It's 47 days till Christmas... The Big Day draws closer and closer upon us. And when it comes this close, people in the Philippines are waiting with bated breath for the celebrations to begin. However, the Nativity story is not complete without one of its central characters - Saint Joseph.
Saint Joseph sometimes gets a bad rap for nearly turning his back on the Blessed Virgin Mary after finding out that she was with child. I think it's just a normal reaction. Wouldn't you have second thoughts yourself if the woman you're about to marry and thought was pristine suddenly ended up having a baby in the oven? He figures prominently in the Christmas story because he suddenly has a change of heart after the angel Gabriel appears to him and tells him that the child in Mary's womb was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. St Joseph surrenders to God's will and becomes the father figure of Christ on earth.
He goes so far as saving Mother and Child from the evil designs of Herod by bringing them into Egypt and just as mysteriously as he appears, nothing is heard of him when Christ enters his public life as Savior. But St. Joseph is deemed as the ideal father; teaching Jesus his trade as carpenter, providing for both Mother and Son's needs and protecting them from harm. Thus he is venerated, honored and adored as part of the Holy Family.
San Jose, Batangas is the site of one of the more prominent churches dedicated to him (the other one is located nearby in Palanan, Makati City). The shrine sits atop a hill in the town painted in two tones of gray with a statue of the saint painted in gold. What's interesting about the shrine is that it was built on a site formerly known to the Spaniards as Malaquing Tubig. The church itself was built by none other than Fr. Ramon Blanco, O.S.A. in 1812. Yes... the same Agustinian priest hailed as the Prince of Philippine Botany!
Like all Spanish built and designed churches in the Philippines, the San Jose church in Batangas has a wide expanse of space which includes a convento and a huge jardin. The open space on this one has recently been converted into a prayer garden complete with larger than life size stations of the cross and a museum that houses the church's relics.
St. Joseph is the patron saint of laborers, carpenters and padres de familia. Filipinos also pray to him to ask for favors specially for those seeking employment, asking for help for their temporal needs and even those who are selling their homes. It is said that in order for a house to be sold immediately all one need do is bury a statue of St Joseph in the front yard until the home is sold to prospective buyers.
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