No, I am not unaware of the other saints celebrated on this day. More on that in a moment. But first, some things about Joseph.
He was a wealthy first century resident of Judea.
He owned tin mines in Britain.
He was referred to as the "noble counselor" in Mark's Gospel.
He provided the tomb in which Jesus was buried after the Crucifixion.
He is said to have brought the Holy Grail to Britain (Dan Brown to the contrary).
He is said to have stuck his staff in the ground at Glastonbury, which then sprouted leaves and grew into a tree that flowers on Christmas.
He is mentioned in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Of course, March 17 is more famous for another saint. I had thought to write a limerick about him (seemed like the right form of verse) but the first line seemed like a dead end:
There once was an Italian from Britain,
... ... kitten? bitten? mitten?
Of course the best rhymes for his name were hat trick and matchstick, neither of which made much sense in terms of driving snakes from the Island or teaching the Trinitarian concept with the shamrock, so I gave up.
Happy St. Joseph of Arimathea's Day. Especially to all you tinsmiths and undertakers -- he's your patron, after all.
There was an Italian from Britain
ReplyDeleteWho with his religion was smitten.
His soul he did bare
His beliefs there to share
And about him much praise has been written.