NOTES for Mat 1:18-24
Many of us often simply fail to notice Joseph the Betrothed. Sometimes we pray to him together with Mary, the Mother of God. And we understand that, since he was the foster father of Jesus Christ, he is of course a saint, yet we may never consider why he is a saint.
There is one thing that is hard not to notice: he listens to God and hears Him. This means that Joseph is constantly ready to obey God, wants to do His will, and prays a great deal, listening in prayer to what God will tell him. He takes Mary into his home, although doing so is shameful and dangerous, for people may think that she conceived a child by another man and was unfaithful to him. He agrees to the name Jesus, although the father usually chooses the name. He continually goes wherever God directs him.
We can ask Saint Joseph the Betrothed to teach us the listening prayer of a disciple, obedience, and trust in God, for he knew how to practice them.