Even though in vocation work, we often invoke and ask the prayers of Mary, Mother of Vocations (and it’s important for so many reasons to do that); I think that St. Joseph is an important intercessor for vocations, especially for men.  We know Brother André (St. André Bessette) turned to St. Joseph as his patron and through his vocation as a religious brother brought many, many people closer to Christ.  St. Joseph was asked to give his life to something that made absolutely no sense to him, and he was meant to do that amid the hurt and betrayal he felt before the Angel appeared to him; thinking his beloved Mary had betrayed him.  What we know of Joseph’s life is that he was a man of deep faith, a man who modelled what it meant to be a man for His foster Son, God’s Son.  He loved God and others passionately and deeply, he put others first, He was the protector and guardian of the Lord’s greatest gifts; our Lord and our Lady.  As I reflect upon St. Joseph, I hope to be a man like him, faithful, honest, loving and giving and this is why I think we ought to take him as the model for our manhood as well as our vocations.