of God, Jesus Christ?

How much do you know about the patron of the Universal Church?

A read of “God’s Courageous Carpenter” is an edifying experience that can inspire readers to live a life like Saint Joseph, a life of fidelity, integrity and strength.


“God’s Courageous Carpenter” is historical fiction. Some of the events in the book come from the visions of mystics. In the words of Father Oswalt, “Now, it should be noted that, because (the visions recorded by the mystics are) private revelation, no Catholic is obliged to believe in these revelations. But, they are fascinating and can be held as believable.”

Saint Joseph, pray for us!
 
Christopher Aderhold is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.